Many govt websites contaminated, redirect users to betting sites: PIL

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay high court complaining that several government websites have been contaminated with malicious programming codes which redirect users to betting websites.

MUMBAI: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay high court complaining that several government websites have been contaminated with malicious programming codes which redirect users to betting websites. The PIL, filed by Ruzbeh Dossabhoy Raja, an information technology consultant and visiting law professor at the University of Mumbai, also highlights the inadequate monitoring of the government cyber infrastructure.

Many govt websites contaminated, redirect users to betting sites: PIL

The petition, filed through advocate Ajinkya Udane, listed 20 government department websites contaminated with malicious programming code which redirects the users to betting websites to collect their personal information.

“Such activities could lead to the misuse of information for offences like phishing attacks, digital arrest, fake e-challan payments, fake government resolutions, fake quasi-judicial or executive orders, spreading disinformation and similar such offences which may include impersonation of a government entity,” the petition stated.

While operating the Mumbai police website on January 21, 2025, Raja said he was redirected to another website named rslot6.com, which opened a list of online betting options. Later, on January 25, he found several other official government websites showing similar contamination, leading users to rslot6.com.

The petition stated that the contamination of the various maharashtra.gov.in websites continue till date. “There is an imminent threat to the veracity of information being disseminated by these government websites,” it said.

The PIL also claimed that Raja’s research revealed that such attacks on the maharashtra.gov.in websites have been happening since 2007, mostly due to the absence of ‘Firewall system’ in the servers. It demonstrated that the outdated Content Management System (CMS) has been exploited by cracking loopholes in the software. The injection of malicious programming code has led to the manipulation of some core files of the website, allowing the attackers to redirect any user to their malicious webpage.

The consultant has, therefore, suggested upgrading of the website software and installation of web application firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and anti-virus software. He has requested the court to issue directions to the concerned authorities to conduct a detailed study and submit a report on the magnitude of the cyber-attack that has taken place on various Maharashtra government websites since January 6, 2025. Additionally, he sought from the authority appropriate steps to block the infected websites. The PIL is listed for hearing on February 12, 2025.