Supreme Court website down, reportedly hacked, after Loya case verdict

The Supreme Court website went down 30 minutes after the court dismissed petitions seeking an independent probe into justice BH Loya’s death.

Updated on: Apr 19, 2018, 21:49:33 IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By HT News Desk

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The website of the Supreme Court of India (supremecourtofindia.nic.in) was inaccessible on Thursday afternoon after it was reportedly hacked 30 minutes after the court delivered the verdict in the BH Loya case.

The Supreme Court’s website went down, after it was allegedly attacked by hackers.

Officials of Supreme Court’s (SC) registry said the website was pulled down after a hacking attempt was detected. Data was unaffected, they said.

The website was restored at 7 pm but wasn’t fully functional. Website users got a ‘service unavailable’ message after the court had dismissed pleas seeking an independent probe into the death of Judge Loya, who was hearing the alleged Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

Dubai-based cyber security expert Dhruv Soi said a Brazilian hacker group called HighTech took control of the website and put up a banner announcing their name.

“The banner was later taken offline and the website was pushed into the maintenance by its management team,” said Soi. “After hacking the SC website, HighTech group reported the snapshot of the hacked website at “zone-h.org”, a hacked website mirroring portal, which is banned in India.”

Soi said the website’s security and server hosting it should be improved. HighTech in 2013 claimed to have hacked Indian websites by breaching into server of the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Gulshan Rai, national cyber security coordinator in the Prime Minister’s Office, said the SC website was maintained by the court administration while other government sites are hosted on NIC servers.

“As soon the hacking took place, the NIC provided all help to the Supreme Court. We will now work with the Supreme Court to make its site more secure,” said Rai.

A fortnight ago several government websites crashed, leading to speculation that Chinese hackers were behind the attack. Rai had then said the websites went down becasue of hardware failure.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
HT News Desk
Follow the latest breaking news, major developments and agenda-setting stories from India and around the world with the newsdesk at Hindustan Times. Operating round the clock, the desk brings together experienced editors, reporters and correspondents to deliver fast, accurate and contextual reporting across subjects that influence public policy, governance, business, society and international affairs. The HT News Desk covers politics, elections, government policies, the economy, business and markets, science and technology, the environment, law and order, infrastructure, education, climate issues and geopolitics, while closely tracking developments across states, institutions and global capitals. The team also leads coverage of major breaking news events, policy announcements, court proceedings, natural disasters, public emergencies and significant international developments. Reports published by the newsdesk are based on information gathered from reporters on the ground, official statements, government agencies, court records, regulatory filings, recognised institutions and other authoritative sources. Stories undergo editorial scrutiny and verification processes to ensure accuracy, fairness and relevance, and are updated as events evolve and additional information becomes available. Whether covering a key political decision in New Delhi, an economic policy shift affecting millions, a landmark court ruling or a major global event, the HT News Desk aims to provide readers with reliable, fact-based journalism that delivers not only the latest developments but also the context and analysis needed to understand their wider implications.Read More