Indian agencies have found out that the hacking of the official website of the Office of the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Officers) (PCDA(O))— which disburses salaries — was done through an IP address traced to Germany. The hacking to light on March 31 and officials believe that it could have been a paid job.
They said the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team has prepared a report on the matter and submitted it to the defence ministry recently. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar also cautioned the officials of this department to remain cautious about hacking of their database while addressing officers of Defence Accounts here on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the website — www.Pcdaopune.Gov.In — is down for several days and it was feared that personal details besides login names and passwords may have been compromised. Arvind Kaushal, Controller of Defence Accounts, said the incident had “hit us hard”.