Malware attack on State Data Center in India puts some citizen services at a standstill

India’s hill state of Uttarakhand’s entire IT infrastructure came to a standstill on Friday after malware was detected on systems at the State Data Center. The shutdown impacted several critical services, including government websites, the Chief Minister’s helpline, and land registration services.

Officials, suspecting a cyberattack, launched an investigation into the breach, while IT Secretary Nitesh Jha ordered the shutdown of all services to mitigate potential damage. Key systems, such as the State Wide Area Network (SWAN) and Secure Internet Service, went offline, affecting day-to-day operations across the state.

“During routine scanning on Gandhi Jayanti [October 2], malware was discovered on some virtual machines at the State Data Centre. On advice from the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), and other experts, all machines at the data center have been shut down to prevent further spread,” the state government said in a statement.