Reports reveal government websites redirecting to scam pages

A significant cybersecurity vulnerability continues to affect multiple Indian government websites, with more than 90 domains reportedly redirecting visitors to harmful and fraudulent sites. These websites, including those of major organizations like the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and India Post, have been exploited to lead users to scam sites related to online betting and fraudulent investment schemes. This situation poses a serious risk to internet users, especially those unfamiliar with these scams, who may unknowingly fall victim to illegal activities.

The problem was first discovered in May 2023, when it was reported that government websites using the “gov.in” domain were being hijacked to direct visitors to dubious online betting platforms. Despite attempts by authorities to address the situation, the redirects remain unresolved, creating ongoing risks for users. Search engines like Google have indexed these dangerous links, meaning that users searching for legitimate government websites are at a higher risk of encountering these frauds.

The Indian government's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has been alerted about the issue, but there is no clear indication that the vulnerabilities causing the redirection have been fully addressed. Cybersecurity professionals, including experts from Menlo Ventures, have expressed concerns that the problem may be linked to compromised content management systems or faulty server configurations, which allowed the fraudulent redirects in the first place. While some of the malicious redirects now lead to “page not found” errors, experts warn that this may only be a temporary fix, and the fundamental security weaknesses may still exist.

The ongoing nature of the issue means that users should remain highly cautious when visiting Indian government websites, as they may still be redirected to fraudulent sites. Until the root cause of these redirects is fixed, online security experts continue to urge users to verify website URLs and remain vigilant against potential scams.