Hacking attempt on RBI website renders it inaccessible

The Reserve Bank today said there was an attempt to hack its website yesterday rendering it inaccessible for almost the entire day.

"It was a DNS (Domain Name System) attack where the hacker tried entering the website from a single Internet protocol address multiple times, jamming its bandwidth," an RBI spokesperson said.

Due to multiple requests received from the hacker's IP address, genuine entrants were unable to access the RBI website--www.rbi.org.in.

"We found the IP address and blocked it and got the website on its feet again," the spokesperson said, adding there was no loss of information or defacing as the hackers could not get into the site.

The RBI brass, including Governor D Subbarao and all the deputy governors, were in Mussorie, Uttarakhand yesterday for the board meeting when the hacking attempt was reported.

Further details like the exact time period when the hacking happened and the geographical location where the attack has been traced to, are unclear.

When contacted, a senior official with the Mumbai Police's cyber crime investigation cell said it has not received any complaint from the RBI regarding the incident.