New Delhi: The BJP has suggested that the opposition may have played a role in its official website being hacked.
Senior leader Shyam Jaju, who heads the BJP’s social media committee, appeared to indicate that the opposition may have been behind the attack, and said that party is mulling lodging a police complaint.
“We have been digitally way ahead of our competitors and rivals,” Jaju said in response to a question on who could have been behind the hacking. “It has to be someone who benefits from hacking ahead of polls. Dusre kisi ka kaam nahin (it’s no one else’s job).”
“This is an attempt to hurt us and we will find out who did it.”
The hacking of the website has caused embarrassment to the party. “PM Modi has given detailed lectures on cyberspace threats and on the need to safeguard the online space. And here we are, facing the same threat,” said a senior BJP leader, taking a dig at the party’s IT Cell.
Also read: After BJP website hacked, Congress offers help, AAP alleges secret pact
Party assessing damage
With its website — www.bjp.org — still down, the BJP is trying to ascertain the kind of damage the hacker(s) may have caused to its extensive database.
The party fears that the attack was targeted at its main server, to try and steal data and important information. “Various security and IT experts are involved in reviewing the situation,” sources privy to the issue said.
A senior leader, however, said the attack appears to have been on a server that hosts the website and that the internal data server may still be untouched.
“Though we have different servers for internal data storage for hosting websites, the fact that one of the servers is compromised is a big thing,” the BJP member said. “We need to keep the data server security intact, as it also shares data with the one that has been hacked.”
Also read: No group claims responsibility for hacking BJP’s official website
Why the website is still down
Sources said that there is a belief in the party that the attack has highlighted the vulnerability of the party’s social media presence.
A senior member said the party is taking no chances and its in-house experts are undertaking detailed vulnerability tests. “There are issues related to security,” the party member said.
BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya, however, denied that the website had been hacked at all.
“It was a technical glitch and no one hacked the website. We are working on it,” he said. “The website will be up soon. Why is everyone so worried about our website?”
The Congress, meanwhile, took a dig at the BJP over the fiasco. “morning @bjp4india we realise you’ve been down for a long time now. If you need help getting back up, we’re happy to help,” it tweeted.