In order to install the malware, the user is tricked into either clicking a malicious link or launching a malicious attachment. In the more sophisticated attacks, the attacker will use a new "zero day vulnerability", in which attackers send email attachments which when opened exploit vulnerabilities in web browsers.

According to CERT-In (the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team), which is a government-mandated information technology security organization, an estimated 14,392 websites in the country were hacked in 2012 (till October).

In 2011, as many as 14,232 were hacked, while the number of websites hacked in 2009 stood at 9,180. About 16,126 websites were hacked in 2010.

With cybersecurity impacting the country's security, Shivshankar Menon, the national security adviser, announced last month that the government is putting in place national cyber security architecture to prevent sabotage, espionage and other forms of cyberthreats.

"The past few years have witnessed a dramatic shift in the threat landscape. The motivation of attackers has moved from fame to financial gain and malware has become a successful criminal business model with billions of dollars in play. We have now entered a third significant shift in the threat landscape, one of cyberespionage and cybersabotage," Shantanu Ghosh, vice president at India Product Operations - Symantec corporation, which develops Norton AntiVirus, told IANS.

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