New Delhi: Many servers that host government websites are plagued by various problems like obsolete software and poor secure coding, making them vulnerable to cyber attacks, a study has said.

According to official data, a total of 78 government websites were hacked and 16,035 incidents related to spam, malware infection and system break-in were reported this year so far.

It is very important for the nation to start upgrading its IT infrastructure and keep up with the latest security guidelines & practices, the study said.

"One can find servers running older and vulnerable versions of software, poor server management, web applications deployed on these servers being designed and implemented by programmers who lack awareness of secure coding practices," the study by Information Security Consortium (Infosac) said.

However, private sector is much more cautious and alert when it comes to their IT infrastructure compared to the government, it said.

The study also highlighted sophisticated cyber attacks, possibly from neighboring China, aimed at stealing critical information from government organization and large corporate houses.

Giving details of a malware Travnet that hit computer networks in India recently, it said that the group behind the attack had done extensive research on topics that are current as well as intriguing to Indian targets.

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