The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) of the central government has issued an alert for citizens asking them to protect their devices from botnet attack. Botnets are networks of infected or compromised devices that are controlled by threat actors to carry out malicious cyber activities.

"Regularly update the software of your devices and monitor the behaviour of your devices. Avoid using default or easily guessable username and passwords. One should use strong passwords and enable Multi Factor Authentication. One can also download free bot removal tools from https://www.csk.gov.in/security-tools.html," stated the alert.

The Cert-In also alerted citizens about fraudsters using social engineering tactics to defraud citizens. "Avoid sharing sensitive information in response to calls or messages from strangers and be cautious about the information you share online and over phone. Scammers often create high-pressure situations to make the victim share sensitive information or to make payments. If someone claims to be a familiar contact, verify their identity by asking a follow-up personal question. Be cautious while responding to urgent demands for money or sensitive information and never install any apps received over sms, chats or from any third party websites," the alert stated.