The online system at Tribhuvan International Airport malfunctioned on Monday afternoon, causing disruptions to international flights for about an hour and a half. This is not the first time such an incident has occurred, as the airport experienced a similar problem on January 28, when flights were halted for more than five hours. On that day, many government websites also went offline. It remains unclear who was responsible for this and with what motive.
In April 2018, more than 60 government websites, including the Ministry of Home Affairs and Public Service Commission, were hacked, with the hacker claiming responsibility on social media. These incidents of cyber attacks highlight the weaknesses in our cyber security. Recently, Communication and Information Technology Minister Rekha Sharma commented in a program that “the key is not with the government.”
It appears that the government is not taking the issue of cyber security seriously. There is currently no strong legal framework or regulatory body in place to address these threats, and the system of keeping data backups in government offices is proving to be ineffective. Furthermore, the trend of unauthorized access to…
