Government issues this 'high alert' warning to officials on sharing information on phone calls

Government has issued an advisory for its officials warning them against the risk of relying on caller ID information that pops up while receiving a phone call. The advisory cautions that attackers ‘manipulate’ caller ID information to make a call appear as if it is coming from a "legitimate government number". Severity of the communication is categorised as ‘high’.

Govt advisory warns against Vishing
Issued by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the cyber security advisory has been sent to multiple government departments and ministries. It states “Attackers may impersonate trusted entities, such as senior government officials, law enforcement agencies, or technical support personnel”.

The advisory comes as “in recent months, there has been an increase in vishing attacks targeting government officials to compromise confidential information and gain unauthorised access to official systems”. It alerts government officials to be cautious against such techniques as it has underlined that caller ID information can be "easily spoofed".

What is Vishing
Vishing or voice-phishing is a type of social engineering cyber attack where scammers attempt to trick individuals over the phone into sharing sensitive personal information, such as bank details, passwords, or social security numbers. In vishing attacks, fraudsters often impersonate legitimate organisations, like banks, government agencies, or tech support teams, to build trust and create a sense of urgency. The goal is to manipulate victims into providing private information, which the attackers can then use for fraudulent activities, identity theft, or unauthorised access to accounts.

Common tactics in vishing include spoofing caller ID to make the call appear credible or claiming there is an urgent issue that requires immediate action from the victim.

What the govt advisory says
“Do not trust the legitimacy of the caller based solely on the displayed number. Cross-check any caller claiming to represent an official agency with official records,” the communication reads. “Take time to verify the information provided by a suspect caller,” it says adding further that government officials should always “be suspicious of any unsolicited calls asking for personal or confidential information, especially when the caller is creating urgency or panic to pressure compliance”.

The advisory further asks government employees to practise all established protocols for ensuring safe cyber interaction during work and otherwise.