Nagpur Municipal Corporation Targeted in Massive Cyberattack On October 28, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) faced a coordinated cyberattack, with over 2,000 intrusion attempts detected within 24 hours. The assault primarily targeted NMC’s web servers, which host critical public services including property tax payments, water bill processing, birth and death certificates, and grievance redressal systems via its official website (nmcnagpur.gov.in) and the My Nagpur app. Firewall logs from NMC’s XGS138 system revealed that 1,068 attacks were classified as major and 907 as critical, indicating a sustained and organized effort to exploit vulnerabilities. Among the most frequent attempts were 838 probes targeting the /etc/passwd file, which stores encrypted user credentials, and 111 exploits leveraging the Apache Log4j vulnerability, a known flaw allowing remote server control. Additional attacks focused on Atlassian Confluence and Sonatype Nexus, platforms used for document and content management. Cybersecurity analysts identified the attack as a botnet-driven reconnaissance campaign, likely testing NMC’s defenses for weaknesses. Two foreign IP addresses 104.248.99.110 and 167.99.28.249, traced to servers in Singapore were responsible for nearly all malicious traffic. While NMC’s intrusion prevention system blocked the attacks, experts warn that this may be a precursor to more sophisticated breaches. A successful compromise could expose sensitive data, including property records, tax receipts, employee information, and internal communications. Disruptions to NMC’s digital services could also paralyze online grievance systems, permit applications, and sanitation dashboards, affecting hundreds of thousands of citizens. In response, NMC plans a comprehensive IT security audit, covering in-house systems, hardware, and third-party service providers. The audit will focus on identifying vulnerabilities, ensuring timely patching, and strengthening monitoring mechanisms to prevent future breaches. The incident highlights the growing cyber threats to public-sector digital infrastructure, where poorly secured systems risk severe operational and data security consequences.