77 lakh accounts blocked as Rlys cracks down on bots, Pg21

Key Highlights:

• Indian Railways blocked 77 lakh user IDs between February and October 2025 to curb fraudulent tatkal ticket bookings.
• On average, 8.57 lakh bot accounts were blocked monthly during this period due to measures like enhanced captcha verification and Aadhaar authentication.
• In October 2025 alone, 10.57 billion spurious attempts to access the e-ticketing system were denied.
• Aadhaar authentication for Tatkal and Advance Reservation Period (ARP) tickets became mandatory in July 2025, with over 2 crore users authenticating their IDs.

Detailed Insights:

• The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) implemented measures, including time-based steps and security solutions, to prevent auto-filling of forms by hacking tools.
• CRIS uses an IP address reputation score to automatically deny access to IPs with poor scores or those linked to cyberattacks, protecting against Denial of Service (DoS) attempts.
• Approximately 2.5 lakh tatkal tickets are booked daily, with 80% booked within the first 15 minutes, mainly for 100 high-demand trains.
• The RailOne App has been integrated with an App Shielding tool to prevent unauthorized intrusions, and the IRCTC’s anti-fraud team continuously deactivates suspicious accounts.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Tatkal Booking: A scheme for booking tickets at short notice, usually one day before the date of journey.
• Aadhaar Authentication: Verifying the identity of a user using their Aadhaar number.
• Denial of Service (DoS): A cyberattack that floods a system with requests to disrupt its services.