Representational image NEW DELHI: In the past six months, nearly 58% attempts to book train tickets online were by bots, not real people, the railway ministry informed Lok Sabha Wednesday. It said that on average 888 crore requests out of 1,538 crore in a month were bots, and those were flagged as automated requests and their access to the e-ticketing system was denied.A bot is an automated software application that performs repetitive tasks over a network. It follows specific instructions to imitate human behaviour at a faster rate. In a written reply, railway minister Ashwni Vaishnaw said that such “spurious attempts” that were denied access to e-ticketing systems was the maximum in June — nearly 66% of the 1,912 crore requests by bots.“Bot manager in the system protects websites at its own cloud servers by using user behavioural analysis, bot signature/ pattern matching, and real-time risk scoring to instantly distinguish humans and bots and software,” an IRCTC official said.Vaishnaw said the train ticket reservation system is robust and highly secure, and equipped with industry-standard, state-of-the-art cybersecurity controls while highlighting measures taken by railways to safeguard the system from cyber attacks, and prevent auto-filling of forms by hacking tools to curb fraud in Tatkal ticket bookings.The minister said that multiple protective layers such as network firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, application delivery controllers and web application firewalls have been deployed to safeguard the system against cyber threats. He added that little over three crore suspicious user IDs had been deactivated and 6.2 crore had been placed under revalidation during 2025-26 and 2026-27 (up to June 30).The ministry said that 503 complaints have been lodged on the National Cyber Crime Portal for suspicious booking and 13,343 suspicious emails have been blocked in the past one-and-half years. In addition, since 2021, Railway Protection Force has arrested 22,676 touts and legal action has been taken.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosSC Declines Urgent Hearing On Police Action During ‘Chalo Sansad’ Protest‘Mujhe Maaro, Sir’: CJP Protester Seen In Viral Lathi-Charge Video Recounts Standoff With Cops70 Km To 500 Metres: How India’s Two New Ladakh Bridges Could Transform Border ConnectivityIndia-China Ties Improving? Jaishankar Welcomes Confidence-Building Steps, Raises Supply Concerns‘Pradhan Literally Destroyed…’: Rahul Gandhi Shares 3 Demands, Reacts To PM House DetentionCJP Pushes New Demand To Safeguard Protestors; Standoff With Centre ContinuesTVK Takes ‘Uncompromising Stand’ Over Abolition Of NEET, Proposes Key Constitutional ShiftsAkhilesh Yadav Demands PM Modi’s Statement On ‘Lathi Charge’; As Govt Offers Discussion On NEET LeakJ&K Police Arrest Mosque Cleric For Allegedly Providing Shelter And Logistics To Pak TerroristsSharad Pawar Meets PM Modi Amid Delimitation Buzz, NDA Numbers Game Takes Centre Stage123Photostories10 enchanting baby girl names inspired by beautiful birds from around the globeBigg Boss Malayalam 8: Celebrities netizens wish to see on the show10 common mistakes travellers make at cultural and religious sitesFrom Emilia Clarke to Joni Mitchell: 6 celebrities who faced a life-threatening brain aneurysmAneet Padda’s romantic butter-yellow dress added a golden glow to ‘Saiyaara’s one-year celebration with Ahaan PandayBeat the rain, not your style: 6 quick-dry fabrics every working woman needs this monsoonThese are the 10 least travel-friendly countries in the world in 2026, according to a new reportThe Universe May Be Blessing You: Watch for These 4 SignsInside Anushka Sen’s lavish home: Plush white interiors, stunning city views and a dream closetDIY kalonji oil for hair growth: How to make black seed oil at home the right way123Hot PicksTaylor Swift and Travis kelce WeddingDelhi metroCJP ProtestDonald TrumpNEET ProtestRahul GandhiNHL Trade RumorsDharmendra PradhanRRB JE RecruitmentTop TrendingThane MurderSandad Chalo MarchJantar Mantar ProtestCJP ProtestAbhijeet DipkeUttarakhand High CourtJohn AbrahamZlatan ibrahimovicHarbhajan singhIND U19 vs Sri Lanka U19
NEW DELHI: In the past six months, nearly 58% attempts to book train tickets online were by bots, not real people, the railway ministry informed Lok Sabha Wednesday. It said that on average 888 crore requests out of 1,538 crore in a month were bots, and those were flagged as automated requests and their access to the e-ticketing system was denied.A bot is an automated software application that performs repetitive tasks over a network. It follows specific instructions to imitate human behaviour at a faster rate. In a written reply, railway minister Ashwni Vaishnaw said that such “spurious attempts” that were denied access to e-ticketing systems was the maximum in June — nearly 66% of the 1,912 crore requests by bots.“Bot manager in the system protects websites at its own cloud servers by using user behavioural analysis, bot signature/ pattern matching, and real-time risk scoring to instantly distinguish humans and bots and software,” an IRCTC official said.Vaishnaw said the train ticket reservation system is robust and highly secure, and equipped with industry-standard, state-of-the-art cybersecurity controls while highlighting measures taken by railways to safeguard the system from cyber attacks, and prevent auto-filling of forms by hacking tools to curb fraud in Tatkal ticket bookings.The minister said that multiple protective layers such as network firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, application delivery controllers and web application firewalls have been deployed to safeguard the system against cyber threats. He added that little over three crore suspicious user IDs had been deactivated and 6.2 crore had been placed under revalidation during 2025-26 and 2026-27 (up to June 30).The ministry said that 503 complaints have been lodged on the National Cyber Crime Portal for suspicious booking and 13,343 suspicious emails have been blocked in the past one-and-half years. In addition, since 2021, Railway Protection Force has arrested 22,676 touts and legal action has been taken.
