IRCTC/Indian Railways cyber security controls for online reservation and curbing Tatkal fraud
Indian Railways says Aadhaar verification, anti-bot systems, audits, and data-centre controls are being used to curb Tatkal fraud and suspicious e-ticketing attempts.
- Indian Railways describes the reservation platform as a layered system combining identity verification, application security, network security, physical security, monitoring, and administrative controls.
- Indian Railways says fake accounts, suspicious user IDs, bots, and touts are the main misuse channels targeted by the security measures.
- Indian Railways names CERT-In and NCIIPC as monitoring and protection bodies linked to the ticketing system.
What happened
Indian Railways has said that its online reservation system uses layered cyber-security controls to protect e-ticketing and to curb fraud in Tatkal ticket booking. The Ministry of Railways has linked the safeguards to fake-user control, bot mitigation, network defence, monitoring, and account revalidation.
Why the issue matters
UPSC can ask about the role of Aadhaar authentication, anti-bot systems, Web Application Firewall, CERT-In monitoring, and data-centre resilience in protecting a large public booking platform. A Mains question can examine the trade-off between digital convenience, fraud control, and access for genuine users in a high-demand public service such as Tatkal booking.
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