Railways Tightens Cybersecurity: Over 3 Crore IDs Deactivated in Tatkal Ticketing Crackdown

In a significant move to curb fraudulent activities in online Tatkal ticketing, the Indian Railways deactivated 3.03 crore suspicious user IDs in 2025. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared this development with the Rajya Sabha, emphasizing enhanced security measures to protect the booking system from cyber threats.

The minister outlined key measures like Aadhaar-based OTP verification, application and network-layer security controls, and regular security audits. These steps have reportedly improved ticket availability for genuine users and fortified the system against potential threats.

Additionally, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) actively monitor internet traffic related to the ticketing system. In 2025, the ministry blocked 12,819 suspicious email domains and lodged 376 complaints regarding 3.99 lakh suspicious bookings.