Few weeks after its website was hacked by Indonesian hackers in August, Karnataka State Electricity Board (KSEB) has decided to take all the steps to avoid such situations in future.

Experts from government's Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification Directorate (STQC) will soon give a thorough checkup to softwares used by the state-run power utility. This will mark the beginning of a new era where periodic cyber security audits will become routine affairs in the KSEB as more and more of its services go online, and evolving technologies like Smart Grid on the cards.

Services offered to consumers like bill payments and KSEB’s own day-to-day functions are increasingly going online.

Kerala is also one of 14 states where the union power ministry proposes to pilot the smart grid, where information and communication technology will be used to spruce up service delivery.