SANJAY SAHAY
Though the world has been under these attacks for quite some time now yet we rarely hear of this in the Indian public domain. How many of the average educated Indians would be aware of it, is a loaded question and we can leave it at that. Suffice it to say, that it is still not mandatory to report cyber breaches and that too within the stipulated time. As business credibility comes into play, it is generally thought-wise – business-wise – not to report. But what do you do when your services are hit? Left with no choice, you come out in the open and declare that you’ve been hacked.
Ransomware attacks are the most serious of the hacks, and playing ball with it, is playing with fire. This attitude and the consequent practice have been emboldening gangs to no end, and we keep reeling under this digital epidemic. How difficult it is to deal with it both on the technical side and the crime business platform aspect is an important story, which we leave for some other day. The context currently is that Tata Technologies was hit by a ransomware attack. To the credit of this company, it confirmed that it was hit by a ransomware attack, and that it had to* temporarily suspend* some of the IT services, which were later restored.
As expected, it reported in a bid to clear the air that it has ordered a detailed investigation to determine the root cause of the problem to take necessary corrective action. It was later claimed that the temporary suspension of some of the services was done as a precautionary measure. Tata Technologies also clarified that its Client delivery services remained fully functional and unaffected throughout. The crux of the matter is that if a company is hit by an attack of this nature, it has to take care of its credibility and simultaneously sort out the ransomware mess it has landed in. It is not a small task. It turns out to be a testing time for the company.
The company is continuing with its detailed investigation in consultation with experts. It reiterates its commitment to the highest standards of security and data protection. In pursuance of that goal it is taking all necessary steps to mitigate any potential risks. Tata Technologies, part of Tata Group, is a services company providing outsourced engineering and digital transformation services. According to Cyberpeace report, there has been a 55% increase in ransomware attacks in 2024 with 98 recorded compared to 63 the preceding year. India ranks second in terms of the ransomware attacks in the Asia Pacific and Japan region, according to Zscaler.
AN ALL-CONCERTED GLOBAL ATTACK ON RANSOMWARE GANGS IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR.
(The writer is a former Karnataka cadre IPS officer, Founder & Director, TechConPro, Cyber Security Expert, Professional Public Speaker & Writer. Hailing from Palamu, Jharkhand, he lives in Bangalore.)