SANJAY SAHAY
It has long been said that getting hacked is not an option, it is only when it will happen. The truism emanating from it is, “Getting hacked is the new normal.” It is turning out to be a harsh reality with every passing day. It is in this context it is imperative to understand the cyber security challenge which all organisations and individuals face, and accordingly make amends in their cyber security and digital behaviour stance. Given the nature of cyber threats and breaches, what needs to happen is a very high level of resilience of your systems and that is the direction cyber security is forced to take.
Indian organisations face an average 3,291 attacks per week
If disruption happens, then what and how fast we will be able to come back on our feet again, is the real challenge and riddle of cyber security today. What we are talking of today, is the current cyber security or breach status. The report titled The State of Global Cyber Security provides data-based clarity to the cyber threat landscape of the nation. The Indian organisations faced an average 3,291 attacks per week over the past six months, much higher than the global average of 1,847. The general impression is that India has a much lesser number of cyber breaches.
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Health sector is most impacted
What are the most prevalent malwares in this nation? It comprises two Remote Access Trojans (RATs), one infostealer, one ransomware strain (Maze), a botnet and a downloader, both identified as FakeUpdates. The health sector is most impacted. The number of weekly cyberattacks per organisation is 8,614. Health is followed by education and research at 7,983 and government and military with 4,731 over the last six months. In May last year, the country faced a critical breach that exposed 500 GB of biometric data, including fingerprints and facial scans.
Role of generative AI in cyber-attacks
What is worrisome, though expected, has been the increasing role of generative AI in cyber-attacks. It ranged from disinformation campaigns to deepfake videos. Gen AI was used to accelerate cyber-attacks. The infostealer attacks surged by 58% clearly indicating the maturing of the ecosystem that supports it. Over 70% of the devices infected were personal, as the BYOD environment was used to breach the corporate resources. So, now it is not about protecting networks but how we safeguard trust in our systems and institutions. There is an alarming 44% increase in global cyber-attacks year on year. The attacks are rapidly evolving and persistent, which reinforces the fact that there is a crying need for resilience in our systems.
(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.)
