‘Restructuring of networks amid pandemic made India vulnerable to ransomware attacks’


PTI, Dec 20, 2020, 2:59 PM IST

Credit: iStock Photo

New Delhi: The sudden rush to provide remote access to employees by restructuring network and security systems during the lockdown made India vulnerable to ransomware attacks in the third quarter of current year, according to cybersecurity firm Check Point Software Technologies.

Due to the immediate push, several IT companies were unable to scale up their cloud security postures which led to increased opportunity for cyber criminals to carry out attacks, Check Point Software Technologies India and SAARC Managing Director Sundar N Balasubramanian told PTI.

According to the company’s research, India was ranked second after the US among the top 5 countries most affected by ransomware attacks in the third quarter.

Sri Lanka, Russia and Turkey were at third, fourth and fifth position, respectively, in the list of most affected countries by ransomware attacks.

In a survey by Check Point, 71 per cent of respondents globally, including in India, reported an increase in cyberattacks during February-March 2020, and 95 per cent said they faced added IT security challenges with provision of large-scale remote access for employees and managing shadow IT usage.

“The pandemic outbreak resulted in lockdown restrictions being imposed, and working from home became a way of life for most employees. Organisations in India found themselves having to restructure their network and security fabrics overnight, compressing several years’ worth of IT changes into just a few weeks,” Balasubramanian said when asked about the reason for increase in cyberattacks in India.

He said that in the rush to enable remote access, many companies allowed connectivity from unmanaged home personal computers that often lacked basic cyberhygiene such as updated software patches, anti-malware, among others. Even personal mobile devices were allowed access to networks.

“In addition, many Infosec (information security) and DevOps (development and operations) teams rushing to the cloud did not scale their cloud security postures to the level of their traditional data centres. All this resulted in increased opportunities for cyber criminals to carry out attacks on organisations,” Balasubramanian said.

According to Check Point research, an organisation in India sees three times more attacks than an average organisation globally due to limited awareness and poor cyber hygiene.

“Between the second and third quarter, India saw a 39.2 per cent increase in the number of attacks. The top industries affected by ransomware in India in the third quarter were manufacturing, government and military, finance and banking, software vendors and healthcare,” Balasubramanian said.

Globally, Check Point also noticed that offensive cyber tools were used to carry out national intelligence gathering, and espionage operations appear to have expanded.

“In fact, the new cyber intelligence has become the weapon of choice of many countries. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a sharp rise in cyberattacks including an attack attributed to the DarkHotel APT group in an operation which involved other healthcare and humanitarian organisations,” Balasubramanian said.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Actress Kasthuri released from jail, says ‘I thank those who made me raging storm’

Kidnapped for ransom in 1998, 26/11 survivor Gautam Adani faces biggest trial

100 engineering colleges in Karnataka to be ‘adopted’ by corporates by next year: IT Minister Kharge

Siddaramaiah defends BPL ration card cancellation, says only ineligible beneficiaries affected

China announces new policy measures to protect its exports from Trump’s new tariff threat

Renovated Medical Oncology OPD and Chemotherapy Day Care Centre inaugurated at Kasturba Hospital, Manipal

Karnataka Health Minister justifies revision of user fees in state-run hospitals

Related Articles More

BTS2024: If India can make rocket sensors, it can also make car sensors, says ISRO chief Somanath

World COPD Day: Know your lung function

SpaceX successfully launches ISRO’s 4,700 kg communication satellite from US

As AI and megaplatforms take over, the hyperlinks that built the web may face extinction

Plastic waste could double by 2050, researchers find, suggest policies to address issue

MUST WATCH

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing

DK Shivakumar

Rose Cultivation

Geethotsava

Naxal Operation


Latest Additions

Siddaramaiah says confident of winning all three bypolls in Karnataka

Hop on! IT Minister Priyank Kharge checks out Uber Shuttle at Bengaluru Tech Summit

Actress Kasthuri released from jail, says ‘I thank those who made me raging storm’

Kidnapped for ransom in 1998, 26/11 survivor Gautam Adani faces biggest trial

AIMPLB to hold its annual general sessions in Bengaluru from November 23

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.