Indian Companies Face Double The Number Of Digital Threats And Attacks, Suggest Cybersecurity Report

Updated: Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 19:09 [IST]

Cyber threats and cyberattacks have been growing steadily. However, Indians and Indian companies seem to be preferred targets, suggests a new report. There appears to be a sharp increase in cyberattacks, with Indian institutions suffering a disproportionately high number of attacks.

A recent report released by Check Point, an American-Israeli software company, has revealed that cyberattacks have increased. While this is expected, it is concerning to note that Indian companies are being increasingly targeted for multiple reasons.

Russo-Ukrainian Conflict’s Disruptive Influence Waning On Frequency And Intensity Of Cyberattacks?

There are several Active Persistent Threat groups some of which are state sponsored. These groups are heavily funded to detect vulnerabilities in devices and networks. The groups that try and exploit the security flaws before they are discovered and patched.

After the conflict in Ukraine started, the number and intensity of cyberattacks dropped significantly. However, the disruptive impact of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict on the cyber landscape has relatively reduced in recent months, claims a new report of cybersecurity and digital threats, compiled by Check Point, an American-Israeli software company.

The Cyberthreat landscape has returned to a state of “normality,” the sudden rise in the number of cyberattacks suggests. The report attempts to unravel the use of new evasive tactics, frequent hacktivism-based attacks, and a daily barrage of ransomware targeting numerous organizations.

Surge In Cyberattacks Globally But Indian Companies Are The Primary Target?

In the second quarter of 2023, there was an 8 percent increase in global average weekly attacks compared to the previous year. The average number of attacks per organization per week reached 1258 cyberattacks. The current year witnessed the highest number of cyberattacks in the past 2 years, observed Check Point Research.

While the global average has risen in the single digits, countries in Africa and the APAC region witnessed a 23 percent and 22 percent jump in cyberattacks respectively.

The latest report on cyberattacks points out a peculiar case of a single Indian organization that endured an average of 2,146 cyberattacks per week. This is significantly higher than the global average of 1,239 attacks per organization.

Not just Indian companies but globally, businesses operating in the healthcare, education and research, government/military, and insurance/legal sector are increasingly targeted. The report indicates the education and research sector faced the highest number of attacks per week globally.

Multiple cybersecurity companies have observed a sharp rise in ransomware attacks. More specifically, cybercrimes involving Generative AI tools and platforms have risen significantly in a short span of time. At 29 percent and 21 percent increase, APAC and Europe saw a significant year-over-year jump in ransomware attacks per organization, the report points out.

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