Building cyber resilience: India's integrated cybersecurity approach

The scale of cyberattacks will continue to break records. Organizations should remain aware of the risks and ensure to have the appropriate solutions in place

- Ashok Pandey

Cybercrime has shifted from trivial online crimes to election meddling orchestrated by state-sponsored actors, large-scale ransomware attacks, and cyber espionage campaigns. Current cyberattacks can cripple business operations. In addition, there has been a rise in cybercriminal activity targeting critical national infrastructure, such as power grids and hospitals, which often puts people's lives in danger.

Raj Sivaraju, President, APAC, Arete shared his thoughts around breaches, cyber threat evolution, and future.

Significant data breaches

Last year, data breach allegations surrounding a leading Indian platform that allegedly resulted in the worst cases of data leaks though the company denied the claim) came under the Reserve Bank of India’s RBI’s) scanner. The mere thought of approximately 9.9 crores consumer data breach sent the nation into an unprecedented frenzy. However, this isn’t the first instance India’s cybersecurity vulnerability has been exploited, nor will it be the last. Below are some significant data breaches seen from last year till June 2022.

▾ Oil India Ltd. - Ransom of ₹58 Crore

Between October 2021 and April 2022, the government-owned oil & gas extraction company Oil India Ltd. reported cases of cyberattacks. It also found a ransom note on one of the infected computers, demanding $7,500,000 (approximately ₹58 crores).

▾ Razorpay - Lost ₹7.3 Crores

Online payment gateway Razorpay said hackers stole ₹7.3 crores worth of funds in 831 transactions over three months. According to media reports, "an unauthorized actor(s) with malicious intent" manipulated the authorization process of the gateway to authenticate these transactions.

▾ PNB - 180 Mn PNB customers exposed