Indian firms are still not taking cyberattacks more seriously
Indian enterprises have rapidly adapted technology but at the same time, they have failed to properly safeguard themselves from attacks of a digital nature as much as they have taken measures when it comes to physical attacks on their establishments. Reports say that almost 60% of the software used by them is unregulated making them vulnerable to cyberattacks. Here's all about it.
The toll is already high
This core vulnerability in their digital infrastructures becomes costly when the companies get subjected to cyberattacks. And these attacks are not that minuscule that it can be termed as an irregularity or cost of doing business, in fact; according to India Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), 50,300 cybersecurity incidents like phishing, website intrusions took place in the country in 2016 alone.
More vigilance is needed
In recent times, India along with others have been severely hit with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks like WannaCry and Fireball. Although other countries reacted quickly to prevent the spread of these attacks, India was grasping straws as it was severely unprepared to handle cyberattacks on such a massive scale and the casualties were far more because it was not quickly contained.
Pirated software, unregulated usage
A recent EY survey pointed that over 49% of security threats regarding malware arise from the usage of unlicensed software and 26% employees admitted that they have been installing software on their work computers that were unlicensed, unregulated and potentially infested with malware. It goes without saying that all of these add up to a big gaping hole that allows cyberattacks to happen.
Ups and downs
There is a glimmer of hope, as large corporations and MNCs are now shaking off their cobwebs and are starting to create software asset management offices to make the system robust by negotiating licensing terms with software vendors and also ensuring compliance. However, middle market companies are still at risk, as they still ignore the need of taking proper cybersecurity measures.
