A notable 67% of Indian government and essential service entities encountered a surge of over 50% in disruptive cyber attacks in 2022–2023, as per the results of a survey done by Palo Alto Networks. The survey revealed that the country’s critical infrastructure, public sector and essential services face a substantial risk of such attacks.
The findings also revealed that despite India’s 75% increase in cybersecurity budget allocation for 2023 compared to the previous year – which is one of the highest increases in the APAC region – it also experienced the highest number of disruptive cyber attacks.
The cybersecurity company said that it surveyed 200 Indian IT decision-makers and C-suite executives and senior directors to understand the state of cybersecurity in India. The respondents belonged to sectors such as banking and finance, essential services, telco/tech/communications, retail/, transport and Logistics, and manufacturing.
Which industry is hit the most?
According to the results of the survey, 66% of manufacturing firms in India faced increased risks from unsecured IoT devices connected to the network, which is far more than other sectors. Also, 83% of transport and logistics organisations perceive their risk level as high or very high.
An overwhelming 95% of businesses in India claim they are actively moving to an increasingly automated security stack and 48% of public, transport and Logistics organisations as well as 50% of manufacturing organisations sectors believe 5G adoption will widen security loopholes.
A higher than average (34%) of banking and financial services in the country said that the cloud attacks will disrupt business. Additionally, 69% of telecom companies faced newfound risks from increased reliance on cloud-based services and apps.
“Securing essential services networks is crucial to protect critical infrastructure and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of essential services, safeguarding public safety and national stability. Our findings show that the transport, manufacturing, and public sectors have borne the brunt of advanced attacks,” said Anil Valluri, managing director and regional vice president of India and SAARC, Palo Alto Networks.
Cybersecurity risks of businesses
The report also found that 45% of Indian businesses saw more than 50% increase in disruptive attacks – the highest in APAC. About 35% Indian companies are more concerned about social engineering attacks than the APAC average (29%).
Also, 60% of organisations are concerned about malware (ransomware, spyware, adware) attacks the most, and 57% of telecom companies are concerned about ransomware the most.
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