These Indian Cities Are Promising Victims Of Cyber Attacks

According to a report published by Sophos, an UK-based endpoint security provider, India ranked third in the number of cyber attacks in 2018 across the world, only after Mexico and France. Their survey showed that 76% of Indian firms were hit by cybercriminals and the rate is expected to rise in 2019.

Cities At Risk

Cybercriminals have started adapting to advanced cybersecurity techniques, spreading to various geographical locations and business sectors across India. Not only metro but non-metro areas also can become their targets. Taking Jalalpur as an example, which is listed as one of the top 15 cities most at risk of cyber attacks in 2019. The list was created by Quick Heal Security Labs, arranging in descending order: Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune, and New Delhi. The rest of the list was published in the report.

Targeted Sectors

Data shared by Indian Cyber Security Establishment showed that attacks had been aiming at where money derived. In other words, cybercriminals made most of their money from financial networks and government units. In 2018, one in every five attacks was targeted at financial services; the same proportion was recorded in government departments. These sectors were followed by power plants, oil and gas pipelines, contributing 15% of the total incidents.

Possible Causes 

When asked for the forecast, Jiten Jain, CEO of Indian Infosec Consortium, said that cyber attacks would increase if the internet usage kept increasing, which was supported by the “Digital India” campaign of the government.

Besides, the insufficiency of security expertise is considered one of the greatest issues in India. In a survey conducted by Sophos, 92 percent of IT companies in India do not have a security team strong enough to properly investigate, detect and deal with cyber attack incidents. Cybercriminals usually target mobile devices because they are the most popular used to access the Internet in the country in these recent years.