A cybersecurity company has warned that Indian businesses continue to face significant cyber threats, particularly from ransomware attacks, requiring them to urgently deploy threat intelligence and industrial cybersecurity solutions to safeguard theirs and users data.
Claiming that the ransomware attacks in 2024 will follow a trend of major financial losses for companies due to cyberattacks in 2023, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky says that its research indicates that both information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems in India are vulnerable.
A prized target for hackers
According to Kaspersky, India’s large user base and innovative enterprises are the factors attracting cybercriminals. “Globally, Kaspersky researches have shown that India is consistently among the top 12 targeted countries and territories for Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs),” it said.Data from Kaspersky shows ransomware as the leading cyber threat in 2024.
“With the growth in use of the digital medium within organisations in India, it is inevitable that the local ICT supply chain is stretched with visible vulnerabilities that become targets for cyberattacks,” it added.
As per a report by the company, over 200,000 ransomware incidents were detected by Kaspersky solutions in India during 2023. Ransomware groups like Fonix and LockBit targeted Indian organisations across various sectors, including manufacturing, retail, agriculture, media and healthcare,” the company said in its report.
“For three years in a row, file encryption has been the #1 problem faced by enterprises and organisations worldwide and in India. From the basic ransomware attacks like the Wannacry in 2017, we have reached the era of Ransomware 3.0 where we see triple extortion in the form of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), reselling of data, and public blackmailing,” says Jaydeep Singh, General Manager, South Asia, Kaspersky.
Kaspersky emphasises the need for stronger cybersecurity defences, including threat intelligence capabilities, to combat evolving ransomware threats.
