India Unprepared For Cyber Warfare

At a time when the world is preparing for possible cyber warfare, India is not fully prepared for cyber attacks in defense and security. According to studies done by various research organizations, cyber attacks on Indian government organizations rose by an alarming rate of 136% last year.

“India is way behind the international standards of defence against cyber attacks practiced across the world,” said Ashish Soni, founder and CEO of Orkash Services Pvt Ltd, a high technology, market intelligence and operational risk management services company, at the 10th Indo-US Economic Summit organized by Indo America Chamber of Commerce (IACC).

On the other hand, market reports suggested that the cyber attacks on financial services organizations surged by 126% last year. “According to reports, sophisticated cyber assaults like ransomware and spear-phishing has cost Indian individuals and companies some $4 billion,” said Asoke K Laha, National President of IACC.

He added that the most common form of cyber threats includes malware and Internet attacks among others. “Last year brought a marked increase in the frequency of cyber attacks on Indian assets, with government and private infrastructure equally affected”, noted Laha.

However, it should be noted that currently India has four agencies to deal with cyber threats and provide security in the Internet space. CERT-In, a national nodal agency for responding to computer security systems was set up in 2004. It is primarily responsible for collection, analysis and alert of cyber security among other. Another such agency is NCIIPC whose primary function is to protect critical information infrastructure against cyber terrorism, warfare and other threats.

“National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) is a technical intelligence agency which falls under National Security Adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office while National Cyber Coordination Centre is supposed to scan through the entire cyber traffic and alert government organization against plausible cyber threats and attacks,” stated Laha.

Interestingly, India and the US have collaborated to cyber terrorism and had set up India US Cyber Security Forum in 2001. In 2010, a new India-US Counter Terrorism Cooperation Initiative was signed between the two countries to provide cyber security and critical infrastructural protection.