India Inc at greater risk: 13% rise in ransomware attacks

New Delhi: A new report published on Tuesday shows an alarming 13 per cent increase in ransomware attacks globally in the past year. This is a record jump, more than an increase documented in the last 5 years put together.

According to the Verizon Business 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report (2022 DBIR), heightened geopolitical frictions are compelling increased sophistication, visibility, and awareness around nation-state associated cyber-attacks.

"The continued explosion of connected devices and widespread digitisation in multiple sectors has increased the likelihood of cyber-attacks, especially ransomware," said Anshuman Sharma, Head Investigative Response, APJ at Verizon.

While the pandemic led to a rise in ransomware attacks, the inaction, or the delay in the implementation of technical and infrastructure changes in the new normal has made organisations more vulnerable.

"The emergence of Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) and the adoption of crypto currency could be a contributing factor as well," Sharma added.

The report analysed 23,896 security incidents, of which 5,212 were confirmed breaches.

"Roughly 4 in 5 breaches can be attributed to organised crime, with external actors approximately 4 times more likely to cause breaches in an organization than internal actors," the findings showed.

Human element was involved in 82 per cent of all breaches analysed over the past year.

About 25 per cent of total breaches in the report were the result of social engineering attacks.

As India Inc across industries adopt a hybrid work model, new security challenges and complexities continue to emerge.

"India can be transformed into a digitally-empowered society and address the emerging challenges within the technology space if organisations invest more in security along with the government's robust cyber security strategy and approach," Sharma said.

With inputs from IANS