Cyberattacks On The Rise in India, As Government Details Steps to Thwart Hacks

As Indians embarks on a journeying to not just recognize the use cases of technology but encompass them in daily life, security becomes a critical aspect that cannot exist overlooked. Highlighting India's efforts in the area of cybersecurity, the Ministry building of Electronics and Information technology (MeitY) of Bharat has identified more 53,000 cyberattacks in 2017.

According to a written statement by the It minister Ravi Shankar Prasad conveyed in the Rajya Sabha, the common types of attacks included phishing and intrusive attacks, ransomware, incidents of defacing websites, and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. He also noted that there was a 5 percent increment in the number of attacks over 2016.

Prasad also said Figurer Emergency Response Team of India(CERT-In) periodically sends alerts about cyber attacks or vulnerabilities to ensure cyber security of personal computers. He added custom warnings are also sent to major government and individual organizations to foreclose breaches of public or privileged information.

India Witnessed 5% Increase in Cyberattacks in 2017: IT Minister

The minister besides said that a National Cyber Coordination Center (NCCC) has been set under CERT-In to proactively share information and prompt actions to prevent or in response to cyber attacks. He informed the parliament that the first phase of NCCC is at present operational.

Prasad as well highlighted the need for "due diligence" on the role of service providers to ensure that users don't share sensitive or inappropriate data on the internet or social media, especially that targets minors. He likewise said that social media is being used as a tool for defamation and for inciting hate and terror, and assured the parliament that the IT Human activity of 2000, besides as the IT Rules of 2011 (Acting Guidelines), allow blocking and removal of such content.

CERT-In, under the Government of India, has also entered into several memoranda of understanding with other counterpart agencies from other countries including the U.s., United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, Nippon, Singapore, Commonwealth of australia, Malaysia, South Korea, Canada, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh for collaborative exchanges of data and means to deal with cyber threats.