IBM makes multi-million-dollar investment in first cyber security hub in India

IBM Corp. said on Wednesday it is launching a cyber security hub in Bengaluru, India, to address the concerns of its clients across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

The security hub will be one of the only two centres globally, the other one situated in the US. IBM said it is a “multi-million-dollar investment in its resources to help businesses prepare for and manage the growing threat of cyberattacks to organizations across the APAC region.”

Without sharing specifics, Sandip Patel, managing director, IBM India said this would be one of IBM’s largest investments in capabilities this year.  “The new facility represents a strategic hub for IBM cybersecurity activities in the region, which also include IBM Managed Security Services, access to IBM's team of incident response experts, as well as IBM Consulting, IBM Research, IBM India Software Labs, and IBM Garage, a collaborative approach designed to fast-track innovation,” IBM said in a statement.

The centerpiece of this investment is the new IBM Security Command Center, the first-of-its-kind in the region, for training cybersecurity response techniques through highly realistic, simulated cyberattacks – designed to prepare everyone from C-suite through technical staff.

The investment also includes a new Security Operation Centre (SOC) which is part of IBM's network of existing global SOCs - providing 24x7 security response services to clients around the world. IBM's global SOC network now includes nine locations such as Atlanta (US), Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, Poland, and Saudi Arabia. IBM's new SOC will have a capacity of 600 security response operators who will provide managed security services to clients across the globe.

According to the latest IBM global analysis, Asia is the most targeted region for cyberattacks – representing 26% of attacks analysed in 2021. 

Analysts agree the need for a security hub like this is paramount. “India has become a hub for cyber attacks as it advances in its digital, startup, and ‘Make in India’ mission, increases its data centre capacity, and enhances its citizen services. So, the need for a SOC has dramatically increased in India," said Sanchit Vir Gogia, CEO and chief analyst, Greyhound Research.

Unfortunately, he added, that many Indian organisations don’t see it that way and continue to see SOC purely from a cost lens, which "puts them at grave risk, especially as they adopt more open, API-based, cloud-delivered services". 

Gogia believes that investments from a company like IBM bodes well for the industry and the country. He added, thought, that the success of such a security hub "lies in the applicability of the security solutions to meet the specific needs of the client and the ability to use new technologies like automation, AI, and analytics in sync with the human element”.