Nearly 83% of Indian organisations face cyberattacks last year: Report

About 83% of Indian organisations faced cybersecurity breach incidents in the past year, and almost half of them (48%) reported encountering 10 or more such incidents, leading to significant financial losses, said a new report said on Tuesday. 

A new report by Cloudflare, a company specialising in security, performance, and reliability, which surveyed 4,009 cybersecurity decision-makers and leaders across organisations of various sizes, revealed that the majority of these incidents were linked to web attacks, phishing attempts, and supply chain attacks. Respondents highlighted that the primary objective of cybercriminals was financial gain, followed by activities like spyware installation and data theft. 

Despite the frequent cybersecurity incidents in India, only 52% of those surveyed feel well-prepared, leading to substantial financial losses. Nearly half, 47%, reported financial impacts surpassing $1 million in the past year, while 27% suffered losses of at least $2 million, as per the report. 

The consequences of these incidents extend to organisational operations, affecting 46% of respondents who had to reduce hybrid work, implement layoffs, and delay expansion plans. 

A significant challenge identified by 57% of Indian business leaders in terms of cybersecurity readiness is a shortage of talent. Additionally, 44% cited a lack of funding as a barrier to protecting their businesses, as highlighted in the report. 

“With India’s growing digital prowess and continued business reliance on technology, it is critical for organisations to foster a security culture that empowers their leaders to approach cybersecurity as a strategic business imperative. This will facilitate organisations in not just reducing expenditure but also ensuring a sturdier, more streamlined cybersecurity framework,” said Jonathon Dixon, Vice-President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Japan and China at Cloudflare. 

In a separate report by Quick Heal Technologies, a global cybersecurity solutions provider, data for the second quarter of 2023 highlighted a staggering 102.8 million cyberattacks detected across India from April to June.  

The statistics from the Quick Heal report unveiled a high-risk landscape for laptops and PCs in India, with over 1 million cyberthreats detected daily. These threats encompassed various categories, including Worms (9.80%), Potentially Unwanted Applications (7.03%), Exploits (6.90%), Cryptojacking (2.12%), Ransomware (0.32%), Adware (0.84%), Infector (35.15%), and Trojans (37.8%).