Cyberattacks and Disruptive Malwares

Cybersecurity has become more than a technological concern. Because the cybersecurity professional’s role now touches disciplines throughout a business, everyone with responsibility for cybersecurity requires training that spans IT, cybersecurity frameworks, business and interpersonal skills. The increasing Geo-political conflict triggers an increase in cyberattacks and the rise of ‘disruption and destruction’ malware.

According to Research and Markets, the global big data market is expected to reach Rs 34,943.77 Billion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of around 12.81 percent making data as an influential factor in business and economies around the world. Out of this, the valuation is expected to reach Rs 558.24 Billion in India by 2027, making it one of the top 10 markets for data and analytics. 

 
The increasing volume of data management and analysis in addition to the advances in technology add reasons to examine why cybersecurity is critical and how to ensure we stay ahead of cyberthreats. The Dell Technologies Global Data Protection Index Report 2022 suggests, 86% of businesses globally, have experienced a cybersecurity incident led disruption in the last 12 months. India is especially vulnerable having faced 18 million cyber-attacks in just the first quarter of 2022. 

 
A report looks back on a tumultuous 2022, which saw cyberattacks reach an all-time high in response to the Russo-Ukrainian war. Education and Research remain the most targeted sector, but attacks on the healthcare sector registered a 74% increase year-on-year. There is increasing Hacktivism - Ransomware Extortion  and Cloud Third Party Threat in the country.

 
Going forward, there is no doubt we will see an increase in the volume of attacks over the next twelve months. Cloud migration has created a wider attack surface for cybercriminals, and the legitimate tools we all use will be further manipulated by cybercriminals. This has already been demonstrated in the case of ChatGPT, with Russian cybercriminals trying to bypass OpenAI’s API restrictions and gain access to the chatbot for malicious reasons, said expert from Check Point Software. 

S Mohini Ratna, Editor, VARINDIA