Kaspersky predicts rise in cyber espionage for India in 2022

With 2021 on its way out and planning for 2022 ongoing, Kaspersky has produced a list that urges greater caution against cyberattacks in the new year. The findings are part of Kaspersky’s latest ‘Cyberthreats to Financial Organizations in 2022’ report. It is aimed at helping businesses, concerned authorities, and consumers at large, plan for eventualities such as globally coordinated cyber attacks that seem to be acquiring scale around the world.

The cybersecurity leader continues to ensure that the APAC region actively remains under its radar for identifying newer range of cyberthreats and the groups responsible for them. It considers this region as among the hottest targets in the world for cyberattacks, for reasons including rapidly increasing usage of digital technologies matched by a proportional lack of awareness regarding cybersecurity, as well as limited resources deployed towards mitigation.

At a time when most organisations would be making plans for the new year, reviewing strategies and allocating budgets, Kaspersky has attempted to reasonably predict trends in the world of cybersecurity. Based on its data and advanced cyber-intelligence through various reports on cybersecurity, it has found India making it to the top 5 mentions among targets for cyberattacks, with attention to cyber espionage. The kind of attacks that are expected to increase – APT (Advanced Persistent Threats) cyberattacks with the intention to collect valuable geopolitical, business and military intelligence.

The other countries on the top 5 list include China and Pakistan. Thus, India is in the middle of the hottest cyber conflict zones in the APAC region. Kaspersky’s findings also identify Singapore as among the major hotspots for cyberattacks. This should lead Indian businesses, which have close tie-ups with entities as well as presence in Singapore, to sit up and take notice. Singapore is expected to witness data breaches and those affecting cryptocurrency and the newly established NFT industry.

Talking about the implications of its latest report on cyberthreats faced by APAC, Mr. Dipesh Kaura, General Manager, Kaspersky (South Asia) says, “India continues to be on the hit list of some very sophisticated cyber criminals and groups of attackers from around the world. Its bustling economy and expected growth are among the key reasons for the elevated level of threat it faces. The only correct response is ‘prevention is better than cure’ – to invest in infrastructure and capabilities aimed at improving cyber intelligence by improving prediction capabilities. At Kaspersky, this is one of our key offerings to our clients. India has recently taken strong steps towards enhanced cyber threat vigilance and this is commendable.”

Says Saurabh Sharma, Sr. Security Researcher (GReAT), Kaspersky (APAC), “Proactive, concerted action against cyber attacks can help to stem the damage that cyber attacks intend to cause. It is the need of the hour for all data-driven business and institutional processes. At Kaspersky, we have a number of offerings that help our clients to ward off such threats. Our SIS Threat Data Feeds provides an ongoing stream of data that helps our clients understand the environment of threat they operate in, in real time. With our detailed information on zero-day attacks, malware, botnets, and others, clients can plan their cybersecurity outlay and monitor it for rapid response.”

The APAC region has seen a sharp rise in cyberthreats and cyberattacks in the recent years. The widespread adoption of digital technologies notwithstanding, awareness levels and security infrastructure remain low, helping such attackers to get away without so much as being identified for the crimes committed. The only answer to this is constantly upgrading cybersecurity infrastructure and upskilling of personnel authorized to bring cybercriminals to book.