Disruptive Cyberattacks

According to Palo Alto Networks report, 67% of essential services in India witnessed more than 50% disruptive cyberattacks in 2022-2023. This is a significant increase from the previous year, when only 45% of essential services experienced such attacks.

The result was found after with 200 Indian IT decision-makers, CTOs, CIOs, and Senior Directors were surveyed to understand the state of cybersecurity in India. The respondents belonged to sectors such as Banking & Finance, Essential Services, Telco/Tech/Communications, Retail/Hotel/F&B, Transport & Logistics, and Manufacturing.

The report also found that the most common types of cyberattacks against essential services were ransomware attacks, phishing attacks, and denial-of-service attacks. Ransomware attacks are when hackers encrypt a victim's data and demand a ransom payment in order to decrypt it. Phishing attacks are when hackers send emails that appear to be from a legitimate source in order to trick the victim into clicking on a malicious link or opening an infected attachment. Denial-of-service attacks are when hackers overwhelm a victim's website or server with traffic, making it unavailable to legitimate users.

The survey findings revealed that, although India saw a remarkable 75% increase in cybersecurity budget allocation for 2023 compared to the previous year (one of the highest increases in the APAC region), it also experienced the highest number of disruptive cyberattacks.

Furthermore, India faces a substantial risk of cyber-attacks targeting its critical infrastructure, public sector, and essential services. A notable 67% of Indian government and essential service entities reported encountering a surge of over 50% in disruptive attacks. Prioritizing the cybersecurity of essential service networks is paramount as it safeguards critical infrastructure and ensures seamless delivery of crucial services, thereby maintaining public safety and national stability.

The report also found that transport, manufacturing, and public sectors were the most affected by cyberattacks against essential services. By taking appropriate steps, essential services organizations can protect themselves from cyberattacks and keep their critical infrastructure safe.

Securing essential services networks is crucial to protect critical infrastructure and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of essential services, safeguarding public safety and national stability. Moving forward, Enterprises, regardless of their size, must proactively adopt a Zero Trust architecture to secure distributed enterprise networks.