While methods such as generative user awareness remain among the most efficient and low-cost mechanisms for preventing cybersecurity incidents, they are becoming less effective as attacks become more sophisticated.
The Indian cyber security agency has issued a warning against 'Royal ransomware' virus that attacks critical sectors like communications, healthcare, education and even individuals and seeks pay-off in Bitcoins for not leaking personal data in the public domain.
The growing caution among hospitals is being driven by a rise in double-extortion ransomware attacks, AI-enabled phishing, deepfake fraud, and vulnerabilities in connected medical devices.
About 67 per cent of Indian organisations whose data was encrypted paid a ransom to get back their data-a slight increase on the previous year when 66 per cent paid a ransom. In fact, Indian entities were the most likely to pay a ransom of all countries surveyed: the global average was just under a third (32 per cent). These were the findings of the global survey 'The State of Ransomware 2021' conducted by cybersecurity firm Sophos. The survey findings further stated that the total cost of recovery from a ransomware attack has more than doubled in a year, increasing from $761,106 in 2020 to $1.85 million in 2021 globally.
India saw a huge surge in ransomware and IoT cyber attacks in the first half of 2023, as criminals shifted to stealthier means of malicious activities, according to a report by SonicWall. While major economies like the US and the UK witnessed a decline in ransomware attacks, India (up 133 per cent) and Germany (52 per cent) are among the countries that saw a huge surge in such attacks, the 2023 SonicWall Mid-Year Cyber Threat Report for the January-June period stated. At the global level, a variety of other attacks have trended up, including cryptojacking (399 per cent), IoT malware (37 per cent) and encrypted threats (22 per cent), the report said.
'The use of AI, especially genAI is only going to get worse, especially in an enterprise ecosystem.'
More than one million cybersecurity incidents were flagged within 10 days.
While advancements in biotechnology hold immense promise for health and innovation, they also come with significant risks if misused.
PIO finds similarities between WannaCry code and other tools created by Lazarus Group in the past.
With thousands of people receiving ransom messages from cybercriminals every day, Devangshu Dutta explains how you can defeat the hackers.
The threat was 'escalating' as cyber experts warned that another attack was imminent in coming days.
It said the ransomware called 'WannaCry' or 'WannaCrypt' encrypts the computer's hard disk drive and then spreads laterally between computers on the same LAN.
'They (the ransomware attackers) are not after any VVIP data.' 'Had that been the case, they would have quietly installed a different malware.'
'We are also conducting ongoing training and grooming at the branch level to pre-empt such cyberattacks.'
'The skilling gap is a serious issue.' 'We partner with the government on skilling, but as a company we have several skilling programmes, and we work closely with the partner ecosystem.
The second cyber attack on AIIMS took place just last fortnight, but the hospital's cyber security systems were able to successfully thwart this attempt.
The attempted attack on the ICMR website was prevented by the firewall/security measures of NIC, they said, adding further steps are being taken to enhance cyber security.
'As long as businesses do not consider cyber recovery an integral part of their enterprise IT, they remain greatly vulnerable.'
Confident that a cyber attack won't affect you? Think again, says Nandakishore Harikumar.
Even as India's internet base continues to widen, with the country set to have over 900 internet users by 2025, a parallel rise in cyber threats has become a matter of huge concern. Experts say that the sudden surge in digital adoption left little time to develop a cybersecurity backbone for the country. This has put large amounts of data at risk.
Reports suggest that Russia's biggest oil company, Ukraine's international airport as well as global shipping firm AP Moller-Maersk have been impacted by the attack.
Park is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Security researchers with Kaspersky Lab have recorded more than 45,000 attacks in 99 countries, including the UK, Russia, Ukraine, India, China, Italy, and Egypt.
The CBI, which is the National Central Bureau for India tasked with coordination with the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol), immediately swung into action and alerted all Interpol Liaison Officers (ILOs) to alert their respective police organisations about such unscrupulous supplies, they said.
Internet users in India is attracting cyber criminals, as these are first-timers, who can be duped easily
Earlier last month, for the first time ever, an anonymous hacker was served with a restraining order as a non-fungible token (NFT), reports Shivani Shinde.
The key threats seen during this period ranged from phishing attacks to rogue apps disguised as COVID-19 information apps that targeted users sensitive data.
The bogus message goes on to say that the user's Internet address was identified by the FBI or the Department of Justice's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section as having been associated with child pornography sites or other illegal online activity, the FBI said in a statement.
India continues to rank as the third top source of overall malicious activity including spam, malware, phishing hosts and bots
Biden has reiterated America's support for India's permanent membership on a reformed UNSC and its entry into the NSG during his first in-person bilateral meeting with Modi at the White House.
Scammers and fraudsters keep coming up with creative ways to gain access to sensitive information and only by being alert and aware of such attempts can data privacy be truly maintained.
Deputy US Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen on Wednesday announced that three indictments have been unsealed in the matter that collectively charge five Chinese nationals with computer hacking and charge two Malaysian nationals with helping some of those hackers target victims and sell the fruits of their crime.
'The hackers' objectives were centred around smearing India's reputation, causing productivity loss, creating operational damage and seeking financial gains.'
Do not click on any pop-ups, links in messages or notification balloons if you are off the corporate VPN, warns Niranjankumar Laxman Upadhye.
'The major worry for everyone using Internet-linked devices today is whether the latest download on his smartphone or laptop is a bait from a digital hacker who is out to secure access to his hard-earned money,' notes T A Ramalingam, chief technical officer, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.
The security firm predicted cybercriminals will focus their attacks more on data stored in the cloud versus data stored on the network.
'We are in touch independently with leading players, and they are denying it as well.' 'The Indian digital footprint is rising, creating new opportunities.'
'Information highways are getting stronger and being strengthened.' 'Occasionally, accidents could occur. But do you stop constructing highways because two motor cars collide?'
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