Cyber Security: What India Needs to Do

The invasion of an individual’s privacy, whether online or offline, is a criminal offense that is punishable by law. Despite the creation of several stringent hacking and information breaching laws, cyber hackers do not appear to be worried by the consequences of their actions. In fact, since cyber crimes are anonymous, their popularity has only grown in recent years.

Currently, India is seeing a surge in the number of internet users. The country is the second largest online market, with over 460 million individuals using the internet regularly. By 2021, experts think that the number will grow to 625.8 million. Of course, with so many people using the internet every single day, it has become important to secure cyberspace and make it a safe place for adults and children alike.

To better understand the kind of cyber security measures required, let’s first take a look at the kind of threats that we might have to face online:

1. Ransomware: A malware where the attacker locks the victim’s system. This is done using encryption and the attacker demands money to decrypt it.
2. Malware: A file that harms the computer. This includes viruses, Trojans and worms.
3. Social engineering: Users are tricked into breaking their security procedures, which allows thieves to steal their data or money.
4. Phishing: Fraudulent mails are sent to users that steal sensitive information from the victim’s computer.

Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and other organisations spend a large amount of money to secure their online data. At an individual level, the threats we face include identity theft, extortion attempts and loss of data like important photos and files. On a national level, digital security is needed to protect political, military and infrastructural assets of a nation.

Various countries have realized the magnitude of this threat and plan to deploy measures to combat it. Let’s take a look and what India needs to do to make the internet a safe space:

• Use Cyber Weapons: These weapons are actually bits of software that can destroy the adversary’s network.
• Develop Cyber Doctrine: The Indian military needs to build a strong defensive network called the Cyber Doctrine. Well planned tactics and products that can be developed and help shield or protect the digital data.
• Proper Training and Education: India has several reputed institutions working in the field of cyber space. The Computer Emergency Response Team and National Technical Research Organisation are doing a reasonable job, but they lack skilled manpower. As a nation, we need to significantly invest in training and development in the cyber security space.
• Adopting Cyber Defence Tactics: This means that when an attacker uses a different method, the threat should be detected and destroyed. It involves providing a two-way shield to your system.
• Cyber Insurance: On an individual as well as business level, a digital insurance policy protects users from internet-based risks. These policies provide cover against loses like data destruction, extortion, theft and hacking. If you haven’t already bought a cyber insurance policy, check out the various options available with Finserv MARKETS, today!

For these measures to be successful, people have to be educated about these threats as well as the preventive measures that are being taken. Only then will cyber crime be squashed.

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