Ransomware attacks in India rise most in three years

The shift towards digital medium in India has a price.

In the first six months of this year, ransomware attacks across the country have touched 37, the highest since last three years, and a 42% rise over last year.

There were 26 ransomware attacks in 2016, two in 2015 and nil in 2014, according to the information provided by Ministry of IT and Electronics accessed by DNA Money.

Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a ransom is paid.

The recent ransomware attacks globally which had hit India too include WannaCry in May and Petya in June. The operations at India's largest container port -- Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai were partially affected by Petya.

The recent ransomware attacks have prompted the ministry to fast-track measures related to cyber security. The national cyber security policy which was formulated in 2013 is now being reframed with the change in times, a senior official from the ministry said. "The policy will create a framework for comprehensive and a collaborative response to deal with the issue of cyber security at all levels."

In India, 33 incidents impacted 255 systems during May-June this year due to WannaCry infections. Sector wise -- four such incidents each in central and state government, six in private sector, one each at academia, airlines, telecom player, four at banks and 12 were reported by individuals to Cert-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) under the ministry.

There are about 500 million internet users against a mobile subscriber base of 1 billion.

According to available information, internet traffic in India is expected to grow fourfold from 2016-2021, at a compound annual growth rate of 32%. Also, the busy-hour internet traffic will grow over six fold in the same period at an annual growth rate of 45%, the official said citing Cisco Visual Network Index. The internet traffic will reach 4.7 exabytes per month in 2021, up from 1.2 exabytes per month in 2016.

The official said a National Cyber Coordination Center (NCCC) has recently been made operational. NCCC will ensure real-time threat assessment and situational awareness, allowing timely alerts and analysis of cyber attacks. The minister for IT and electronics Ravi Shankar Prasad has been regularly taking meetings of the concerned departments to strengthen the cyber space.

A Cyber Swachhata Kendra, a Botnet cleaning and malware analysis centre, which offers free tools to users to clear malicious infections from their systems, was also recently launched. It works closely with internet service providers and banks to ensure a clean and safe internet ecosystem.

CERT-In also operates a Botnet centre. There is also a plan to create sectoral CERTs apart from the CERTs at the state level.The government has also formulated Crisis Management Plan for countering cyber attacks and cyber-terrorism for implementation by all ministries/departments of central government, state government and their organisations and critical sectors.