It is a crisis that has hogged the world’s limelight in varying degrees. If there is not enough attention towards security for the enterprises system and the large ecosystem, the crisis could hit home for companies. As the Ukraine-Russia conflict enters its second month, tech challenges for the CXOs are being unveiled. They could be distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, website defacement, and malware infection via spear phishing or more. Result? Cyber-disruption and cyber version of visual appearance modification, cyber espionage for intelligence gathering, and battlefield preparation for potential kinetic military campaigns.
The rise in attacks is already being noticed by several security bodies. While government institutions and companies may not announce in public the move to beef up preventive security, they may not want to err on the side of caution. Imagine, utilities like power, water or healthcare services being impacted!
High-risk targets
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A recent report by Fitch Ratings studied 1137 cyberattacks between November 2013 and January 2022 to understand which sectors were the most vulnerable. U.S. President Joe Biden has already alerted companies and government entities, citing developing intelligence inputs that indicates a rise in cyberattacks against critical infrastructure targets. Much before the alert had been issued, some government agencies were already busy at work, trying to shore up their systems.
A joint cybersecurity operations hub in Brooklyn has been set up to coordinate between the state, major cities, local and regional governments Among the states that are actively working to address the challenge include Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, Connecticut, and others.
In 2015, the electricity grid in Ukraine was disrupted by a cyberattack called BlackEnergy. Nearly 80,000 customers of a utility company in the western part of the country faced a short-term blackout after the incident. A year later, capital Kyiv reported a power cut for an hour for nearly a fifth of the city. Russia faced a barrage of charges on the attacks with the E.U. and the U.S. blaming it for being behind the cyberattacks, but it denied the charges.
Faced with a risk?
A disruption in supplies and supply chains of food grain and other food products is already impacting companies worldwide. A Nomura report said that a squeeze on Asia economies growth could be expected because of the impact through commodities, especially food and fuel. With improved visibility in their supply chains, companies can take appropriate measures to align their businesses.
The risks that India specifically faces has been flagged off earlier. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) reported more than 11.5 lakh cybersecurity incidents during 2020. Indian power grids and banks have been at the receiving end by suspected cyberattacks in the past. In February 2022, the systems at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) were disrupted due to a technical glitch. JNPT had to make “alternate arrangements” to handle the export-import container traffic after the suspected ransomware hit its operations.
There are 15 undersea cables landing in different locations across India located in Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Tuticorin and Thiruvananthapuram, according to Submarine Networks and these could be a potential target of attack, disrupting networks. India is a leader in payments solutions across the world and that could be disrupted with information networks. Nothing could be true as the adage – prevention is better than cure. More so in current times.
This article has been written by Amit Shanbaug from Times Group.
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