2015 is the year when Cyber Security became trendy: Kaspersky Lab

The year 2015 saw near-exponential growth in all areas related to cybersecurity. It was the year when Cyber Crime was recognised as a major threat. Kaspersky Lab experts said that in 2015, the word "cybersecurity" became trendy.

According to Kaspersky Lab, for the first time in history, issues relating to the security of the internet and the protection of internal networks were discussed by and relevant to every sector of the economy as well as everyday life, from finance, manufacturing/industrial, automotive and aircraft to wearable devices, healthcare, dating services and more.

Targets

As many as 72% Indian companies faced cyber attacks in 2015, according to KPMG report ‘Cyber Crime Survey 2015 report’. 72% of financial services and insurance companies and 44% pharmaceuticals and chemicals companies surveyed were seen as targets for cyber attacks, 37% respondents from the oil, gas and utilities said they were potential targets for being attacked online. Though financial services and pharmaceuticals are still the favourite targets for cyber attacks, the year 2015 witnessed attacks across industries, according to KPMG report.

65% respondents indicated email servers are likely targets for cybercrime while 46% identified end user systems as targets.

Causes

65% respondents stated that cybercriminals carry out attacks for financial gains, while another 46% believe corporate espionage to the motive.

Effects

According to the KPMG survey report, 63% respondents indicated that cybercrime amounted to financial loss while 55% also mentioned theft of sensitive information.

Some good news

Expressing concern over the rise in the number of cyber crime cases, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh acknowledged the need of efficient cyber security for the successful implementation of initiatives like Digital India, Make in India and Smart Cities.

Some bad news

While there was recognition of cybercrime being a major threat, only 2% organisations spent more than 20% of their IT budget on information security and cyber defences, according to KPMG report.

(Image credits: indiatimes)