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    DDoS attacks are on the rise in India, says cyber security firm Radware

    Synopsis

    In August 2020 the number of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) incidents in India hit a record high in terms of total DDOS packets, which were well in excess of 10 billion as per a study by global cyber security firm Radware. DDoS attack makes an online service unavailable to users by interrupting them or suspending the hosting servers.

    Untitled-7AFP
    Hackers target remote workers – phishing, DDoS, and video conferencing attacks are most common tactics used. Malware attacks such as ransomware also have increased during the pandemic, with companies reporting frequent cyberattacks.
    New Delhi: The frequency of DDoS attacks in India saw a steady increase from January until June this year, followed by a drop in July. But the attacks were up again in August, said a report

    With Covid 19 and Work From Home (WFH) companies have had little choice but to shift work to home. That means moving out of the very secure office networks to often leaky and patchy consumer networks at home which are used to play games, sync up with smart home devices like Alexa and Google Home, stream music, and now, work as well. Not surprisingly, cyber attacks have increased in the last six months. There has been a surge in incidents aimed at compromising public and private assets.

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    In August 2020 the number of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) incidents in India hit a record high in terms of total DDOS packets, which were well in excess of 10 billion as per a study by global cyber security firm Radware.

    DDoS attack makes an online service unavailable to users by interrupting them or suspending the hosting servers. The motives range from ransomware, pushing a certain ideology or cyber warfare.

    As per the findings by the American-Israeli cyber security firm Radware, the frequency of DDoS attacks in India saw a steady increase from January until June this year, followed by a drop in July. But the attacks were up again in August, which saw record packet volume. A DDoS packet refers to spoof requests or pings sent by attackers from multiple sources to penetrate the target system.

    The web applications of high tech industries (33%), banking and finance (33%), government (17%) and transportation (17%) were the most heavily targeted by attackers during July and August 2020.

    “Organizations and governments must prepare better to deal with the growing number of cyber incidents. India now has the second highest number of internet users globally and increasing digitization and cloudification must be accompanied by sharper focus on securing systems and assets as attacks could come from anywhere.” Says Pascal Geenens, Radware’s head of security research.

    Hackers target remote workers – phishing, DDoS, and video conferencing attacks are most common tactics used. Malware attacks such as ransomware also have increased during the pandemic, with companies reporting frequent cyberattacks.

    Given the rising risks, all employees should undergo periodic cyber security training covering the best practices and how to identify phishing and other attacks. Software and operating systems need to be updated regularly with the newer versions available and patches need to be applied whenever available. And companies must have a BCP (Business Continuity Plan) in place in the form of back-ups of critical data to the business pertaining to customers as well as employees.
    The Economic Times

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