Cyber security can be defined as a body of technologies , process and practices designed to protect the cyber space from attack, damage or unauthorized access.
Nowadays the importance and co-existence of internet is extremely important, so much so that it has become one of the dominant needs of mankind and our existence.
We do our day to day work on the internet whether it is booking tickets, ordering food, money transfer , booking a cab etc. Similarly, a number of sectors such as Banking & Finance, Transportation, Nuclear power facilities, Space sector, Power transmission etc. are dependent on ICT.
The rapid advancements in the field of ICT has led to the rapid growth in the economy and development from these rapid changes has made our lives much more easier.
As the advancement of cyber space take place , it made it vulnerable too, the cyber crime and cyber attack have become a new normal and as we all know cyber space has no geographical limitation thus, it makes the cyber space and cyber security more challenging.
Prominent Cyber Attacks in India
Phishing - Union Bank of India heist in July 2016
Wannacry Ransomware- In May 2017, various computer networks in India were locked down by the ransom-seeking hackers.
Data Theft- In May 2017, the food tech company Zomato faced the theft of information of 17 million users.
Petya Ransomware- Container handling functions at a terminal operated by the Danish firm AP Moller-Maersk at Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust got affected.
Mirai Botnet-In September 2016, Mirai malware launched a DDoS attack on the website of a well-known security expert.
Effects of Cyber Attacks in India
There were 6.97 lakh cyber security incidents reported in the first eight months of 2020, nearly equivalent to the previous four years combined, according to information reported to and tracked by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).
According to the Data Security Council of India, India has been the second most cyber attacks affected country between 2016 to 2018. Cyber crimes in India caused Rs 1.25 lakh crore loss in 2019.
Cyber attack not only damage the economy of a country but also creates instability in a country by targeting the National security and it also target the privacy of the individual.
Government Initiatives by the Government of India
In order to tackle all these types of challenges, government has taken many initiatives to secure itself from cyber attacks
1. National cyber security policy 2013 having the objective to create a workforce of 5 lakhs skilled and well trained professional in cyber security in next 5 year to make the countries cyber security more strong and more reliable.
2. To protect the nations critical information infrastructure, the NCIIPC has been setup which work in corporation with NTRO.
3. Cyber Crisis Management Plan (CCMP): It aims at countering cyber threats and cyber terrorism.
Written By - Shivam Jha
Edited By - Tushna Choksey
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