India becomes a prime target for hackers; average weekly attacks of 2,924 in 6 months

India has emerged as a prime target for hackers with average weekly attacks of 2,924 on organisations, which is double the number (2,924) of attacks globally, in the last six months.

The healthcare sector topped the list of victims with a weekly average of 6,935 attacks as against 1,821 attacks on the organisations in this sector globally.

The most prevalent malware in India is FakeUpdates, accompanied by other malicious software such as botnets and a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) named Remcos. About 63 per cent of malicious files in the country were delivered via email, while 37 per cent were delivered through the web, according to cybersecurity solutions company Check Point Software Technologies.

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About 58 p.c. of the top malicious files delivered via email were executable files, while 59 p.c. of malicious files delivered via the web were PDF files.

The Threat Intelligence Report for the Indian market, which captured the threat landscape in the last six months, said that the attack surface increased due to the rapid adoption of technologies such as electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

After healthcare, the most attacked industries in the country include education/research (6,244 attacks), consulting (3,989 attacks), and government/military (3,618 attacks).

“The simplicity of spoofing email addresses and the capability to deliver weaponised content make email a powerful tool for spreading malware, stealing credentials, and executing social engineering attacks,” Sundar Balasubramanian, Managing Director for India and SAARC at Check Point Software Technologies, said.

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He asked the users to avoid opening unverified email attachments, use strong passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, and exercise caution with unsolicited or suspicious emails.

“Preventive measures, such as regular software updates, employee training, and the deployment of advanced security solutions, are essential to mitigate the growing threat landscape,” he pointed out.