Post with caution! Your social profile is a goldmine for cyber criminals

89% of the respondents stated a need to enhance cyber laws, Ernst & Young report

Indian businesses are facing rising instances of cybercrime and the response mechanism to address these risks remain low, reveals an Ernst & Young Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services report.

According to the report,  two-third of businesses in India were unable to detect a cyber attack-incident in real time due to insufficient understanding of the motive behind the attack. The report highlights that employees emerged as one of the weakest links in the company’s defence systems and over 90 per cent respondents identified social media as a big risk area.

Cybercrime experts and forensic consultants say hackers scour through social media database of employees of organisations they intend to attack and send them phishing mails. 

“Employees post extensive details regarding their work profile on social networking websites. These social media platforms act as goldmines for cyber criminals to identify and target key individuals for a successful breach,” the report stated. 

“Cyber criminals have been exploiting the lack of real-time response by organisations triggered by an incident to their advantage. This calls for the implementation of a robust cyber defence strategy, supplemented by a diagnostic program and incident response mechanism. Increased spend on augmenting cyber capabilities and deploying specialist teams will be the need of the hour for organisations to successfully handle incidents.”, said Amit Jaju, Executive Director, Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services, EY India.

Here are the major findings of the report: