'India among least confident in fight against cyber attacks'

India is among the list of countries that are "least confident" of their preparedness against cyber attacks or stealthy infiltrations by high-level adversaries, according to a leading web security firm.

"More than a third of those surveyed believe their sector is unprepared to deal with major attacks or stealthy infiltrations by high-level adversaries," said a report commissioned by McAfee and authored by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

India, Saudi Arabia and Mexico have emerged as the least confident, said the report, adding that the recent high profile cyberattacks in China revealed by Google underscore risk to critical infrastructure.

The survey report has found 40 per cent of critical infrastructure organisations expect major attacks in next 12 months.

Over a third of those surveyed believe their sector is unprepared to deal with major attacks or stealthy infiltrations by high-level adversaries.

McAfee also said the staggering cost and impact of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure such as electrical grids, oil and gas production, telecommunications and transportation networks.

A survey of 600 IT security executives from critical infrastructure enterprises worldwide showed that more than half (54 per cent) have already suffered large scale attacks or stealthy infiltrations from organised crime gangs, terrorists or nation-states.

The average estimated cost of downtime associated with a major incident is $6.3 million per day.

The report "In the Crossfire: Critical Infrastructure in the Age of Cyberwar" also found that the risk of cyberattack is rising.

Despite a growing body of legislation and regulation, more than a third of IT executives (37 per cent) said the vulnerability of their sector had increased over the past 12 months and two-fifths expect a major security incident in their sector within the next year.

Only 20 per cent think their sector is safe from serious cyberattack over the next five years.

Many of the world's critical infrastructures were built for reliability and availability, not for security.

Today however, computer networks are interconnected with corporate IT networks and other infrastructure networks, which are accessible from anywhere in the world.

"In today's economic climate, it is imperative that organisations prepare for the instability that cyber attacks on critical infrastructure can cause," said Dave DeWalt, CEO and president of McAfee.

"The attack announced by Google and identified by McAfee was the most sophisticated threat seen in years making it a watershed moment in cybersecurity because of the targeted and coordinated nature of the attack."