"SonicWall exploring option to set up new R&D centre"

:Cyber security firm SonicWall on Tuesday said it is exploring possibilities of expanding its existing R&D and Tech Support centre in Bengaluru or opening a new facility in the country.

"We have an R&D centre in Bengaluru. We are exploring many possibilities...lot of discussions are going on whether to expand the existing facility or open a new facility.

Discussions are also on that we may come out with multiple facilities...we are exploring sales offices, experience centres as part of expansion," SonicWall (India & SAARC) Country Director Debasish Mukherjee told reporters here.

There is a possibility that it can be a new (R&D and Tech Support centre) facility at some other location or expansion of the existing facility, he said.

SonicWall also has plans to increase its manpower in Bengaluru (the firms second largest R&D centre) to more than 700 this year from the existing 600.

"We have bigger plans in the coming year",Mukherjee said.

To a query on the launch of the firm's consumer products, he said it was in the development stage and they were in discussions with telecom service providers.

SonicWall also announced the findings from its mid-year update of the 2019 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report, based on real-world data from more than one million international security sensors in over 200 countries.

The report said that while global malware attacks were down 20 per cent, there was a 15 per cent increase in ransomware volume worldwide.

New data found an escalation in ransomware-as-a-service, open-source malware kits and cryptojacking used by cybercriminals, it said.

The findings showed a 62 per cent decline in ransomware in India, but a 25 per cent increase in malware attacks in the country.

"As India goes more digital, unknown cyber attacks will increase manifold," the report said.

So far in 2019, the multi-engine SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) cloud sandbox has exposed 1,94,171 new malware variants a pace of 1,078 new variant discoveries each day of the year, it added.