Blocked over 74 mn local threat incidents in India last year: Kaspersky

Global cybersecurity and digital privacy company Kaspersky on Tuesday said 34 per cent of users in India were targeted by local threats in 2023, and that its products detected and blocked 74.3 million local incidents.

These statistics represent the malicious programmes found directly on users' computers or removable media connected to them (flash drives, camera memory cards, phones, external hard drives) or that initially made their way onto the computer in non-open form (that is, programmes in complex installers or encrypted files).

According to the latest report of Kaspersky, 34 per cent of users in India were targeted by local threats in the year 2023.

"Kaspersky products detected and blocked 74,385,324 local incidents on the computers of Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) participants in India placing the country in 80th position worldwide," it said.

India's cybersecurity market reached USD 6.06 billion in 2023.

"However, according to the IDC, the alarming increase in sophisticated external cyber threats and cybersecurity attacks is one of the greatest challenges for the majority of enterprises in establishing organisational trust today, to the extent that almost 67 per cent of Indian enterprises are looking to outsource key areas of security landscape to managed security service providers in next three years," it said.

As India forges ahead on digital connectivity, the cyber threat landscape in India is expected to continuously evolve.

"Enterprises and individuals alike must reconsider how they approach cybersecurity and adopt a more reliable approach that leaves no room for error. With the rise of AI use and the consistent digital payment adoption here, it has become imperative for organisations to continuously improve their cybersecurity posture to protect their assets and maintain stakeholder trust," said Jaydeep Singh, General Manager for South Asia at Kaspersky.

While the local threat numbers dipped slightly in India, Kaspersky continues to remind users to keep their guards up against this menace, it said.