Internet security: Rising cyber threat in India

India has moved up a notch overtaking Russia as the third most targeted country in terms of cyber attacks, according to Symantec's Internet Security Threat Profile report

As internet penetration in India grows and more critical systems such as state and central databases get digitised, the country is becoming an attractive target for cyber attackers.

While the US and China continue to remain the biggest targets for cyber attacks, India moved up a notch overtaking Russia as the third most targeted country, according to Symantec’s Internet Security Threat Profile report.

The country accounted for 5.09 per cent of all cyber attacks such as malware, spam and phishing attacks detected globally in 2017. The biggest targets for malware attacks in India are sectors such as mining, transportation and public utilities, manufacturing and wholesale trade.