Cyber Crime- the Biggest Challenge to Business
Over the last decade there has been a revolution in the use of internet. And every business, no matter how big or small, which deals with internet, runs through a potential danger of falling prey to cyber crime. India is as prone to these threats as any other country. From 2005 to 2014 cyber crimes reported in India have risen over 19 times. The cyber crime cases are registered under IT act and IPC. The cases registered under the IT act grew at more than 50% in 2012-2014. The cases under IPC have doubled. As per the recent reports, India is ranked second after the US among the countries most targeted for cyber crimes through the social Media. And was ranked third as a source of “malicious activity” after the US and China. The arrests in Cyber crimes have also risen almost 10 times in the last ten years from 569 in 2005 to 5,752 in 2014 according to a report by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
How such attacks happen?
In this booming era of internet it’s almost impossible to avoid landing into cyber troubles. At every step there is a potential threat to one’s personal security. The credential data and other personal information lie exposed to continuous risk. The most common ways these attacks happen are:
- The phishing mails and the social media are the easiest sources of malicious activity. The promotional ads and phishing mails are easily able to dupe the employees. The malicious activity is just a few clicks away.
- Employees are the weakest link in this chain of crime. The other threat that’s overlooked is the cyber crime from within. Sometimes they share their credentials at unsafe platforms.
- One of the most serious threats is the intellectual property theft from within by the company’s own employees. Important customer lists, credential data and other personal information are at risk of being stolen. Once stolen, this data can easily be used to create a competing company by the cyber criminal, and help destroy the company.
- Thus the biggest threat to the business is the enemy from within. This kind of abuse is common in the cyber crime and a lot of big companies have witnessed their downfall.
- Extortion is easy when this kind of data is held ransom. Criminals choose new targets. Now they attack companies directly instead of attacking their customers only.
Suggestions to avoid cyber crime in India
With every passing minute the Cyber criminals are expanding their ability to steal directly or convert the stolen data into money. Thus it’s the need of the hour that measures must be taken to prevent these activities. There are two acts under which these crimes can be reported, the IT act and IPC. Awareness should be spread about the existence of cyber laws and certain security measures. The main steps towards this are:
- A mandate should be passed that all government and private organizations must have measures to fight against cyber crimes. The two factor authentication should be introduced.
- The benefit of 2FA is that it uses two components to verify the user’s identity. 2FA shall be implemented in the SAP SE (System analyses and programmer networking). SAP manages business operations and customer relationships in 190 countries all over the world.
- India is in dire need of 2FA due to its advantages and the security it provides for the usual cyber attacks. The other ways of attack includes hacking into the whole system and through VPNs (Virtual private networks).
- A high security update at regular intervals is recommended. Other primary steps to prevent your business from cyber attacks are hiring well trained individuals, understanding your assets completely, assigning the level of security as per the requirements of the assets.
The security shall be employed at processing levels. Educating employees about cyber threats and implementing non technical controls in your business wherever possible and feasible.
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