Day 54 – Q 1.What are the most potent cyber security threats in the age of digital economy? Discuss. Also, comment upon India’s preparedness to avert cyber security threats.

1. What are the most potent cyber security threats in the age of digital economy? Discuss. Also, comment upon India’s preparedness to avert cyber security threats. 

डिजिटल अर्थव्यवस्था के युग में सबसे शक्तिशाली साइबर सुरक्षा खतरे क्या हैं? चर्चा करें। साइबर सुरक्षा खतरों को रोकने के लिए भारत की तैयारियों पर भी टिप्पणी करें।

Introduction:

Cyber security refers to the body of technologies, processes, and practices designed to protect networks, devices, programs, and data from attack, damage, or unauthorized access. These cyber-attacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users; or interrupting normal business processes.

Body

Most potent cyber security threats in the age of digital economy 

• Phishing: is the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by disguising oneself as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. This results in data theft and loss of sensitive information.
• Vishing/Social engineering: Vishing works like phishing but does not always occur over the Internet and is carried out using voice technology.
• Hacking: Hackers intrude into others financial domains and make financial transactions into their digital accounts.
• Cyber Ransom: Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts a victim’s files. The attacker then demands a ransom from the victim to restore access to the data upon payment. 
• Ineffective firewall system: This can be ineffective in tackling the virus/corrupt files with an intent to collect crucial information.
• DDoS Attack: It is a malicious attempt to disrupt normal traffic of a targeted server, service or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of internet traffic. This can be done to disrupt essential public services.
• Unregulated Cryptocurrency: Any cyber-attack (Crypto-Jacking) on such financial transactions can be a potential threat with no regulations available.
• Low end use digital financial education: With limited awareness about digital financial service, person is always vulnerable to external threats.

India’s Preparedness 

• National Cyber Security Policy 2013: It provides for creating a secure cyber ecosystem. With computer emergency response team (CERT-in) as nodal agency for coordination of cyber security, emergency responses and crisis management.
• CERT-Fin: Umbrella CERT for the financial sector and reports to Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert-In) at the national level. 
• National Cyber Security and Coordination Centre: intended to screen communication metadata and co-ordinate the intelligence gathering activities of other agencies. 
• Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative 2018: to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
• Cyber Swachhta Kendras: (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) is a part of the Government of India’s Digital India initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to create a secure cyber space by detecting botnet infections in India and to notify, enable cleaning and securing systems of end users so as to prevent further infections.
• India has also had agreements with several other foreign countries like US, Japan etc to tackle the menace of Cybercrime. 

Way Forward 

• India should become signatory to cybercrime convention (Budapest Convention) which puts a hurdle in dealing with transborder crime particularly.
• Cyber awareness must be spread and there should be multi-stakeholder approach-technological inputs, legal inputs, strengthening law enforcements, systems and then dealing with transborder crime involves lot of international cooperation.
• Effective and efficient role of National cyber security coordinator who heads the National Cyber Coordination Centre which intends to screen communication metadata and co-ordinate the intelligence gathering activities of other agencies.
• Awareness should be at industry, school, college level and law enforcement level and judiciary.

Conclusion

With estimates of India creating $1 trillion of economic value from the digital economy by 2025. India should not loose on the cyber-attack front.  Government and the private sector jointly have to give cyber security some priority in their security and risk management plan.