Cybersecurity Threats Are Biggest Risk to National Security, Warn Cyber Experts

Cyber security threats are the biggest risk to National security, and building cyber hygiene is very important, National Cyber Security Coordinator Rajesh Pant said on Thursday.

While speaking at DX Secure Summit, Pant called for building awareness around cybersecurity in the country.

"Threats to cyber security are one of the biggest risks to National security, and awareness and building cyber hygiene followed by audits is very important," Pant said.

Microsoft India, group head and director, government affairs, Ashutosh Chadha said that cybercrime costs economies more than $6 trillion (Rs. 4.6 crore crore) each year and it is expected to increase to by 2025.

"This signals across the industry that every company needs to create a culture of security," Chadha said.

CII Centre for Digital Transformation chairman and NIIT vice-chairman and MD Vijay Thadani said artificial intelligence solutions could be used as the best mitigating factors for cyber threats and India should focus on being a solution provider for cybersecurity.

"Cybersecurity is not just about managing risk, it's also a strategic issue that shapes product capability, organisational effectiveness, and customer relationships," Thadani said.

Recently, the website of the Institute of Science, Nagpur was found hacked with the hackers identifying themselves as 'DragonForce Malaysia' whose message on its home page read that "it is a special operation on the insult of our Prophet Mohammad", police said.

The hacking of the website occurred amid protests in parts of the country over the objectionable remarks made on Prophet Mohammad by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled party leader Naveen Kumar Jindal. Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan, Bahrain, Maldives, Malaysia, Oman, Iraq and Libya, have denounced their comments.

"The home page of the website carried a message in which people were urged to unite and start a campaign against India. The website was hacked through a malware. The hackers identified themselves as 'DragonForce Malaysia'," police inspector (Cyber) Nitin Phatangare said.