Indian Firms Increase Cyber-Security Budgets: Report

To combat the increasing threats of cyber-attacks, Indian companies have stepped up their budgets on cyber-security solutions multiple times, according to a study released here on Tuesday.

"Cyber-security is indispensable. Organisations in India are looking towards innovative cyber-security solutions, and we have seen a 25 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in security budgets over the past five years, which support this trend," Sivarama Krishnan, leader-cyber-security, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India, said.

According to PwC Global State of Information Security Survey 2016, done by PwC, CIO and CSO the average number of information security incidents in India detected by respondents increased by 117 percent over the previous year, increasing from 2,895 last year to 6,284 this year.

Attacks on industrial control systems (ICSs) and consumer technologies showed a marked increase. Losses as a result of incidents also surged by 135 percent over the previous year and the average cost per incident increased by close to 8 percent.

Connected to the emergence of cloud-based systems, Big Data and Internet of Things (IoT) are ascendant technologies that present a host of cyber challenges and opportunities.

In the case of Big Data, often considered a cyber liability, 49 percent of respondents are leveraging data-powered analytics to enhance security by shifting it away from perimeter-based defences and enable organisations to put real-time information to use in ways that create real value.

"Not only are leaders adopting innovative solutions, but even fundamental security technologies and practices have seen wider acceptance, and organisations have evolved to master the basics. This has improved security postures of organisations throughout the country," Krishnan said.

Over 70 percent of respondents employ cloud-based security solutions, which have emerged as an effective way for organisations to efficiently combat cyber threats.

"Organisations are also deploying Big Data analytics to manage insider threats; almost 28 percent have plans to employ Big Data analytics for improving security in the next 12 months," the report added.