“India Witnessed About 674,000 Cyber-Attacks As of June 2022”

The proliferation of connected devices and increasing dependency over technology is leading to a high-risk digital world. Cyber criminals are advancing their skills and it can hamper the digital transformation journey of organizations. 

Putting across his views on the importance of cyber security, Krithiwas Neelakantan, Channel & Alliances Leader, Palo Alto Networks said, “The last two years have witnessed an acceleration in the digital transformation journey of enterprises. The accelerated adoption of emerging technologies such as cloud has also led to a rise in cyber risks - multiple cloud environments, misconfiguration at the application interface (API) level, threats to the supply chain, the proliferation of IoT devices coupled with hybrid working environments have led to an expanded attack surface. According to our Unit 42’s Ransomware Threat Report, ransomware attacks on organizations in India increased by 218% in 2021.” 

“India’s internet user base is expected to cross 900 million by 2025. On the other hand, India witnessed about 674,000 cyber-attacks as of June 2022 as per government data. While the rise in a number of internet users bodes well for the overall growth and development of the economy, it makes it critical to ensure that citizens and their personal data is protected and secure from cyber attackers. One of the first steps to do that is to drive awareness amongst the community about the importance of cyber security and taking preventive measures to avoid falling prey to any kind of cyber-attacks. Similarly, for enterprises, it’s important to drive awareness among employees,” he added further. 

Ensuring Safe Digital Journey 

While talking to DT, Krithiwas Neelakantan highlights the key steps to boost cybersecurity, he said, “The most important thing is to drive awareness around cyber security amongst the larger public and encourage better cyber hygiene practices. Companies have to focus on developing a robust cybersecurity framework while keeping in mind these three key elements: 

• ZTNA 2.0: VPNs and older Zero Trust models are overly trusting and permissive to networks that already have access to a cloud infrastructure. Deploying a ZTNA 2.0 framework will keep every network's entry at constant surveillance and secure the networks at each endpoint regularly. 

• Secure Access Service Edge (SASE): Majority of enterprises now have a borderless workforce as the hybrid working system continues. To assist in a seamless working experience in an organizations, various SaaS companies also join in. With this an end number of networks have access to the cloud infrastructure. SASE technology secures networks at multiple endpoints and helps organizations work in borderless conditions. 

• Shift Left Security: Security can be achieved only when it has been designed in. Applying security measures as an afterthought will not provide the extensive security that software needs. Hence applying shift left security will help programmers to develop software that has a built-in security posture. 

The above-mentioned elements must be delivered via a platform for ease-of-use, so that complex security operations can be executed with minimum technical knowledge. 

Commitment to Support Organizations 

The security leaders evaluate the need and deploy the right solutions accordingly to keep their data safe from any kind of security breach. Briefing about the cybersecurity solution and offerings, Krithiwas said, “The role Palo Alto Networks plays is focused on bringing high-grade cybersecurity and cyber readiness to all by leveraging a comprehensive approach that secures clouds, networks, and endpoints. Our solutions are also cloud-native which enables the combined delivery of control and security that is needed to scale in the cloud. This also allows enterprises to simplify compliance. We also leverage AI and ML-powered automation to secure users, apps, and data on-premise and in the cloud. This also helps in preventing unknown threats in real time without compromising performance.”