Page 4 - Cyber Security

40% of cyber security teams in Indian organisations understaffed: Report

5 key technical skills considered for employment, says respondents in annual survey

A question of balance in age gating for children of the internet

India's new cyber law on parental consent sparks debate on digital privacy and security

House panel to scrutinise India's Ukraine response, strategic preparedness

India's strategic operational preparedness in view of the current security scenario, its response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the cyber-security scenario in the country will come under the scanner of parliamentary panels. The Parliamentary Committee on Defence, chaired by BJP member Jual Oram, will also review the working of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), examine the role of the Indian Army in ensuring defence of the country and also study the resettlement policies, healthcare facilities and pensionary avenues for ex-servicemen, and the agnipath scheme in the Armed Forces. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, chaired by BJP member P P Chaudhary, will examine the government's efforts in countering global terrorism at regional and international levels, India's position in ongoing climate change negotiations, Russia-Ukraine conflict, its global impact and India's response; concerns and issues pertaining Indian students studying ...

Cisco to buy cybersecurity firm Splunk for $28 bn, as AI threats widen

Cisco is buying the cybersecurity firm Splunk in a USD 28 billion deal as it bolsters its defences against potential security threats that may be heightened by the widening use of artificial intelligence. The Silicon Valley tech giant will pay USD 157 per Splunk Inc. share. Our combined capabilities will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability, Cisco Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins said in a prepared statement. From threat detection and response to threat prediction and prevention, we will help make organisations of all sizes more secure and resilient. The boards of both companies approved the acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of 2024's third quarter. It still needs approval from Splunk shareholders. Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. fell more than 4 per cent before the market open on Thursday, while Splunk's stock surged nearly 22 per cent.

General Datatech to expand India operations, double headcount in 1 year

GDT will be hiring both laterals and freshers from Indian colleges. In terms of skills, it would be focussing on networking-related skills like 5G, SD-WAN, and Wi-Fi 6.

Tata Power Delhi Distribution ties with Utiltyx to ensure cyber security

Tata Power Delhi Distribution on Tuesday announced its strategic partnership with Utiltyx, the Indian arm of the US-based cyber security and data analytics software company. The partnership aims to enhance the company's preparedness against future threats and challenges related to cyber security, a company statement said. The association is aimed at augmenting IED (Intelligent Electronic Device) visibility, adding strengths to the capabilities of Tata Power-DDL to fight cyber threats and providing credible & real-time analytics for its distribution grid, thereby preparing the power distribution infrastructure for future threats and growth, the statement said. This assumes significance in view of threats of trojan malware on India's power supply system especially from some of the neighbouring nations. There have been reportedly certain instances of cyber attacks on India's power supply systems in different pockets. The company stated that this collaboration marks a significant ...

Global companies to hike security spending as threats rise: Survey

A survey of 1,775 chief security officers in 30 countries found their companies had lost more than $1 trillion in revenue in 2022 as a result of non-cyber security incidents

Cos need to assess cyber-risks quarterly instead of yearly: Deloitte

Companies need to assess their cyber risks on a quarterly basis owing to immense technological advancements, a senior executive at Deloitte India said on Tuesday. Deloitte India Risk Advisory Partner Digvijaysinh Chudasama said companies and citizens alike should impose self-guidelines for cyber protection, and be aware of implications of sharing sensitive data, online. "Primarily to be protected from enterprise point or government point, if companies maintain the right and complete audit and compliances on a regular basis, because this is... very important, instead of doing something on a yearly basis, if they start looking at it now because the technology and perceptions are changing. "(Companies) should start doing these audits and assessments of cybersecurity for their enterprises, applications, data centers and networks on a quarterly basis, rather than yearly basis," he told PTI. This is also important as hackers are now launching sophisticated attacks. Chudasama also ...

Sebi brings guidelines to boost cyber security framework for exchanges

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday came out with guidelines to strengthen the existing cyber security and cyber resilience framework for stock exchanges and other market infrastructure institutions (MIIs). The new guidelines will come into force with immediate effect, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular. "Considering the interconnectedness and interdependency of the MIIs to carry out their functions, the cyber risk of any given MII is no longer limited to the MII's owned or controlled systems, networks, and assets," Sebi said. Accordingly, the regulator came out with guidelines to strengthen the existing framework for MIIs -- stock exchanges, clearing corporations, and repositories. Under the guidelines, MIIs will have to maintain offline, encrypted backups of data and regularly test these backups at least every quarter to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Further, they should explore the possibility of retaining spare ...

G20 ministers agree on treating cyber security as a global problem

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said there was a consensus during the G20 Digital Economy Ministers' Meeting that cyber security is an international problem that requires collaboration and steps for building trust and respect for other economies. The minister, who holds the Electronics, IT, Communications and Railways portfolios, said there was absolute consensus in the G20 meeting on the concept and application of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), cyber security and skilling in handling digital technology. Elaborating on the discussions on cyber security, he said some "very good principles" were achieved in terms of cyber security. "It was clearly agreed and understood by everybody that cyber security or information security or digital security, whatever we call it, different countries call it with different names...this is something which is an international problem and we must collaborate," Vaishnaw said in a press briefing here. He further said, "We must take ste

Cyberfraud is an area which requires lot of attention: Rakesh Asthana

Former CBI chief Rakesh Asthana said on Saturday incidents of cyberfraud are increasing and this is a domain that now requires a lot of attention. He cited his own case in which he became a victim of cyberfraud when he was serving as the Border Security Force (BSF) director general, and some fraudsters withdrew Rs 40,000 from his account using his Aadhaar biometrics. "This is an area which requires a lot of attention not only from the police and the government law-enforcement bodies but also from private investigating agencies. You can assist the law enforcement agencies," Asthana said at an event, National Corporate Investigators Conclave-2023, organised by the Association of Professional Detectives & Investigators (APDI). Talking about his case, Asthana, who also served as the Delhi Police chief, said the crime was linked to several places in Bihar and Jharkhand from where 40 people were arrested. Multiple laptops and mobile phones were seized, he said One of the masterminds was

Parliamentary Panel recommends DGCA-like authority for cybersecurity

The committee also recommended the institution of a white-listing framework for digital lending agencies and other financial intermediaries

14,007 cyber fraud cases were registered in 2021: Govt in Parliament

As many as 14,007 cyber fraud cases were registered in 2021, Parliament was informed on Monday. Quoting National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said "total number of cyber fraud cases which includes...frauds committed through online apps is 14,007 in 2021 (latest published data pertains to the year 2021)." RBI issued regulatory guidelines on digital lending on September 2, 2022 aimed at firming up the regulatory framework for digital lending while enhancing customer protection and making the digital lending ecosystem safe and sound, he said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. As many as 1,062 complaints related to digital lending apps' received by the Offices of the RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs) against REs under Reserve Bank Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 (RB-IOS) were received between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, he said. This regulatory framework is based on the principle that lending business can be carried out only by entities that

Cyber security start-up PingSafe announces raising $3.3 mn in seed funding

Company aims to serve cloud security-related organisational needs for customers

Vaishnaw calls for joint global, national efforts for cybersecurity

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday called for coordinated cybersecurity efforts and strategies at global, national and organisational levels to protect cyberspace and societies, as he emphasised the need for shared solutions to tackle the challenges, being compounded by new technologies like AI. The minister exhorted G20 member countries to come together and think through these challenges, share solutions and tools, and "co-operate across boundaries". Citing platforms like UPI, ONDC and CoWIN, the minister said that India with its robust digital public infrastructure has ensured true democratisation of technology for the benefit of its people. "We have seen in many parts of the world, technology has been cornered by a few big-tech companies...is that the right model for a country, democracy or society which is evolving so fast?" Vaishnaw said asserting that India has been clear in its approach on democratising technology to ensure it is inclusive, accessible to all, and not ...

Sebi issues consultation paper on cyber security, resilience framework

Sebi on Tuesday came out with a consultation paper on boosting cyber security framework for entities regulated by it. The consultation paper on 'Consolidated Cyber security and Cyber Resilience Framework (CSCRF) for Sebi Regulated Entities' looks at providing a common structure for multiple approaches to cyber security to prevent any cyber-risks/incidents. Sebi said the framework is based on five concurrent and continuous functions of cyber security as defined by NIST -- Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. NIST refers to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. "All REs shall formulate an up-to-date Cyber Crisis Management Plan (CCMP)," the consultation paper said, adding that they would also have to put in place comprehensive incident response management plan and respective Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). "Alerts generated from monitoring and detection systems shall be suitably investigated for Root Cause Analysis (RCA)," it noted. Comments on the

Market regulator Sebi mulls consolidated framework for cyber security

Regulator's consultation paper proposes to supersede 15 circulars issued earlier

CERT-In cyber security norms bar use of Anydesk, Teamviewer by govt dept

Cyber security watchdog CERTin has barred the use of remote desktop softwares like Anydesk and Teamviewer in the government department under new security guidelines released on Friday. The guidelines prescribe government departments use virtual private networks (VPN) for accessing network resources from remote locations and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for VPN accounts. "Ensure to block access to any remote desktop applications, such as Anydesk, Teamviewer, Ammyy admin etc," Guidelines on Information Security Practices for Government Entities said. CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team ) said the purpose of these guidelines is to establish a prioritised baseline for cyber security measures and controls within government organisations and their associated organisations. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in an official statement said the government has taken several initiatives to ensure an open, safe and trusted and accountable digi

Paracetamol maker Granules India flags operations hit from cyber attack

Due to significant changes in its IT systems, the IT security incident caused a major disruption in its business operations, the Paracetamol maker said in an exchange filing

IT Ministry, Google announce collaboration to boost online cyber safety

Google will raise awareness on the fundamentals of online safety through the 'Be Internet Awesome' programme, sharing helpful content covering a wide range of online safety topics