Half of India's Critical Infra Providers are victims of cyber attacks

New Delhi : Cyber attacks against critical infrastructure providers in India have become more frequent and increasingly effective, said a survey released by Symantec. According to its India findings of its 2010 Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Survey, successful attacks on cyber networks of critical infrastructure providers could have a significant societal impact and potentially even threat national security. 


"Critical Infrastructure Protection is not limited to protecting government and defense infrastructure, but extends to both publicly and privately run infrastructure such as telephone networks, power generation and distribution, oil refineries and gas pipelines," said Shantanu Ghosh, Vice President, India Product Operations, Symantec. 


According to Ghosh, today security threats have become so advanced that they require a comprehensive and risk-based approach that encompasses security, disaster recovery and information management technology to maintain true network resiliency.


The survey has found that 43 percent of Indian companies said that attempts to shutdown or degrade their computer network were effective. On the other hand, 37 percent said attempts to manipulate physical equipment through network were somewhat effective. Adding to it, more than two-thirds of critical infrastructure providers said that these attacks are increasing.


About 80 percent of Indian providers are positive towards government initiatives to protect critical infrastructure. Moreover, one in five respondents is also engaged with the government on these plans.
Respondents cited security training, response, audits and disaster recovery planning as safeguards that needed the most improvement. In fact, 42 percent said that lack of trained resources within industry sectors is a challenge.


In a global basis, 53 percent of companies suspected they had experienced an attack waged with a specific political goal in mind. While 48 percent expect attacks in the next year, 80 percent believe that the frequency of such attacks is increasing. Two-thirds have positive attitudes about programs and are willing to cooperate with their government on CIP. On the other hand, only one-third of critical infrastructure providers feel extremely prepared against all types of attacks. 


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