National Capital Most Prone To Cyber Attacks: Report

A recent study by security solutions firm, F-Secure has revealed that the national capital has emerged as the most susceptible city to cyber attacks in the country last year, as more and more people accessed the Internet either through desktop or mobile phones.

‘The State of Internet in India’ report states that Delhi reported the maximum number of PC malware infections in 2014 (20 per cent), followed by Hyderabad and Chandigarh (9 per cent each), and Chennai (7 per cent). Delhi NCR led the list for the maximum number of mobile infections too at 24 per cent. It was followed by Mumbai (22 per cent), Chandigarh (10 per cent), Chennai (8 per cent) and Hyderabad (7 per cent).

As per the report, the top malware infection in India still remained ‘Botnet’ related, where hackers take control of the user’s computer and use it to send spam or conduct other malicious activity. On the mobile phone front, premium rate SMS remained the top reason behind a high number of SMS-related malware in the Android platform in India, it said.

Speaking on the report,  Amit Nath, country manager (India and SAARC) at F-Secure said, “New Delhi becomes the top malicious city, meaning the ability of hackers to attack corporates as well as individual users is highest here compared to other cities in the country,”.

Commenting on the measures needed to be undertaken to assuage such risks. Nath said it was important for users to follow basic safety guidelines such as keeping security software updated on both desktops and smartphones, using stronger passwords and changing passwords frequently. Talking about the government’s drive towards free Wi-Fi access, he said, “This increases risk as it makes it easier for hackers to get into the system.”

Last year, the Press Club of India website has been defaced by a group of hacker identifying themselves as Team Cyber Warriors, whereby ‘photoshopped’ caricatures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi  and a message saying that not all Muslims are terrorists surfaced. Cyber crimes in India are expected to top 3,00,000 in 2015, almost double the level of last year.