India faces most cybersecurity threats in Asia-Pacific: Cisco.

The Cisco cybersecurity report finds that 56% of the investigated alerts in India turn out to be false, adding to the burden of existing security defenders who need to ensure that they are working on the right alerts

India faces the highest number of cybersecurity threats in the Asia-Pacific region with over 500,000 alerts daily, which is nearly thrice the number of alerts at global companies. And Nearly 39% of these alerts remain unattended due to lack of required skill sets, according to a cybersecurity report by networking hardware company Cisco Systems Inc. released Wednesday.

This data presents a significant concern for cybersecurity defenders who need to identify genuine threats from a vast number of daily alerts, said the report.

The cybersecurity report, Cisco 2018 Asia-Pacific Security Capabilities Benchmark, finds that 56% of the investigated alerts in India turn out to be false, adding to the burden of existing security defenders who need to ensure that they are working on the right alerts. They need adequate tools to help them get more accurate information about their environment and the attacks happening.

“India witnesses the second highest instances of legitimate threats in the Asia-Pacific region after Australia. While Australia witnesses 65% legitimate cybersecurity threats, India is at par with the regional standard at 44%,” the report highlighted.

The report added that Indian breaches caused a lower financial impact as opposed to their regional counterparts with 27% of Indian respondents reporting the cost of a breach at less than $100,000 while a fifth reported breach costs between $5 million and $10 million. The cost of a breach is highest in Australia with 52% reporting that an attack costs $1-5 million, compared to Japan (23%) and India (25%), the report added. This includes costs from lost revenue, loss of customers, and out of pocket expenses.

“As India is taking huge strides in transforming into a digital economy, cybersecurity threats could pose a serious risk for its success. Companies and governments alike should consider adopting advanced security technologies that include machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities and also look at bridging the gap of skilled cybersecurity professionals in the country through relevant training and support,” said Vishak Raman, Director, Security, Cisco.

With companies making massive improvements in their security operations to curb losses arising out of high-cost data breaches, 70% of the respondents agree to security upgrades, the report said.

Across the country, almost half of the surveyed organizations (57%) work with more than 10 security vendors, while 8% say they have more than 50 vendors in their environment. This creates complexity and increases vulnerability, as having different security products can lengthen the time to detect and contain a breach, it added. (Source:Livemint)