200 pc rise in cyber crimes in last couple of months: Ex-official
   Date :08-Jul-2020

cyber crimes_1 &nbs
 
 
 
Rai MUMBAI ;
 
Rise in incidents is not due to India-China tensions but because of culture of working from home, says former CISO in PMO Gulshan 
 
THERE has been a 200 per cent rise in cyber incidents in India in the last couple of months but there is no evidence that the cases increased due to the tensions between India and China, former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in the Prime Minister’s Office Gulshan Rai has said. “There have been larger cases of phishing, service issues and ransomware which have gone up.
 
These cases have gone up not merely because of heightened tensions, these cases have gone up from January and February-end because of the culture of working from home,” Rai, who retired recently, said at a webinar on Monday. In the invitation sent by payments company EPS, which organised the webinar, Rai was identified as the CISO and the moderator also identified him with the same designation during the session. An e-mail sent to the organisers seeking clarity did not elicit any response. Rai also said that offices typically have necessary security measures taken in, and urged people to be more careful about what they download and stick to verified applications itself.
 
“It is certainly true that during the last couple of months, the cyber incidents (like) hacking systems have gone up significantly. Somebody may say more than 200 per cent (increase), that’s the figure which is available,” he said. “... There is no evidence as of now that the attacks have gone up due to the tensions between the two countries (India and China),” he added.
 
He was responding to a query by a reporter that after the violent face-off between India and China, there were a lot of reports that cyber attacks would increase on India’s infrastructure and banking services. Rai said there are dedicated agencies which are monitoring the situation and preventing the attacks. Ties between India and China have hit a new low following the violent clashes in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh.