Corporate India battles rising cyber crime amid low defence mechanism to counter threats: EY report

Corporate India has been facing a persistent problem of growing cases of cyber crime, but incident response mechanism to combat these risks remains low, finds out a report.

According to EY's Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services report, 89 per cent of respondents impressed upon the need to bolster cyber laws - 55 per cent for strengthening and 34 per cent for more clarity.

"Corporate India's exposure to cyber crime risks has magnified significantly over the last few years, with attacks becoming exceedingly complex, targeted and globalised," said Arpinder Singh, Partner and National Leader, Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services, EY India.

The report said a mobile workforce, increased sharing of personal and professional information on social media, and gaps in protecting this information could evolve as a significant cyber hazard.

"The shift to a digital economy has also uncovered vulnerabilities in many organisations and highlighted the need to build strong cyber strategies. The ability to foresee and remediate future threats will separate the better-prepared organisation from the rest," Singh added.

Less than half of the respondents surveyed are planning to increase cyber security spends, indicating that incident response is still not on the priority list.

Organisations need to understand that the quantum of losses suffered because of a cyber breach will continue to escalate in future, and there is a heightened need to make investments in building robust cyber diagnostic programmes, provide remediation approach, cyber threat intelligence and incident response.

The report by the EY's team was prepared over 160 interviews with senior and mid management and over 50 per cent of the respondents are from listed companies.