Majority of Indian firms reported jump in cyber threats while WFH: Cisco report

The Cisco Future of Secure Remote Work Report is based on a survey of more than 3,000 IT decision-makers globally, including over 1,900 respondents across 13 Asia Pacific markets including India.

Cybersecurity is the top priority for 84% of Indian organisations

Even as Indian companies are adapting to a new normal of working from home, cybercriminals have stepped up their activities to take advantage of the situation. A new Cisco report corroborates the recent trend of growing cybercrimes targeting such organisations.

According to Cisco's Future of Secure Remote Work Report, 73% of organisations in India have experienced a 25% or more jump in either cyber threats or alerts since the outbreak of Covid-19. It also pointed out that many Indian firms were caught unprepared to make the needed transition to a remote workforce. About 65% of organisations had to implement cybersecurity measures to support remote working.

Other top concerns raised by organisations included data privacy (66%) and protection against malware (62%).

The report predicts a hybrid workplace model in the future – wherein employees shuffle between remote working and in the office. More than half, 53%, of firms in India said they expect more than half of their workforce to continue working from home after the pandemic is over. This compares to an average of just 28% of organizations with more than half of their workforce working remotely before the pandemic.

About 84% of firms said that cybersecurity is now their top priority, whereas 77% of organisations said they had planned to increase their investment in security due to the pandemic.

“There are still challenges, though, that need to be addressed. While almost all (97%) organisations have made changes to their cybersecurity policies to support remote working, further simplicity and education are needed. According to the study, 60% of Indian organisations said that having too many tools/solutions to manage was a challenge faced in reinforcing cybersecurity protocols for remote working, followed by a lack of employee education and awareness (55%),” the report added.