India-Pakistan Hostilities Prompt Cybersecurity Upgrade

Large and mid-sized companies in India are reassessing their cyber readiness and investing in security upgrades following the recent hostilities between India and Pakistan, according to cybersecurity firms. This shift is largely due to the realization that even a single ransomware attack could cost them upwards of Rs 10 crore, leading to significant revenue loss and setbacks.

Securonix’s India director, Dipesh Kaura, notes that advisories circulated in the cyber world before the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan resulted in a significant spike in cyberattacks targeting India. Kaura mentioned that once the Pahalgam incident occurred, every chief information security officer (CISO) began reviewing their cyber defense mechanisms, highlighting the sudden awareness and urgency among companies to bolster their cybersecurity.

Enhanced Cybersecurity Measures

Data from Kaspersky’s ICS CERT report for Q1 2025 indicates that malicious objects were blocked on 19.1% of ICS computers globally, underscoring the need for enhanced monitoring and risk assessments. Discussions around cyber resilience are gaining traction, with a notable increase in enquiries over the last month. Cybersecurity solutions provider SCS Tech reported a 30-40% surge in enterprise enquiries related to geopolitical cyber risks, affecting both government and private sectors.

Cyber Threat Continuation

Industry experts warn that the heightened cyber activity from across the border is expected to continue for the next two to three months, particularly targeting companies with critical infrastructure, defense systems, and BFSI. Tech companies are also reviewing their cybersecurity frameworks, prioritizing them at the boardroom level and conducting reviews to mitigate threats.

Preparations and Threats

Traditionally, organizations prepared for natural disasters but not war scenarios. Now, CISOs are incorporating geopolitical conflicts into their continuity planning, intensifying red-teaming exercises. Companies are strengthening their distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) defenses, as DDoS attacks can make systems unavailable to legitimate users by flooding them with traffic from multiple sources.

Consumer Products and Cyberattacks

Cyberattacks are no longer limited to critical sectors; they are also affecting the consumer products space. Edtech firm upGrad’s chief information officer, Raj Dogra, mentioned that geopolitical tensions have led to indiscriminate targeting of sectors, including online education, which manages vast repositories of personal data.

Proactive Measures

From a cyber firm’s standpoint, ensuring that cyber defenses can actively block attacks in real-time, especially zero-day and supply-chain attacks, is crucial. Organizations must invest in maintaining and updating their security tooling to effectively counter today’s cyber threats.

Indian Enterprises’ Cyber Readiness

IT solutions provider SNDK Corp’s founder, Brijesh Patel, noted that many private sector organizations operate with under-patched servers, making them more vulnerable to cyberattacks. The implementation of firewalls and antivirus systems is often inadequate or missing, particularly in non-government entities.

Article Details

• Published On: May 22, 2025, at 09:25 AM IST

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