IoT deployments most vulnerable to cyberattacks in India in June quarter: Report

Internet of things (IoT) was the ‘most vulnerable’ to cyberattacks in India last quarter, as per a report by IANS.

The report cited a study by cybersecurity firm Subex, which stated that the country saw a 22 percent increase in cyberattacks on IoT deployments. This was higher than the global increase of 13 percent for the quarter that ended in June. This was also the second consecutive quarter that India topped the list.

IoT is a concept that anything with an on or off switch—ranging from cars to coffeemakers — can be interlinked by connecting to the internet.This is how home assistants like Google Home or Amazon Alexa can control light switches and stream your security camera.

The report stated that cyberattacks peaked on February 28 following the Pulwana attack and Balakot airstrikes that took place on February 14 and 26 respectively. This might mean that cyberattacks that originate from other countries are triggered by geopolitical uncertainties, the Subex study noted.

Smart cities, financial services and transportation were the most attacked sectors as they accounted for over 51 percent of the total cyberattacks in the for the quarter. Critical infrastructure projects in India have also been targeted by these .

While Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru ranked in the most attacked cities, points the report. Bengaluru-based Subex also registered 33,450 high-grade attacks, out of which 500 were of ‘very high sophistication’ in the June quarter.

Most of these attacks had origin in countries like the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia. Although, the chief of Subex notes pattern of IP-spoofing, which can conceal one's geographical origin.

The cybersecurity firm found as many as 15,000 new types of malicious software that were highly sophisticated. 17 percent of these types had a subtle approach in the form of modular malware—an advanced form of malicious software that launches itself in stages.