India has experienced a 138% rise in cyberattacks on government bodies from 2019 to 2023. This increase has prompted a response from the government, detailed in a recent report to the Rajya Sabha.
From 2019 to 2023, cyberattacks on Indian government entities surged from 85,797 to 204,844, indicating a significant rise in cyber threats to government infrastructure.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, via CERT-In, reports that cybersecurity incidents in government organizations have been increasing each year.
In 2020, there were 54,314 cyber incidents. This declined to 48,285 in 2021, but then rose sharply to 192,439 in 2022 and continued to increase to 204,844 in 2023, marking a 138% rise over four years.
The Indian government is focusing on enhancing cybersecurity in response to rising cyber threats. Jitin Prasada, Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, informed the Rajya Sabha that steps are being taken to protect critical government information infrastructure, as reported by The Tribune.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada said, “The government is fully aware of various cybersecurity threats. We have taken measures to enhance the cybersecurity posture and prevent cyber-attacks,”.
The ministry stated that the government directed all central ministries, departments, states, and union territories to appoint chief information security officers for cybersecurity. Additionally, the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) was established to safeguard critical information infrastructure under Section 70-A of the IT Act, 2000.
The NCIIPC offers threat intelligence, situational awareness, alerts, and vulnerability information to organizations with critical infrastructure to help them prevent cyber-attacks and cyber-terrorism, according to the Minister.
The National Cyber Coordination Centre, established by CERT-In, acts as the control room for scanning and detecting cybersecurity threats in the country.