Data Gap On Cyberattacks Impacting Business Closures: MoS MSME

New Delhi, Dec 19 (KNN) The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) informed Parliament on Monday that it possesses no information or data on cyberattacks affecting MSMEs and the subsequent closure of businesses within this sector over the past five years.

In response to a query in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State in the MSME Ministry, Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, highlighted the potential issuance of directives to MSMEs.

These directives would encourage adherence to cybersecurity instructions and guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), aiming to shield against cyber threats, he added.

The minister's response stemmed from a question regarding the government's awareness of the 2023 India Threat Landscape Report by Cyfirma.

The query also touched upon whether there is a factual increase in cyberattacks against small and medium enterprises between 2021 and 2023.

Cyfirma, an external threat landscape management platform, released the report in November, focusing on threats targeting India and proposing counter strategies.

The report highlighted India as the most targeted country, accounting for 13.7% of all attacks, followed by the US at 9.6%, Indonesia and China at 9.3% and 4.5%, respectively.

The report underlined a significant surge in cyberattacks on government agencies year-on-year.

India, according to the report, became the most targeted country in 2022, with attacks on government agencies more than doubling.

The report also emphasized that cyber warfare does not spare small and medium enterprises, as businesses of all sizes remain susceptible to targeted cyber threats.

(KNN Bureau)