India is home to around 700 million Internet users which is 47percent of the nation’s population. This number is being projected to reach the 900 million mark by 2025, according to an IAMAI – Kantar report by ICUBE.
The growth in internet use is not without its fair share of scams and cyberattacks. They are also exploding in recent years. It is not surprising that the subject that is most popular in this regard is financial. Criminals attempt to take an individual’s financial sensitive data, such as bank account or credit card information through ransomware attacks and more.
According to the information shared by Lok Sabha during August 2022 the country saw 50,242 instances of financial fraud in the period between 2021-2022, which equates to the staggering amount of total of 167.03 crore. Of this amount, only Rs 11.70 crore was able to be recuperated.
GRIM PICTURE
Despite RBI data showing a slight decrease, the rot continues. The data from the Apex Bank shows a decrease in the amount of money defrauded as reported by banks through ATM or debit/credit card banking. From to Rs 185 crore during 2019-20 to the amount of Rs 160 crore for 2020-21 to 128 crore in 2021-22, a slow reduction is apparent.
However, this is not enough to provide a complete picture of the growing cyber-crime scene that is taking place in India. The data provided by the National Consumer Helpline showed a rise in complaints that are related to cyber-related frauds. The number increased nearly four times, from 851 calls during the period 2020-21 to 327 between the years 2021-2022.
Its 2021 National Crime Records Bureau report is also pointing to an unprecedented increase in these instances. While the number of cybercrime incidents registered increased by 5.9 percent in the year 2020, with 50,035 cases, the criminal rate within this sector did see some increase.
A CISCO report highlighted the negative consequences of these scams for small-scale enterprises in the country. In particular, 60% of these suffered losses of more than 3.5 million to cyber-related scams over the course of the year.
Ritesh Chopra, Director of Sales and Field Marketing, India and SAARC Countries, NortonLifeLock, warned of the dangers that are growing. “The increasing use of cyberspace by scammers and hackers has eroded our confidence in the internet. According to the most recent Norton report, we’ve stopped more than a billion cyberattacks in the quarter ending in 2022. That’s 11 million cyber-attacks every day. The internet has become an unsecure space in which criminals use a variety of frauds. The latest and most popular scams are those that are deep fakes created by artificial intelligence and machine learning in which hackers make fraudulent profiles that gain access to banks or social media accounts. The scammers are employing innovative methods to stay out of detection or defrauding individuals.”
Evaa Saiwal, Practice Leader, Liability & Financial Risk, Policybazaar, agreed, noting that, along with the rapid growth of digitalisation, the frequency of cyber threats, extortion, and phishing is also increasing.
“Any cyber-attack could cause financial losses for both businesses and individuals. So, it’s time to increase security measures by taking advantage of extensive cyber insurance. Since the outbreak attacks on cyberspace have was up by 200% between the year 2019 to 2021, affecting small and medium-sized businesses and large corporations. Cyber insurance demand is increasing among corporations opting for higher amounts of insurance. Additionally, the number of people who are looking for cyber insurance is growing, which was once restricted to corporate clients only.” she added.
Rakesh Jain the Director at Reliance General Insurance, said, “With regard to corporate cyber insurance, we’ve experienced ransomware-related attacks in almost every industry which include oil, aviation and fintech. Except for a handful of major incidents, the majority of attacks have been small in size, but have been frequently occurring, especially in the fintech industry. Although the overall percentage of insurance coverage in this respect is small, there has been steady growth on the amount of corporations that have insurance that indicate a greater risk perception and awareness of risk among these companies.”
CYBER INSURANCE
In the world, the sector of cyberinsurance is expected to expand at a rate of 27% CAGR and reach around Rs 1.59 lakh crore over the coming two years.
Although crypto-crimes have not yet to be included in the scope that cyber security insurance covers, the majority of general plans, such as those of HDFC Ergo and ICICI Lombard will cover the loss of money from the bank account as well as legal costs associated with the case of identity theft, damages caused by ransomware, malware counseling services, and many more. In addition, phishing, privacy as well as security breaches are also covered to.
The cost of premiums varies based upon the type of plan. The ICICI plan is between to 6.5 to Rs 65 per day. In turn, the amount insured can be anywhere between Rs 50,000 to 1 crore. In general, for a policy that is worth one lakh, cost starts at 700, and rise to the amount of Rs 2,000. The policy is valid for 12 months. these policies are offered as separate sachets and the buyer bundles the policies according to their needs.
Jain stated, “Individual (retail) cyber insurance has been in business for more than five years. But, cyberbullying has emerged as an extremely serious threat because of the increased degree of digitization after the pandemic. However, awareness of cyber insurance is still low and the rate of penetration in the market is very low across the nation. To improve awareness and drive more widespread adoption bundles and packaging of this product correctly and in bite-sized sizes is essential, as are the appropriate partnerships and tie-ups to promote it.”
“Adopting a steady and cautious strategy to cybersecurity insurance can be the best option. Additionally, physical audits, cyber audits, and greater examination are essential for greater adoption,” he explained.
AI as well as machine-learning are increasingly being utilized to stop and thwart cyber-related fraud. Based on the findings of the Data Security Council of India approximately 75% of the companies operating using machine learning and artificial intelligence to stop and prevent cyber-related fraud.
“With cloud and digital adoption at its highest and the cyber threat landscape is always evolving in terms of the size and sophistication.We have to be on guard against a myriad of criminals. It includes targeted cybercrime gangs that rapidly adapt to the most recent threats, malicious players who use stolen credentials or increase the frequency of ransomware-related attacks, and the increasing number of state-sponsored adversaries that have a difficult time avoiding detection by employing ever-more sophisticated security measures,” said Sajan Paul, MD & Country Manager, India & SAARC, Juniper Networks.
