Cyber Attacks

The upgrade threat of terrorism has led to unprecedented levels of security at Indian airports, railway stations, hotels, ports etc. But the government does not pay heedm to see the bigger threat, which will not come from AK-47s, bombs and rifles. The next big invade will be come from terrorists in the cyber world. We live in a technologically interconnected world. Most of us cannot imagine flush a single day without our cell phones, internet and ATMs. There is hardly whatever distinction between where our bodies end and technology begins. Would it be surprising then, if terrorists exact to approach path India via the internet?Let me sh be some facts about how significant and damaging that threat can be If a terrorist group were to attack our stock market and financial infrastructure, it would cause widespread panic and losses to millions of people and organizations. Imagine yourself running helplessly from one ATM to another, laborious to withdraw money from your account, only to find that the attack has forced banks to substantiation dead online transactions. Likewise, our telecom infrastructure. If it were flooded with malicious entropy, business and personal life would poke to a standstill.Terrorists could also target Indias top businesses, hacking into their systems, stealing valu open keen property, sensitive information and company secrets. Even military networks can be targeted. These scenarios are not from a Bollywood flick, but tangible threats that loom large. In May 2007, Estonia a small but technologically sophisticated Baltic country fell victim to a cyber attack. The unidentified terrorists bombarded the countrys network with data traffic, clogging it and rendering study services unusable.People were not able to access financial utilities, communications and data services for several hours and some, for days together. What stops cyber terrorists from launching similar attacks in India? Very little because, disrespect being an infotech power, India lags on cyber security. Neither the government, nor the private sector is adequately disposed(p) to face a cyber attack. We have the necessary laws in place, but they are futile in the absence of trained security experts and police officials to inflict them.Recently, I was at a conference in the Capital, attended by numerous Delhi Police officials. During the question-answer session, one police official asked me All this is attractive Mr Ankit, but yeh internet ki building kidhar hai? According to him, the internet was a huge building and, in order to protect it from cyber terrorists, the police had exclusively to stand all around it, holding rifles and lathis to fight off viruses, worms and criminals If this is the body politic of affairs in the police department of the national capital, one cant even begin to imagine the way it is in other cities.The fact that fewer engineering colleges in India offer courses on cyber security is a major reason for the lack of cyber experts. The result is that when a private company website gets hacked, the consequent is brushed under the carpet lest its brand image is tarnished. Worse, its considered normal for more or less Indian government websites to get hacked regularly. But the lack of trained professionals and a lax attitude are the least of Indias concerns. The internet has no boundaries and allows cyber terrorists to veil behind geographic, political and diplomatic clouds.It is easy for a criminal to mask behind proxy servers and bounce off systems in unfriendly countries to stop security agencies from tracing the culprits. The dynamic nature of cyber security, coupled with the obsolete techniques apply by the Indian forces, means it is a losing battle for India. Lets not ask for a cyber 26/11 to happen. A willingness to make changes, a proactive approach with some nimble execution can fix the chinks in Indias cyber security and drastically improve our preparedness to fight a cyber war.