No IT system in can claim to be 100% safe: Sophos

A survey conducted by security software maker Sophos, covering 2,700 IT decision makers including 300 in India, revealed that more than 70 per cent surveyed do not have anti-exploit technology, which means these businesses are easy prey for data breaches and complex threats like WannaCry.

As per the survey, despite the intensity and magnitude of attacks, Indian businesses are still not prepared to defend itself against determined attackers.

“According to those impacted by ransomware last year, the median total cost of a ransomware attack was $133,000. Indian organisations median total cost stood at $1.17 million, the highest, in rectifying the impacts of ransomware. This extends beyond any ransom demanded and includes downtime, manpower, device cost, network cost, and lost opportunities,” the report said.

Ransomware is a malicious software that locks system of a user and demands payment for unlocking it. Around 67 per cent of Indian entities covered in the survey were hit by ransomware last year.

No IT systems across the world can claim to be safe, including Aadhaar, due to rise in complexity of cyber attacks, Indian arm of London Stock Exchange listed security software maker Sophos said on Wednesday.

“No CIO today can say with hand on his heart that his systems are 100 per cent vulnerability free,” Sophos Managing Director - sales for India and SAARC, Sunil Sharma, said at the sidelines of launch of the report on ‘The State of Endpoint Security.’

When asked his view on Aadhaar, which claims to be completely safe and secure, he said “in terms of vulnerabilities, no one can claim that his system is 100 per cent safe.”

Email sent to Unique Identification Authority of India, custodian of Aadhaar, elicited no immediate reply.

Healthcare most affected

Globally, more than 70 per cent of IT professionals surveyed were unable to identify the correct definition of anti-exploit technology, despite how critical it is for modern attack prevention, the report said.

“91 per cent Indian organisations claimed to running up-to-date endpoint protection when impacted by ransomware and 89 per cent India respondents stated that malware threats have got more complex over the last year,” as per the report.

Globally, as per the survey, healthcare sector was most impacted by ransomware with 76 per cent of entities in the segment admitted to have been hit by the malicious software.