A total of 132 ransomware incidents were recorded by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) in 2021, as per a response filed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in the Parliament on March 30. The number of cases has more than doubled from 2020 which saw 54 cases, the response revealed. The response was submitted by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology in reply to a question by All India Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee. What is ransomware? Ransomware is malware that resorts to encryption to hold a victim’s information at ransom. An individual or organisation’s critical data is encrypted so that they cannot access files, databases, or applications. A ransom is then demanded to restore access. MeitY also stated that the number of cases has steadily increased in the last three years as CERT-In reported 56, 30, and 43 ransomware incidents in 2017, 2018, and 2019 respectively. The data furnished by the government underscores the importance of cybersecurity in today’s world. CERT-In's figures are a good indicator of the overall cybersecurity situation in the country, and demonstrate a need for the country to invest in improving its cybersecurity apparatus and enact its revised cybersecurity policy. What are the other types of cyber threats faced by India? The Union government said that it is “fully aware” of the increasing number of cybersecurity threats; it added that the trend is being witnessed around the world. CERT-In recorded a total number of 552, 454, 472,…
