New Delhi

In 2023, the manufacturing industry in India experienced the highest number of ransomware extortions, as per a global report by Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42. The report, based on data from over 250 organizations and 600 incidents, analyzed 3,998 posts on leak sites where stolen data is disclosed to coerce victims into paying ransom by threat actors.

Globally, there was a 49% year-on-year increase in multi-extortion ransomware attacks from 2022 to 2023, with the Indian manufacturing sector being the worst affected. The report highlights the vulnerability of the Indian manufacturing sector due to limited visibility into operational technology systems, inadequate network monitoring, and poor cyber-hygiene practices.

According to Anil Valluri, MD and VP, India and SAARC, Palo Alto Networks, organizations need to adopt enterprise-wide Zero Trust network architecture to enhance security and limit attackers’ lateral movement within the network. The report also indicates a decline in phishing incidents to 17% in 2023 from one-third in 2022, suggesting a shift in cybercriminal tactics towards more technologically advanced infiltration methods.

Moreover, there has been a notable increase in the exploitation of software and API vulnerabilities, which accounted for 38.60% of initial access points in 2023, up from 28.20% in 2022.