
Targeted ransomware attacks on the healthcare and pharma sector will surge in India in 2021 . Healthcare and pharma sector companies that have been in the front lines working to fight against the pandemic in the country are facing a new wave of ransomware attacks and extortion.
The ‘threat prediction 2021‘ report by Seqrite, an enterprise security solutions brand by Quick Heal Technologies, although few ransomware operators agreed not to attack the healthcare sector during the Covid-19 crisis, several other attack groups have continued to use ransomware against this sector, largely because of the sensitive and personal data of patients they store.
“The pandemic acted as a huge opportunity for cybercriminals to innovate their attack strategies further, and steal sensitive data for their personal gain,”. New tactics like double extortion, crypto-mining, ethical hacking, etc. are expected to be widely adopted by threat actors in 2021,”
There has been a massive surge in cyberattacks against the Indian vaccine makers and hospitals in the month of October and December. Nearly 80 lakh attacks were recorded between October 1 and November 25 on the healthcare sector-based ‘Threat Intelligence Sensors’ network specifically simulated in India.
“Threat actors will also use deep-fakes, automated phishing, red team tools, and crypto-mining to steal sensitive data,” the report mentioned.
Strengthening cybersecurity hence became the need of the hour for most businesses as they gear up for 2021, Defence in deep depth should be a main focus of NewYear