The year 2018 was challenging for the cyber world, including in India. Kaspersky Lab’s threat review for the last quarter of 2018 reveals that 30.1 percent of computer users in India were hit by a web-based attack, and over half (52.4 percent) were targeted by a local threat, such as an infected USB device.

Online (web threats)

Attacks via browsers are the primary method for spreading malicious programs to unsuspecting users. In the period of October-December 2018, Kaspersky Lab products detected 39,718,184 different internet-borne cyberthreats on the computers of KSN participants in India (30.1 percent of users). This places India in the 21st place worldwide when it comes to the dangers associated with surfing the web.

Local (computer-based) threats

Worms and file viruses account for the majority of computer-based incidents, with the infection often occurring via removable USB drives, CDs and DVDs, and other “offline” methods.

In the period October-December 2018, Kaspersky Lab products detected 66,013,977 local incidents on the computers of KSN participants in India. Overall, 52.4 percent of users in India were attacked by local threats during this period. This puts the country in 66th place worldwide.

Shrenik Bhayani, General Manager, Kaspersky Lab (South Asia) said that they have seen an increase in the number of cyber threats in the past 2 years, which is post demonetization. As India is positively progressing digitally, the country’s citizens and businesses should also be more careful and aware of the cyber threats that can be targeted towards them. People should constantly be updated with the various cyber threats that are being used for cyber frauds, read up about them and also discuss the same with their family and friends in order to create awareness and avoid being the victim of a cyber threat, he said.