Cyberattacks are on the rise worldwide and India is not left behind. Cyberattacks on Juspay, Unacademy, BigBasket, MobiKwik, Airtel and AirIndia are among the recent ones where personal data of millions of customers were stolen.1 We have also witnessed massive cyberattacks on critical health infrastructure, including hospitals and vaccine makers.2
During the pandemic, digitization accelerated by manifold. While steps are being taken to ensure a smooth transition from physical to digital world, the focus on security measures to prevent cyberattacks is still lacking. Unfortunately, one weak link in the system can collapse the entire network.
Countering cyberattacks requires preventive actions by, immediate response from, and coordination among entities at various levels, including individual users, organizations, technology companies, data services providers, and governments. In several jurisdictions, one of the key aspects towards creating robust systems is to have timely knowledge and reporting of these attacks to the specialized government agencies which are responsible for alerting law enforcement agencies for quick action against the perpetrators.
In this article, we examine the insufficiency of the regulatory mechanisms put in place to bound businesses in India to report data breach incidents to their customers or to government agencies.
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Footnotes
1. "India becomes favourite destination for cyber criminals amid Covid-19" By Shivani Shinde and Neha Alawadhi. Business Standard. 6 April 2021. https://www.business-standard.com/article/technology/india-becomes-favourite-destination-for-cyber-criminals-amid-covid-19-121040501218_1.html
2. Indian Pharma Firms at High Ransomware Attack Risk in 2021. National Herald. 23 December 2020. https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/national/indian-pharma-firms-at-high-ransomware-attack-risk-in-2021
Originally published by The National Law Review.
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