What Are The Top 5 Cyber Crimes?

Between 2019 and 2020, over ₹1.29 lakh crores of capital was lost in cybercriminal activities. Many of these attacks were executed by sophisticated teams and resulted in security breaches, impairment to brand equity, business continuity losses, and the cost of reconfiguring the security systems. Cyber insurance can be a considerable layer of safety for safeguarding the firm’s interests even after a cyberattack. To fully appreciate the efficacy of a cyber insurance plan, it is essential to understand the landscape of cybercrimes in India.  

What are the Top 5 Cyber Crimes in India?

Understanding the most prevalent form of cybercrimes in India can help identify the potential vulnerabilities in the enterprise system. Simultaneously, it can provide insight into the ideal insurance coverage required by the firm. While what is cybercrime is now more evident than ever, here is the response on what are the top 5 cybercrimes in India:  

1. Hacking

Hacking is a systematic process used to identify vulnerabilities in a system and access nearly all the administrative controls in the system. This can lead to a hacker getting control of how the system functions, what information is encrypted, and even the outputs of specific processes. Since most businesses are using computers and the cloud practically across every touchpoint in the cyber value chain, the scope of hacking has increased. The hacking of enterprise backend systems, websites, and even Bank ATMs is common these days. Being one of the most deep-rooted forms of cyberattacks, hacking is a significant risk for all businesses across industries.  

2. XSS: Cross-Site Scripting

Such attacks try to use the URL of an existing and otherwise reliable website to perform a targeted attack. The attacker will try to insert JavaScript, HTML, or Flash-based code onto the third-party site. This is done to redirect the users to a separate page or take their information under false pretence. Such targets have a systemic and lasting effect on the business since it loses trust among its only consumers.  

3. Denial-of-Service Attack

Suppose you are a System Administrator for a large enterprise and looking after the IT Infrastructure at the premises. Your job is to ensure maximum uptime and hence contribute to the enterprise productivity levels. While you monitor the performance of systems on your platform, you suddenly see a spike in the cloud data consumption of a few systems from the Customer Support team. At first, you believe that they are simply running too many processes, which will settle in a while. Then you see some systems from the HR Team consuming more cloud resources than usual. Before you can react, a whole set of systems from the operations teams uses your cloud resources in excess. Within minutes, these systems have eaten into the threshold of your cloud platform. And now – you will have to stop regular business processes for fixing the issue. There is a high probability that this was a Distributed Denial-of-Service Attack, popularly called a DDoS attack. The attackers' motive here is to find the most vulnerable systems in your network and use them as the gateway to excessively using your shared resources and bring the entire network to a halt.  

4. Phishing Scam

Generally, when people are asked the top 5 cybercrimes, their list invariably includes phishing scams. Most of us have experienced the scam once or twice, even if we have not fallen victim to it. With this method of attacking enterprises and individuals, the attacker tries to masquerade as a known enterprise or an authoritative body. This is done to extract critical information like credit card details, online banking passwords, identity proofs, and other sensitive documents. The method with which a phishing scam is carried out can vary to a large extent. Most phishing scams are done using emails, but it is common for attackers to reach out using phone calls.  

5. Spamming

While spamming is not considered a criminal act in many jurisdictions, it can be discomforting for the recipient. If you are using a compromised corporate email ID, your inbox may get flooded with unsolicited messages that divert you from having a productive day and consume your firm’s resources.   Explore cyber insurance coverage offered under our plans. Visit Bajaj Allianz and secure yourselves financially against these cybercrimes today!  

FAQs

1. Are both individuals and businesses equally at risk for cybercrimes in India?

While enterprises have more robust security measures in place, they also provide a more significant upside to the attacker if she/he succeeds in breaking in. That said, it would be false to assume that individuals are not at a proportionate level of risk.  

1. How to save yourself from cyberattacks?

Here are some measures you can take:

1. Have a dedicated firewall.
2. Do not use pirated or outdated software.
3. Never share your credentials with anyone.
4. Be sensitive about what you share on the cloud.