The average cost of data breach for Indian enterprises stands at Rs 12.8 crore, an increase of 7.29 percent compared to last year, according to an IBM study.
The report - Cost of Data Breach - prepared by IBM in partnership with Ponemon Institute, also revealed that it is taking longer for enterprises to recover this cost, which enterprises incur due to loss of information and rectifying the same due to mounting cyber attacks.
For instance, on average companies can recover 67 percent of the cost in the first year after breach, it takes close to two years or longer to recover the cost, the report said.
The report stated that in India, companies in the industrial sector are highly vulnerable to such breaches. Other sectors that were affected include pharmaceuticals, technology, services and financial sectors.
Globally, average for cost of data breach is Rs 27 crore. The US ranks first with the cost of data breach being Rs 56 crore. In terms of sector, healthcare accounted for the highest cost of breach at Rs 44. 4 crore.
Cybersecurity as business
"India is witnessing a significant change in the nature of cyber-crimes, it is now extremely organised and collaborative.” Iyer said that as the cost of data breach continues to rise, enterprise need to significantly in cyber security," said Vaidyanathan Iyer, Security Software Leader, IBM India/South Asia.
Like Iyer said, we are already seeing enterprises investing in cybersecurity. In fact, it would not be too much of a stretch to say that this rise in cyber crimes can be directly linked to the opportunities the attacks have paved way to.
According to analysts, investment in cybersecurity has increased significantly in the last few years and is a key agenda in boardroom discussions now.
In an earlier interaction with Moneycontrol, Vishal Salvi, Chief Information Security Officer, Infosys said: "There is so much happening in this space that it is as much as a risk as a business opportunity. In the last 4-5 quarters, the company has been growing it as a separate vertical. It will be a key focus area going forward. It is very important and a focus area for everyone at the leadership board and for us to drive cybersecurity. This is not just because of the business opportunity but also because of potential value that we can add to our customers."
Other IT firms such as Wipro, HCL Technologies and TCS too have a sharp focus in cybersecurity.
It is not just Indian firms that has sharpened its focus into the cybersecurity business though. According to reports, the market set to grow to $35 billion by 2025 in India from $4.5 billion now. With so much growth potential, overseas firms are also looking for the smaller piece in the pie.
For instance, endpoint anti-virus software providers are seeing a huge surge. Overseas cybersecurity firms like Akamai and Palo Alto Networks too have turned their focus on India.
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