Citizen-centric cybersecurity is need of the hour

As civil society is encouraged to embrace digital technology, they are at greater risk of disruptions by various cybersecurity incidents

“Your network has been breached and all data was encrypted.” The message on the screens of NIMHANS desktops provided a link to connect with the sales department of the ransomware and mentioned that the user has to purchase its decryption software, alluding to blackmail.

NIMHANS faced cybersecurity threats following a ransomware attack in March 2022. While there are concerns about patient data being compromised, and the functioning of the causality department, the director contended that only some computers were infected.

In a new avatar of digital crime, several consumers of Bescom have received specious communication conveying that the power connections to their respective homes will be severed due to the default in payment of electric bills. Those who reacted to this communique had their bank accounts compromised.

As civil society is encouraged to embrace digital technology, they are at greater risk of disruptions by various cybersecurity incidents. The marginalization of civil society in the broader political discourse and cybersecurity ecosystems at the global and national levels renders it vulnerable to policy and practice.

While governments around the globe spend billions of dollars on protecting state-owned critical infrastructure (CI) and private corporations have generous cybersecurity budgets, the participation of civil society in cybersecurity rarely goes beyond tokenism.

For one, civil society seldom represents a significant commercial threat which merits the kind of expenditure commercial CI warrants. As civil society is often outside the ambit of CI, it is not subjected to legal provisions of cybersecurity laws. Furthermore, tech companies do not find it financially stimulating to invest in technology to secure smartphones sold off the shelf for mass consumption.

A study published in February observes that India alone has over 750 million smartphone users, expected to rise to over a billion by 2026, driven by sales in its vast rural hinterland. Very few of these users understand the threats that online hackers pose.