‘Ransomware threats more than doubling every year’

Ransomware threats are more than doubling every year, both in terms of volume and value of tax and transfer payments, says Anand Eswaran, CEO, Veeam Software, a global leader in data resilience.

“Assuming all things would be breached, one must make sure that one’s data is recovered without any loss as instantly as possible, he said in an interview with The Hindu.

“Our research tells us that three fourth of all companies were breached last year at least once and 80% of them ended up paying the ransom, and despite paying the ransom, 25% never retrieved the data,” he said. 

Stating that companies needed to realise it as an organisational cultural problem, he said it required “everyone in every country to start taking this [data protection] seriously.” “And I think that’s still a journey,” he added.

Mr. Eswaran was in Mumbai to speak at VeeamOn Tour India 2024, a community event for data recovery experts which concluded in Mumbai this week, after a series of events in Bengaluru and Delhi.

According to a recent white paper by the company, which is eyeing a revenue of $2 billion in 2026, India’s crucial role in global digital economy makes it a prime target for ransomware. 

The white paper has been developed in accordance with guidelines from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert-In) and provides an analysis of the current ransomware landscape.  Cert-In had reported a 53% rise in ransomware incidents in 2022, particularly affecting IT services, finance, manufacturing, and critical infrastructure, disrupting essential services for ransom.

“India’s crucial role in the global digital economy makes it a prime target for ransomware. Government and private organisations must enhance their data protection and disaster recovery capabilities to mitigate both internal and external threats,” said Sandeep Bhambure, VP and MD, Veeam Software India & SAARC.

“Back-ups are an organisation’s last line of defence while ensuring accessibility, availability, and more importantly, business continuity and data integrity,” he said.

“Veeam is committed to providing the solutions and strategies needed to combat these threats. Our latest white paper provides a comprehensive roadmap for boosting cyber resilience and ensuring business continuity,” he added.

“Having a hardened backup strategy and implementing robust data protection and recovery measures as outlined in the white paper, reduces the risk of ransomware attacks and safeguards organisations’ critical data assets,” he said further.

In response to rising digital threats, the Centre has enacted the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which introduces stringent data protection measures for public and private entities, enhancing India’s cyber resilience.

The DPDP Act emphasises data minimisation, purpose limitation, and storage limitation – key principles for mitigating ransomware risks. It also mandates robust security measures, regular impact assessments, and prompt breach notifications.  By integrating these requirements, the Act not only protects personal data, but also positions India as a leader in digital innovation and responsible data governance, the company said.

The white paper also addresses the threat of Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), where cybercriminals rent ransomware infrastructure to conduct attacks.

Notable RaaS operations like Conti, Lockbit, and Black Basta highlight the growing sophistication and commercialisation of cybercrime.

The company, which competes with Veritas, Dell, IBM and the new upstarts like Rubrik and Cohesity, has announced to expand its operations in India.

“India is a key market for us. India is accelerating in growth. While our company is growing closer to 17 to 20%, our India business is growing at 45% plus. So India is among the top three countries in the world in terms of growth percentage for me, the CEO said.

“We expect to invest in India, not just to help Indian customers and the Indian government, which we are very excited about their opportunity. India also holds a special place for me in expanding shared services, which we will offer globally from here,” he said. The company has established a hub for customer support in India and that is expanding. It has also started an R&D hub here and will start back office operations for sales. “So, India is going to rapidly increase in scale and size,” he added.

Veeam Software, which started its India operations in 2014, has been growing fast. The key focus verticals in India include enterprises, BFSI, government, manufacturing, IT-enabled Services (ITeS) and public sector undertakings (PSUs). Some of the top customers include Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra Group, Granules India, Parul University and Future Generali.