HYDERABAD: A flourishing IT industry, coupled with a thick concentration of high net worth individuals (HNIs), has put Hyderabad on the hit list of cyber criminals, with Telangana accounting for the highest 15% share of malware attacks reported from across the country in 2023, a report says.
A bevy of attackers worm their way into systems to make the state the geographical hotspot for such strikes, from the rookie OTP fraudsters of Jharkhand cyber-crime den Jamtara to skilled malware attackers working out of plush offices.
According to the latest India Cyber Threat Report, Telangana was closely followed by Tamil Nadu with 14% of such attacks overall. Among cities, Hyderabad stood third on the dreaded list, behind Surat and Bengaluru.
“These attacks have penetrated Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as well, like Khammam and Adilabad, in Telangana. The server of a mid-sized IT company in a Tier 2 city was recently compromised after criminals gained access to the laptop of an employee working remotely,” said the vice-president of a cyber security company that has handled several high-profile cases.
According to him, Telangana could well top the list in 2024 with a slew of cyber crimes reported in the last six months. “We have already had 55 attacks so far this year on IT majors, pharma companies, large banks and manufacturing companies’ data centres in Hyderabad. There have been attacks targeting specific companies to steal intellectual properties. The attackers are focused on large companies with a database of thousands of people,” the cybersecurity expert explained.
While the semi-skilled bunch of cyber criminals operating from Jharkhand and UP target individuals from Telangana, specifically Hyderabad, the rest of the state has also turned fertile ground for sophisticated cyber criminals using malware as well, according to other experts.
A bevy of attackers worm their way into systems to make the state the geographical hotspot for such strikes, from the rookie OTP fraudsters of Jharkhand cyber-crime den Jamtara to skilled malware attackers working out of plush offices.
According to the latest India Cyber Threat Report, Telangana was closely followed by Tamil Nadu with 14% of such attacks overall. Among cities, Hyderabad stood third on the dreaded list, behind Surat and Bengaluru.
“These attacks have penetrated Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as well, like Khammam and Adilabad, in Telangana. The server of a mid-sized IT company in a Tier 2 city was recently compromised after criminals gained access to the laptop of an employee working remotely,” said the vice-president of a cyber security company that has handled several high-profile cases.
According to him, Telangana could well top the list in 2024 with a slew of cyber crimes reported in the last six months. “We have already had 55 attacks so far this year on IT majors, pharma companies, large banks and manufacturing companies’ data centres in Hyderabad. There have been attacks targeting specific companies to steal intellectual properties. The attackers are focused on large companies with a database of thousands of people,” the cybersecurity expert explained.
While the semi-skilled bunch of cyber criminals operating from Jharkhand and UP target individuals from Telangana, specifically Hyderabad, the rest of the state has also turned fertile ground for sophisticated cyber criminals using malware as well, according to other experts.
