India Might Be a Potential Target For Hackers, says Kaspersky

India's growing economy and digital push have caught the attention of hackers and an increasing wave of cyber attacks could soon badly impact the country, experts from Russian cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab have warned.

India and other South Asian countries are now on the radar of cyber attackers, said experts, adding that the government and corporate need to procure state-of-the-art, New Age security solutions to thwart their plans.

The impact of recent global cyber attacks were clearly visible in India as "WannaCry" -- that affected 150 countries globally -- and the recent "Petya" malware attack hit computers in the country.

"India's growing economy and digitalisation are really a big concern as cyber attackers have now begun focusing on developing countries with big populations and average incomes," Eugene Kaspersky, Chairman and Chief Executive of Kaspersky Lab, told IANS on the sidelines of the recently-concluded "Interpol World 2017" conference in Singapore's Suntec City.

His comments came as the Moscow-based cyber security firm found that the "Petya" attack hit Gateway Terminal India operated by AP Moller-Maersk at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), a facility near Mumbai which is India's biggest container port.

The terminal was unable to load or unload because of the attack as it failed to identify which shipment belongs to whom.

Stephan Neumeier, Managing Director of Kaspersky Lab Asia Pacific, stressed the need to educate people to save them from becoming victims of cyber attacks.

"As India's economy is growing fast, more and more people are now getting access to Internet. They have 4G access and Android devices are becoming popular. They need to be educated about anti-virus solutions as mandatory for devices and be made aware about not falling for phishing attacks," Neumeier emphasised.

He suggested that malicious emails or links should also be part of the awareness process.

"Countries like India are developing very fast which opens doors for more cyber attacks," Neumeier added.