While 78% of organizations believe they are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ prepared to mitigate an attack, 50% still fell victim to ransomware last year Vishak Raman Vice President of Sales, India SAARC and Southeast Asia at Fortinet Executive summary Fortinet recently surveyed 569 cybersecurity leaders and decision-makers from organizations of all sizes and industries around the globe to understand their perspectives on ransomware, how it has impacted their organizations, and what strategies they have in place to mitigate a potential attack. In this year’s survey, more than 80% of respondents say they are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ concerned about the threat of ransomware, yet a similar number (78%) of organizations surveyed also believe they are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ prepared to thwart a breach. Despite those concerns and feelings of preparedness, half of the organizations surveyed still fell victim to ransomware last year. Of the organizations that experienced a ransomware incident, 71% said they paid at least a portion of the demanded ransom, even though 72% indicated they detected the incident within hours (often within minutes). And while nearly all respondents had cyber insurance, this didn’t guarantee that all costs would be covered, or data restored. In fact, only 35% of those affected by ransomware recovered all their data after the incident. It’s not all bad news, though. In fact, despite economic uncertainty, nearly all leaders surveyed (91%) expect increased security budgets in the coming year to invest in technologies and services that further safeguard their networks from a potential ransomware attack. In general, security leaders’ top priority is to implement advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) that enable faster threat detection, followed by central monitoring to speed response. And specifically, Internet-of-Things (IoT) security and next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) topped the list of areas and products that leaders planned to invest in, with the greatest increase in plans to implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) and secure email gateway (SEG) solutions. This is a promising plan, as phishing emails were the number one method respondents reported ransomware actors used to gain entry. And of course, the endpoint is the ultimate destination of ransomware. “Though three out of four organizations detected ransomware attacks early, half still fell victim to them. These results demonstrate the urgency to move beyond simple detection to realtime response. However, this is only part of the solution as organizations cited the top challenges in preventing attacks were related to their people and processes. A holistic approach to cybersecurity that goes beyond investing in essential technologies and prioritizes training is essential” Interestingly, while many security leaders have traditionally believed that buying the best individual product for a project will yield the strongest cybersecurity posture, this year’s survey data indicates that those organizations that reported taking a point product approach were the most likely to become a victim of ransomware. However, technology is only part of the solution. The survey found that four out of the top five challenges in preventing ransomware were related to people and processes. As ransomware proliferates and attacker methods grow in sophistication, organizations of all shapes and sizes are a target, making it crucial that security leaders invest in the right technologies, people, and processes now to prevent a ransomware incident in the future. The Growing sophistication of ransomware makes every organization a target While ransomware has existed for decades, the global threat remains at peak levels. It also continues to become more sophisticated, causing increasing harm to organizations worldwide. According to observations from the FortiGuard Labs Incident Response (IR) team, financially motivated cybercrime accounted for the highest volume of incidents (74%) in 2022, with 82% of financially motivated cybercrimes involving the deployment of ransomware or malicious scripts. While year-over-year ransomware growth has slowed in 2022 – following the explosion of this attack method in 2021 – the frequency of it is still increasing. For example, in the first half of 2022, FortiGuard Labs observed the introduction of 10,666 new variants – that’s double the number seen in the six months prior.2 The likely reason for the change is that Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) operations are maturing, enabling cybercriminals to successfully introduce new, more sophisticated, and aggressive variants than ever before. And they are also being more selective, specifically targeting organizations able to provide a large payout. In contrast to the early success of RaaS, which initially relied on volume – more affiliates meant more opportunities to infiltrate networks and launch attacks – RaaS operators are increasingly becoming more selective regarding the associates they allow to join their operations. This more systematic approach to executing ransomware attacks is yielding greater success. For starters, they’re spending more time conducting reconnaissance to identify lucrative targets, meaning that many ransom demands now reach well into the tens of millions of dollars. Additionally, the ransoms these groups are demanding from their targets now tend to be commensurate with the organization’s size and industry. Many cybercriminal organizations use a formula to determine what amount to ask for so that a victim is more likely to pay. This growing maturity of ransomware operations is to be expected, given that RaaS is a significant driver of Crime-asa-Service (CaaS). Yet, as RaaS operators become more aggressive with their playbooks and incorporate increasingly destructive elements into attacks – such as the growing use of wipers – organizations of all shapes and sizes must implement appropriate security strategies to mitigate potential breaches. Ransomware attacks are common and costly Given the evolution and growing sophistication of ransomware operations, it’s not surprising that 84% of organizations represented in this year’s survey remain ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ concerned about this threat, which is even higher than the 76% of respondents that expressed the same level of worry when surveyed in 2021. However, despite these concerns, 78% also believe they are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ prepared to prevent or mitigate a ransomware attack (up significantly from the 63% who felt that way in the prior survey). In fact, more than 90% of those surveyed said that having a ransomware strategy…

Colonel B. S. Nagial (Retd.) Narcotic trafficking, which started as an organised cross-border crime, has become a severe security threat for many countries worldwide due to its illicit relations with Terrorist organisations. The Golden Crescent is a major producer of opium. Opium farming in Afghanistan augmented by 32% over the previous year to 233,000 hectares, thus rendering the 2022 crop the third largest area under the ambit of opium farming since monitoring began. Opium prices have increased, resulting in the announcement of the cultivation ban in April 2022. Pakistan is the transport hub, with drug networks operating from the country using its drug routes to reach international markets. It is a serious threat to India because these drugs are the primary source for funding Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in this country. India is the only legitimate supplier of opium to the international pharmaceutical industry. The Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier’s economy depends on the production of poppy and cannabis. The drug money is being floated unorganised but systematically into the Indian money market, thereby detrimental to financial institutions. Consequently, the illicit drug trafficking from Afghanistan and Pakistan threatens India’s polity and economy. This demands serious consideration from policymakers and law enforcement agencies before it gets too late for action. Narco-terrorism denotes the connexion between narcotics and terrorism. As the roots of terrorism in India are generally beyond its borders, therefore it is imperative to look into the growing illicit narcotics trade in Pakistan, which funds terrorist activities conducted in India. Afghanistan and the NWFP of Pakistan are the principal manufacturers of opium worldwide, which encompasses enormous sums of money in the worldwide market. The Pakistani government and non-government organisations utilise the drug earnings to strike at the very foundations of India. Funding terrorism is a costly affair. Money required for terrorist activities does not come through legal sources. It is channelised through illegal and unofficial means. Narcotic drugs are more expensive than other consumer products in the world market. It realises colossal amounts of money, and that too in hard cash. The term narco-terrorism was first referred to in the US when drug contrabandists in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Nicaragua and other Central American countries controlled the illegal trade as a profession and ran a corresponding government. The organised crime network’s linkages with terrorism threaten India’s National Security because India’s proximity to the Golden Triangle makes her susceptible to the operation of narcotics and drug production. Recently, it has been observed that those who promote terrorism in India from across the border are using the proceeds of such drug sales to finance terror activities. Drones are being used for drug trafficking from across the border. Punjab has become a significant problem; many drugs enter the Attari border. The money generated through them finds its way into Kashmir for funding terrorism. There have been many seizures off the coast of Gujarat, and several arms and drug consignments have been seized in the island territory of Lakshwadeep. There seems to be an emerging nexus between the Afghanistan-Pakistan. The seriousness of this problem is so severe that it affects the maritime environment and threatens India’s coastal security and drug abuse, a social problem that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed in his Mann ki Baat. A large number of the youth in India are into drug abuse. AIIMS, Delhi had, conducted a detailed survey in 2019 concerning drug abuse in the country. The study’s results revealed the extent of the problem in India, where 31 million users of cannabis, 23 million users of opioids and 11.9 million users of pharmaceutical sedatives are addicts. 2.06% of the population is affected, the average of which is far greater than in Asia and the world. It has adversely affected the State of Punjab, J&K and the Northeast Region of India. It is a lucrative trade for drug traffickers but a death knell for society. An addict requires a 0.5-milligram dose per day, that is, 360 metric tons of opioids per year, for all the addicts in India, which is one metric ton per day. They cost 2-3 crores per kilogram, which is Rs. 1,45,000 crore of business annually. Against which the seizure was only 2.4 metric tons of heroin in 2019 which is hardly 7% of the whole. After the NCB and state police forces were sensitised to the results of this survey, seizures went up to 7.1 metric tons in 2021, which is 19.7%. It is only the tip of the iceberg, and much work towards enforcement is required urgently. Drug trafficking is a borderless crime, and its extent makes it very difficult to control. There is also a new trend of using drones to drop off drugs across borders. The drug lords of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran work together to push heroin through the Arabian Sea. Acetic Anhydride manufactured in India is shipped illegally to Pakistan and Iran and used to make heroin. After the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir and the subsequent strengthening of security along the border, it became tough for the drug traffickers in the northwest to smuggle drugs across the border, so they shifted to the maritime route. For the last four years, the NCB has worked closely with the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, whose coordination with the Coast Guards of Sri Lanka and Maldives resulted in many seizures at sea. The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) supports the drug lords in Pakistan, and the money generated through their activities is being used to fund terrorist activities in India. The Haji Saleem network uses terrorists in India to carry out their activities. Eight Indian assets of their network have been identified in a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) investigation whose links go back to the ISI and other contacts in Sri Lanka and Australia. The Kasargod network is another example worth mentioning. It is a vast network with contacts in Sri Lanka, Gulf and Pakistan. They traditionally produced Ganja and sold it in the rest of India and Sri Lanka. Gradually they moved into operating with…