Cisco states shortage of four lakh cyber security experts in India

Arecent study conducted by Cisco has revealed that India is facing with a shortage of over four lakh cyber security professionals and this could develop into a serious situation. Even as 2013 was marked by an unprecedented growth in malicious traffic, firms globally are grappling with a shortage of over a million cyber security professionals as they try to monitor and secure networks, according to a study by Cisco.

According to the networking solutions major, overall vulnerability and threat levels reached their highest in 2013, ever since it began tracking in May 2000. Its 2014 Annual Security Report reveals that 2013 was a “particularly bad year”, with cumulative annual threat alert levels increasing 14 per cent since 2012.

The report also revealed that hackers are increasing attacks on the core of the Internet – servers of web hosting providers, name servers and data centres – to spread exploits. Thousands of web hosting centres are now acting as launchpads for such attacks. Android and Java are top security targets for malware and hacks, the report said adding Android also has a large install base and is therefore an attractive target for hackers.

It’s an open platform with innumerable iterations and hence is easier to exploit compared to a closed operating systems. Ninetynine per cent of all mobile malware in 2013 targeted Android devices, it added. SP