MSMEs vulnerable to cyber threats with growing digitalisation: Officials

With growing digitalisation globally, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are vulnerable to cyber attacks with lack of understanding of security risks and limited capital allocation to mitigate such threats, officials said on Thursday.

There is a need to equip these businesses with knowledge and hands-on training on how to identify and combat these threats, and, become more cyber-resilient, Union MSME ministry's director SK Sahoo said.

Cybersecurity remains an "area of serious concern" for the MSMEs, and the vulnerabilities of these businesses stem from several factors such as "lack of understanding of cyber security risks, less prioritisation for safety and limited capital allocation, he said in a workshop here.

It is important to bridge these gaps by imparting skills and knowledge on how to react when faced with cyber security breaches, Sahoo said.

The workshop was organised by the US Consulate General Kolkata and CUTS International, in collaboration with MSME-Development Institute, Ranchi, and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

Noting that limited awareness resulted in a drastic increase in cybercrime, C-DAC Patna director and centre head Aditya Kumar Sinha said the risk of SME's increases many folds seeing their cyberspace vulnerability.

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