Operation Sindoor wake-up call, need to be self reliant in digital-defence: Cybersecurity executive

New Delhi: A top cybersecurity executive has cautioned about heavy import dependence in securing the banking, financial services and insurance sector, saying it could be vulnerable if India had to engage in a war against a formidable rival.

Drawing parallels with Operation Sindoor, Dharshan Shanthamurthy, founder and CEO of SISA, a cybersecurity solutions company, said the defence of India’s banking and financial services sector was equally important in times of conflict as any attack on the payment ecosystem could have a crippling effect.

"We did equally good in terms of defending our digital payment ecosystem, like the way we have defended against drone attacks. I'm sure we would have defended against the cyber attacks as well," Shanthamurthy told PTI.

He said Operation Sindoor should serve as a wake up call for achieving self-reliance in defending India's financial services ecosystem.

"Now it was an inferior armed force. But if such a conflict is against a formidable armed force such as China or any other western power, we should be able to defend our financial ecosystem equally well," Shanthamurthy said.

He said that currently less than 10 per cent cyber security products used by various enterprises were of Indian origin.

"Every medium size enterprise uses 68-80 cybersecurity products, of which only 10 per cent are made in India," Shanthamurthy said, adding that in times of war or a limited conflict there is always a possibility of denial of technology or updates for cyber security products, leaving various enterprises in the country vulnerable to attacks.

"Operation Sindoor is a really good wake up call for us to increase and level up our cyber defence," he said.

Last month, SISA and CERT-IN released the Digital Threat Report-2024 for the banking, financial services and insurance sector, highlighting the emerging cyber threats and offering practical strategies for emulating and mitigating these risks.