New Delhi, April 8 (KNN) In a significant development for India’s financial cybersecurity infrastructure, the Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In), CSIRT-Fin, and global cybersecurity firm SISA have jointly launched the Digital Threat Report 2024 for the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector.
The collaborative initiative aims to strengthen cybersecurity resilience through comprehensive analysis of current and emerging cyber threats and defense strategies.
The report was formally unveiled by M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, and S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, alongside Dr. Sanjay Bahl, Director General of CERT-In, and Dharshan Shanthamurthy, Founder and CEO of SISA.
During the launch event, S. Krishnan emphasised the systemic risks associated with the financial sector’s rapid digital transformation.
He noted that the interconnected nature of the BFSI ecosystem means a single cyberattack can have far-reaching repercussions beyond the initial target, highlighting the urgent need for coordinated cybersecurity efforts at national and sectoral levels.
Krishnan underscored the vital role of CERT-In and CSIRT-Fin in mitigating these risks through collaboration with regulators, industry stakeholders, and global cybersecurity organisations to ensure timely detection, response, and recovery from cyber incidents.
M. Nagaraju stressed that cybersecurity has evolved from an optional safeguard to the foundation of financial stability in the digital age.
As India’s BFSI sector continues its rapid expansion, securing digital transactions has become not merely a regulatory necessity but an economic imperative.
Nagaraju described the Digital Threat Report 2024 as a strategic blueprint that equips financial institutions with the intelligence needed to anticipate vulnerabilities, strengthen defenses, and build cyber resilience against increasingly sophisticated threats.
The report provides a holistic analysis of the cybersecurity landscape affecting the BFSI sector, which stands at the heart of global digital transformation.
With digital payments projected to generate USD 3.1 trillion by 2028 and account for 35 percent of total banking revenues, the rapid shift to digital transactions has simultaneously expanded the attack surface for cybercriminals.
The 2024 Digital Threat Report distinguishes itself by examining not only current threats and vulnerabilities but also offering deeper insights into adversarial tactics that impact system-level operations, along with forward-looking analysis of anticipated cyber risks.
Dr. Sanjay Bahl highlighted that cybersecurity extends beyond protecting individual entities to securing an entire ecosystem. In today’s hyper-connected environment, threats evolve at unprecedented speeds, making collaborative intelligence-sharing essential.
He explained that the report aims to empower financial institutions to stay ahead of adversaries, adapt to emerging risks, and build long-term cyber resilience, reinforcing India’s commitment to establishing global benchmarks in financial cybersecurity.
The report integrates real-world cyber intelligence from multiple sources: SISA’s forensic investigations, CERT-In’s cybersecurity oversight, and CSIRT-Fin’s financial sector incident response expertise.
This multi-dimensional perspective identifies key attack vectors, evolving adversarial tactics, and persistent security gaps, while providing practical, actionable recommendations to help financial organisations implement preventive and detective security measures across people, processes, and technology.
Dharshan Shanthamurthy emphasised that cybersecurity resilience is built on collaboration, stating that the integration of real-world threat intelligence with national cybersecurity insights and financial sector incident response delivers actionable intelligence that enables financial institutions to anticipate evolving threats.
He expressed SISA’s commitment to fortifying resilience in India’s BFSI sector and globally, working toward a future where digital transactions remain secure, seamless, and protected.
The 2024 Digital Threat Report serves as a call to action for financial institutions, regulators, and security professionals to adopt a proactive stance against cyber threats.
As the sector confronts growing challenges from AI-driven attacks, sophisticated fraud tactics, and compliance complexities, this report offers strategic guidance for navigating the evolving cybersecurity landscape.
(KNN Bureau)
