Governments too must ramp up cyber vigil, investments: Ramkumar Ramamoorthy

CHENNAI: With ransomware attacks on the rise and the increased use of advanced technologies, it is imperative for the private stakeholders as well as the governments to scale up their cyber vigil and investments, observed an industry veteran on Monday.

Speaking at the MCCI-organised fourth edition of 'Phygital 2024: Securing your Business Information in the Digital Era of Cloud & AI', Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, partner, Catalincs and former CMD of Cognizant, highlighted the critical need for enhanced cyber security measures.

"According to a recent Forrester report, we have seen increased ransomware attacks on manufacturing and healthcare companies. Given the increased use of IoT and edge computing in areas such as autonomous vehicles and medical health devices, attacks on products, devices, and real-time systems are bound to increase. It's not just private corporations, but governments also need to increase their cyber vigil and investments," he said in his keynote address.

Noting that many national assets including energy grids and dams getting IoT enabled, Ramamoorthy said governments need to scale their investment in cyber preparedness and remediation efforts to protect themselves from non-state actors who are hyperactive in an increasingly polarised world.

TR Kesavan, president, Madras Chamber, in his inaugural address, said, “cyber security is moving beyond being a small part of a company’s IT component, into industries, which have traditionally not taken it seriously. In today’s connected world, cyber-security is what keeps business information safe, and ensures continuity of business.”

The day-long event hosted cyber-security experts from industries who emphasized the importance of cyber-security in an era where Cloud and AI adoption is accelerating. The experts covered critical topics such as digital assets, digital trusts, and strategies to protect business information.