The number of cyber-attacks grew unprecedentedly in South Asia, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, etc., in 2024. An average of 7,000 cybercrime complaints were reported in March 2024 in India alone, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) reported. In November, the International Trade Administration shared that in Bangladesh, over 63 million cyber attacks occurred in a single year.
Recently, cyber attacks also hit the Sri Lankan Police and Government. Police Superintendent K.B. Manathunga confirmed the news and shared that cyber attacks hit YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X. He shared that all the data was restored besides YouTube. This puts cyber security in question in the countries and raises concerns for general internet users.
India’s situation is not good either, with cyber attacks projected to rise to a staggering 1 trillion per annum by 2033. Whatsapp, Telegram, and Instagram are the prime platforms for attacks in India. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, 43,797 cyber-attack-related complaints were filed against WhatsApp, followed by 22,680 complaints against Telegram and 19,800 against Instagram.
Pakistan, the neighbouring country of India, rose to the Tier-1 rating in the Global Cybersecurity Index 2024 and is now one of the top 40 countries.
In this situation, all countries need to invest more in cyber security. Statista reports that the cybersecurity market in Pakistan is projected to grow by 10.21% between 2024 and 2029, resulting in a market volume of $263.10 million. India is also working to improve cyber security with I4C running training programs for law enforcement agencies, forensic experts, etc. These initiatives are aimed at enhancing expertise in cyber security, cybercrime investigation and digital forensics.
