http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Cyber_security_market_to_grow_100_times_in_5_years/articleshow/2324553.cms By Mahul Brahma & Jacob Cherian TNN 31 Aug, 2007 Not long ago, one of Indias well-known banks received a complaint from a clerk that there may have been an accounting error in the charge of interest rates on overdraft accounts. The bank usually charged an interest rate of 10%, but on a few accounts, the charge was just 5%. The difference ran into several lakhs of rupees. All records were checked and found to be accurate, but still the money was missing. The bank hired a small firm specialising in detection of cyber crimes to check if a fraud had been committed on its network. The firm checked the 259 programs that the bank used and found in the systems nine more that were not in the official list of software. Three of them that accessed the database produced no audit trail. The firm came up with the hypothesis that someone should have briefly reset the interest rates. The extra software could have been installed when the bank was upgrading its systems to newer software. The day of the fraud was identified, the accounts named and the officer staffing a certain desk questioned. It didnt take much to extract the confession from him. The bank took remedial action without involving the police. A small firm had busted a racket that a big bank could not initially fathom. This case is illustrative of an increasing number of cyber crimes in India and abroad, which have in turn, yielded business opportunities of various hues for small entrepreneur-driven firms. Large companies have a high cost base and depend on nimble start-ups to swoop down on online criminals threatening their business. Cyber security for large and small firms is not merely important, but critical. A leading Supreme Court advocate says the market for cyber security services and products will grow 100 times within five years, due to increased adoption of technology and higher awareness and possibility of cyber crimes. For instance, if there is a major security breach in the banking industry or the stock market, the impact on the country would be devastating. The lack of security could undermine the growth and credibility of Indias outsourcing industry, which has given the country global attention and recognition. Terrorists and criminals will continue to add their contribution to make the security business prosperous. Be prepared to plan for a long term and you will reap the benefits, says Naa Vijayashankar, director, Cyber Law College and founder of Naavi.org, a techno legal information security consultancy based in Bangalore. As criminals become more and more tech savvy, a war has broken out between them and law keepers. Nations and companies need an army of specially trained warriors to take the attack to the criminals, Mr Naavi says. Like any other start up in a new field, investments are the key and appealing to a venture capitalist is difficult. Unless the services are institutionalised, investments are hard to come by. Saurabh Srivastav, the president of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE), Delhi, says that investing in the area of cyber security is finding global interest. However, he adds: You wont succeed unless you have a world-class product or service, as today you are competing in a global market. You cant offer something that is simply the best in India. Cyber security is not country specific. It isnt like banking software, where the software for an American system of banking is different from the Indian system. Cyber security is cyber security, the world over. It is very important for entrepreneurs not to lose sight of individuals since security is important for every information user. If Mobile Security is a target, then millions of mobile users are also the target clients. Ultimately, client selection is part of a business strategy and a good mix of mass markets which are stable but of low individual value has to be planned along with high value clientele who would obtain services on retainership. There is plenty of scope for start up companies in the field of cyber security products. ____________________________________ Attend HITBSecConf2007 - Malaysia Taking place September 3-6 2007 featuring seven tracks of technical training and a dual-track security conference with keynote speakers Lance Spitzner and Mikko Hypponen! - Book your seats today! http://conference.hitb.org/hitbsecconf2007kl/
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