India's internet speed trails Nepal, Bangladesh
What's the story
According to latest reports, India ranks at 96 on a countrywide comparison with respect to download speeds and availability of bandwidth. Cyber experts have raised concerns about the persisting low security with respect to online transactions in India. Ransomware and cybercrime have seen a significant uptick in recent time and its target has been sensitive information stored with banks and other institutions.
Overview
India's march towards a digital economy
India recently surpassed internet speed barrier of average 4 Mbps however its ranking remains at 105 which is the lowest in Asia-Pacific region. In terms of speed and availability of bandwidth, India is outranked by countries like Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and even Sri Lanka. India is slowly moving towards a digital economy, but slow internet and lack of security, are big hurdles.
How
Cybercrime a bigger menace
According to a report by Kaspersky Lab, India ranks 6th in the world with respect of cybercrime. The Indian public is particularly wary of cybercrime as hacking attacks to access personal data are often reported. Banks as well as police are often helpless for lack of an established mechanism to deal with cybercrime; there is reportedly almost zero-conviction rate with respect to cybercrime.
Information
It's likely to get worse!
In an October 2016 report, ASSOCHAM warned that quantum of mobile frauds would increase by 65% by 2017. Fraud cases pertaining to credit and debit cards already top the charts of cyber crime; they had increased six times since 2013.
What
Drawbacks in light of digitization
In light of government's push towards digitization, although cyber experts have welcomed it but repeatedly cautioned that IT infrastructure and awareness regarding security is severely lacking. People unaware of online/phone scams frequently fall prey to hackers and find themselves robbed of large sums of money. Cybercrime has doubled in last one year; post-demonetization, increase in online payments has seen cyber frauds steadily increase too.
Quote
Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate
Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert said, "Mobile wallets like Paytm have witnessed a spike in their user base. Post-demonetisation of the Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes, a majority of banks, mobile applications and e-wallets have been targeted by scamsters."