Data security company Verity Systems has increased its presence in India following a rise in demand from organizations concerned by data breaches since the start of the year.
In a recently released report by IBM, data theft incidents continue to climb, and Indian firms have seen a 9% rise in costs associated with data breaches, averaging Rs 140 million. And separately, the company revealed findings that showed global businesses being impacted by data breaches were paying on average $3.86 million per incident.
Verity Systems, which manufactures hard drive degaussers and destroyers is working with some of India's leading technology firms and government agencies to mitigate the surge in data breaches. As India considers new laws to protect data, companies have been looking at solutions to securely erase their data from hard drives and servers - often containing sensitive information from personal records to credit card numbers and bank records.
"We've seen the strength of India's growing technology sector and how vital it is for global businesses to protect consumer information by safely destroying data from mechanical hard disks as well as SSDs. We're working closely with customers in India to inform them of proper data security practices and how they can erase their data securely," said David Tucker, President of Verity Systems.
Google-backed startup Dunzo, which operates services in 7 major cities, is among the firms to have recently been affected by hackers, with personal records and financial details being accessed from a database.
And in a separate incident, Gujarat Technological University suffered a data breach affecting over 1000 of its students with IDs and other information leaked online. The incident was reported to the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Cell and local authorities have launched an investigation.
Following the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation law, India has been debating a comprehensive new data protection bill in a joint parliamentary committee. The Information Technology Act, which was amended in 2008, could see further enhancements, along with new data provisions for how personal information is held and processed by Indian firms and international companies operating in the country.
As India continues to invest in technology startups, data protection has become an increasing priority for the country's vibrant digital economy, with more legislation set to be introduced to align with other nations including European Union members and the United States.
