Akamai Technologies, Inc. has announced the deployment of two new scrubbing centers in Mumbai and Chennai, as part of its global infrastructure investment strategy. With the deployment of the next generation scrubbing centers, local businesses in India, as well as global organizations who have invested in the market in India will have access to the strongest DDoS protections with increased performance. This announcement is part of Akamai’s ongoing investment in the region having recently announced a new scrubbing center in New Zealand.
India is one of the fastest-growing digital economies in the world, increasing the risk and scope of perilous cyber threats, including high-profile DDoS attacks. According to the India Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), the number of cyberattacks in India increased 256% since 2019 with 1,402,809 incidents reported in 2021, and experts suggest that the magnitude and novelty of digital attacks will only get more aggressive and sophisticated in 2023.
DDoS attacks are playing an increasingly prominent role in the current threat landscape, most notably as part of triple extortion attacks, which represent the next level in the evolution of ransomware attacks and involve multiple threats or tactics used to extort money or sensitive information from a victim’s organization. In addition, DDoS is main attack vector in conjunction with advanced persistent threats (APTs) carried out by state-sponsored hackers, criminal organizations, or other malicious actors, like the Killnet hacker group, with the goal of infiltrating or paralyzing a target organization’s network and stealing sensitive information over an extended period of time. DDoS attacks often serve as a smokescreen for more sophisticated attacks, such as data breaches, that can result in the theft of sensitive customer information.
Given the increasing risk of the threat for organizations in India, the launch of the new scrubbing centers and the empowered Akamai’s DDoS protection platform (Prolexic) will safeguard businesses, especially those in high-risk sectors such as BFSI, healthcare, public sector, large enterprises, group companies, gaming and ecommerce further improving attack mitigation response time and performance.
“India’s economy has been experiencing significant growth in recent years with the emergence of new startups and established multinational companies alike, but the vibrant business scene also increases the surface for cyberattacks, which means that a local focus is essential. This launch coupled with our growing cybersecurity portfolio and the 2,000+ security professionals operating in India, Akamai demonstrates our recognition of this key global market and our commitment towards safeguarding our customer’s data and solidifying our presence in the Indian market.” says Sid Pisharoti, Regional Vice President for Akamai India Operations.
Last year, Akamai has made substantial investments in enterprise security and computing in India. As cyberthreats evolve, and more customers seek “always on” DDoS protection, having an in-region scrubbing center is crucial for minimizing latency and delivering exceptional end-user experiences. Akamai scrubbing centers use Anycast-based routing that enables mitigation of DDoS attacks close to their point of origin, helping companies keep data within their borders.
Akamai recently launched the Akamai Connected Cloud, a massively distributed edge and cloud platform. The platform will enable companies to build workloads that require single-digit millisecond latency and global reach. It also announced Akamai Qualified Computing Partner Program and is looking at building half a dozen major compute centres in India, which would put them on a footing with the best of the hyperscalers. The company currently operates in 4,100 locations across 134 countries. India is a key revenue growth market for Akamai with a headcount of over 2500 employees and is set to become a major force in the compute and security business.
