Indian IT services companies are tightening cloud, data centre and cybersecurity safeguards as the raging conflict in West Asia raises the risk of regional disruptions, industry body Nasscom said on Monday.
In an advisory, Nasscom advised member firms to strengthen operational resilience and contingency planning. It also outlined the steps taken by firms with operations in the region to mitigate business disruptions on account of the ongoing conflict.
“Firms are evaluating alternate infrastructure routing to ensure cloud and data centre resilience and safeguard critical systems,” it said.
Last week, two units of AWS data centres in West Asia were forced to shut down, leading to errors in data retrieval and processing for clients. At the same time, the advisory warns that geopolitical tensions often trigger a spike in cyber threats, including coordinated attacks on infrastructure, disinformation campaigns and attempts to exploit security vulnerabilities.
How are companies planning to counter these risks?
To counter such risks, companies have been advised to accelerate security patching and reset organisational credentials to mitigate potential breaches. Firms are also being urged to enforce multi-factor authentication across all external access points, including VPNs, cloud administration systems and remote access protocols.
The advisory also highlights the need to review vendor dependencies. Companies are being encouraged to audit third-party suppliers with exposure to West Asia, as vulnerabilities in the supply chain could create cascading disruptions across the tech ecosystem, the industry body said.
Infrastructure preparedness
Infrastructure preparedness is another key focus area. Firms have been asked to work with internet service providers and cloud vendors to ensure adequate defences against distributed denial-of-service attacks, while maintaining offline and immutable backups for critical systems.
“While business operations currently remain stable, organisations are proactively reviewing contingency plans and strengthening resilience measures to mitigate potential disruptions should the situation evolve over time,” Nasscom added.
The industry is also prioritising workforce safety. Organisations are enabling work-from-home arrangements for employees located in impacted regions and monitoring developments closely to ensure staff well-being.
Travel advisories have also been issued internally by several firms. Companies are asking employees to limit non-essential travel through West Asia, which remains a major global aviation transit hub, and to consider alternative travel routes where necessary.
Nasscom said it is continuing to monitor developments in the region and is coordinating with industry stakeholders and relevant authorities to support member companies and employees who may be affected by the evolving situation.