Electronics buyers find more value in security features as threats rise

Ahead of the festive season, India’s notoriously value-conscious consumers would now prioritise security and privacy to resolution and memory on their electronic devices like smartphones and laptops. And companies have caught on with this shift in customer behaviour.

The steep rise in incidents of cyberattacks, malware and hacking has led to an increase in demand for smartphones and laptops with enhanced inbuilt privacy measures and anti-virus software.

Companies are now leveraging the demand by launching more such devices or including these for marketing pushes, industry executives said. “We have launched the Dell EMC PowerProtect DP series integrated appliances and PowerProtect Data Manager Software that help customers in counteracting the effects of cyber threats while safeguarding data across traditional and cloudnative applications,” said Ripu Bajwa, director, Data Protection Solutions, Dell Technologies, India.



More than a year since the pandemic struck, cyberattacks have surged manyfold and become more sophisticated, preying on both company and personal data. Retailers like Sangeetha Mobiles have seen an uptick in sales of antivirus software after recent data privacy concerns. “There has been an increase in anti-virus programs since the Pegasus issue with customers opting for the 999 priced software versus 499 taken earlier,” said Chandu Reddy, director of Sangeetha Mobiles.

The Pegasus Project revealed that more than 50,000 phone numbers were targeted by a spyware created by NSO Group, an Israeli software company.