Global cybersecurity company Kaspersky has partnered with Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”) – India’s
premier communications solutions provider, to ensure instant security for internet users in
India.
The collaboration between the two companies will allow Airtel customers to purchase
Kaspersky Total Security solution directly from the Airtel Thanks app in a matter of few
clicks. What’s more! Airtel customers also enjoy exclusive deals on these advanced
solutions from Kaspersky.
Airtel customers simply need to download the latest version of Airtel Thanks app> Go to
‘Shop’ section> Go to lifestyle offers> Click on the Kaspersky banner and get started. Airtel
Thanks also enables seamless payments through cards, net banking and UPI.
The alliance is formed with the aim to increase the cybersecurity awareness amongst Indian
internet users and encourage them to practice cyber safety in the wake of growing
cyberthreats.
Cyberthreats are constantly evolving and cybercriminals in the past 2 years have been
actively targeting internet users in India. In the first quarter of 2021 Kaspersky products
detected 37,650,472 different Internet-borne cyberthreats. Mobile users are also at risk as
cybercriminals are constantly targeting them for financial gains, as well as to obtain
important private data. Mobile threats in India have drastically increased since 2019 and are
becoming more targeted and sophisticated in nature. India ranked 7th amongst the countries
attacked with Mobile Threats in 2020.
The top mobile threats targeted at the smartphone users globally
were, Adware which topped the list with 57% (3,254,387 detections).Talking about the
other threats, the number of backdoors detected almost tripled from 28,889 in 2019
to 84,495 in 2020. The number of detected Android exploits increased seventeen fold, and
the number of Trojan- Proxy threats had increased by twelve times. Kaspersky solutions
detected 156,710installation packages for mobile banking Trojans in 2020, which is twice the
number of attacks detected in 2019. However, a decline in ransomware trojans was
witnessed as we found 20,708 installation packages for ransomware Trojans in 2020, a
decrease of 3.5 times as compared to the previous year.
Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky, said: “We’re very much looking forward to
supporting Bharti Airtel, the leading global telecommunications company and one of the
biggest mobile service providers, in its goal to protect their users, create a more secure
internet, and build a safer digital world together with Kaspersky. I’m convinced that this
partnership will further contribute to establishing Airtel as an innovational pioneer and a
leader in its industry."
Pradipt Kapoor, CIO, Bharti Airtel said: “As customer lifestyles become increasingly
integrated with digital platforms, it becomes paramount for all of us to secure these journeys
with the right solutions. Airtel is working round the clock to deliver a secure network
experience through world-class infrastructure and partnerships. We are delighted to partner
with Kaspersky and make their solutions easily accessible for Airtel customers, who can
purchase and install these in a matter of minutes and enjoy complete peace of mind.”
“Malicious apps, to spyware, mobile banking trojans, adware, phishing attacks, ransomware
attacks, etc, are some of the most risky threats that a smartphone user has to be safe and
secure from at all times. In a time when data privacy has become one of the most supreme
criteria of our lives, smartphones become the greatest and most important source of our
personal and sensitive data. Keeping this in mind, protecting our phones from the various
online threats should be our highest priority. The first and the easiest step towards practicing
cyber safety is by installing a reliable security solution to our devices. Increasing our cyber
maturity and being aware of the constantly evolving threats is also the responsibility of an
online user, in order to protect themselves from the nefarious cybercriminals”, said Mr.
Dipesh Kaura, General Manager, Kaspersky (South Asia).
Mr. Dipesh added, “Our association with Airtel is not only a strategic business partnership
for us, but is also an important collaboration in order to increase cyber awareness amongst
the growing number of smartphone users, who also may be potential targets of
cybercriminals. With an affordable and accessible internet connection available today, we
have opened our gates to a great digital future, and we have taken yet another step towards
securing this digital future with the help of Airtel. We look forward to our association with
them, and hope to instil an increased sense of cyber awareness amongst Indian users as
much as possible”.
Through this association with Airtel, Kaspersky looks forward to a positive reaction from the
users, and hopes to encourage them to take a step forward towards securing themselves.
Both the companies are trying to ensure instant security to the users and contribute towards
making Digital India a lot more safe and secure.
Consumers can now conveniently avail of Kaspersky Total Security solution on the Airtel
Thanks app and move closer to achieving cybersecurity.