DPDPA

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA), enacted by the Parliament of India in 2023, is a legislative framework that regulates the processing of digital personal data. In the context of cybersecurity, the DPDPA shifts data privacy from a best practice to a strict legal obligation, mandating that organizations implement robust technical and organizational measures to protect user data from breaches and unauthorized access.

What is the DPDPA?

The DPDPA serves as India’s comprehensive data privacy law, replacing earlier frameworks like the IT Rules, 2011. It applies to digital personal data collected online or offline and subsequently digitized. The Act governs "Data Fiduciaries" (entities that determine the purpose and means of processing) and protects "Data Principals" (the individuals to whom the data relates).

From a cybersecurity perspective, the Act does not merely require privacy policies; it enforces the implementation of reasonable security safeguards to prevent personal data breaches. It holds organizations accountable for the entire lifecycle of data, from collection to disposal.

Key Cybersecurity Obligations for Organizations

Under the DPDPA, the responsibility for securing data lies primarily with the Data Fiduciary. Organizations must integrate specific cybersecurity controls into their architecture to ensure compliance.

• Implementation of Security Safeguards: The Act explicitly mandates that Data Fiduciaries must implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure compliance. This includes deploying encryption, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems to prevent unauthorized access.

• Protection of Personal Data: Organizations are legally required to protect personal data in their possession or under their control, including data processed by third-party processors. Vulnerability assessments and third-party risk management become critical compliance activities.

• Data Breach Notification: In the event of a personal data breach, the Data Fiduciary must notify the Data Protection Board of India and each affected Data Principal. This necessitates a robust Incident Response Plan (IRP) capable of rapid detection, analysis, and reporting.

• Data Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): Cybersecurity systems must have the capability to permanently delete user data upon request or when the specified purpose is served. This requires precise data mapping and secure deletion protocols to ensure no residual data remains in backups or logs.

• Vendor Risk Management: Since Data Fiduciaries are responsible for data handled by Data Processors, organizations must enforce strict cybersecurity standards in their contracts with vendors and cloud service providers.

Understanding a Personal Data Breach Under DPDPA

The DPDPA defines a "personal data breach" broadly. It is not limited to the theft of data but includes any unauthorized processing, accidental disclosure, acquisition, sharing, use, alteration, destruction, or loss of access to personal data that compromises its confidentiality, integrity, or availability.

Cybersecurity teams must monitor for:

• Unauthorized access to databases.

• Ransomware attacks that result in a loss of availability.

• Accidental leaks of data via misconfigured cloud buckets.

• Insider threats leading to unauthorized data sharing.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

The DPDPA introduces a significant penalty structure to deter negligence. Unlike previous laws that often focused on compensation, these penalties are punitive fines paid to the exchequer.

• Failure to take reasonable security safeguards: Up to INR 250 crore (approximately USD 30 million).

• Failure to notify the Board or Data Principal of a breach: Up to INR 200 crore (approximately USD 24 million).

• Breach of additional obligations regarding children's data: Up to INR 200 crore.

These high stakes make cybersecurity investment a financial necessity rather than just an IT cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who does the DPDPA apply to? The Act applies to the processing of digital personal data within India. It also applies to processing outside India if it involves offering goods or services to Data Principals within India.

Does DPDPA require data localization? The DPDPA allows for the transfer of personal data to certain countries or territories outside India, except those specifically restricted by the Central Government. It focuses more on protection standards than strict localization.

What is the role of the Consent Manager? A Consent Manager is a Data Fiduciary registered with the Board that acts as a single point of contact to enable a Data Principal to give, manage, review, and withdraw their consent through an accessible, transparent, and interoperable platform.

How does DPDPA differ from GDPR regarding breach notification? While GDPR specifies a 72-hour window for reporting breaches, the DPDPA text mandates notification "without undue delay" or as prescribed by future rules. However, the obligation to notify the individual (Data Principal) is explicit and mandatory in the DPDPA, regardless of the risk level, whereas GDPR requires it only when there is a high risk to rights and freedoms.

ThreatNG facilitates compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) by systematically identifying, assessing, and monitoring an organization's external digital presence. Since the DPDPA mandates that Data Fiduciaries implement "reasonable security safeguards" to prevent personal data breaches, ThreatNG provides the necessary outside-in visibility to secure the perimeter where data breaches often originate.

External Discovery for DPDPA Compliance

The DPDPA requires organizations to protect all digital personal data they process. You cannot protect what you do not know exists. ThreatNG’s External Discovery capability addresses this by performing purely external, unauthenticated discovery without requiring connectors or internal agents.

This capability helps organizations create a comprehensive inventory of all public-facing assets, ensuring no "Shadow IT" (unauthorized assets) processes personal data outside the security team's purview. By uncovering unknown subdomains, cloud buckets, and digital assets, ThreatNG ensures that the scope of DPDPA compliance extends to the entire attack surface, not just the known infrastructure.

External Assessment for Security Safeguards

Once assets are discovered, the DPDPA requires the implementation of technical measures to secure them. ThreatNG’s External Assessment validates these safeguards by evaluating assets against known attack vectors.

Web Application Hijack Susceptibility ThreatNG assesses subdomains for the presence of critical security headers. It specifically analyzes missing headers like Content-Security-Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS), X-Content-Type, and X-Frame-Options. Implementing these headers is a direct "technical measure" to prevent attacks such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and clickjacking, which can lead to unauthorized access to user data regulated by DPDPA.

Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility ThreatNG identifies "dangling DNS" records where a subdomain points to a third-party service (like AWS S3, GitHub, or Heroku) that is no longer active. If an attacker claims this resource, they can host malicious content to steal user data or damage the brand. ThreatNG mitigates this by cross-referencing hostnames against a comprehensive Vendor List and performing validation checks to confirm if the resource is inactive.

Data Leak Susceptibility To prevent the accidental disclosure of personal data, ThreatNG assesses susceptibility by uncovering exposed open cloud buckets and externally identifiable SaaS applications. This directly addresses the DPDPA's requirement to prevent accidental disclosure of personal data.

Continuous Monitoring for Ongoing Compliance

Compliance with DPDPA is not a one-time checklist but an ongoing obligation. ThreatNG provides Continuous Monitoring of the external attack surface, digital risk, and security ratings. This ensures that as new assets are spun up or new vulnerabilities emerge, the organization remains aware of its compliance posture relative to the dynamic threat landscape.

Reporting and Documentation

The DPDPA empowers the Data Protection Board of India to inquire into breaches and audit security measures. ThreatNG’s Reporting module generates Executive and Technical reports that serve as evidence of due diligence.

These reports include prioritized risk levels (High, Medium, Low), security ratings (A-F), and specific mappings to external GRC frameworks, including DPDPA. This documentation is critical for demonstrating to regulators that the organization has taken reasonable steps to identify and mitigate risks to personal data.

Investigation Modules for Deep-Dive Analysis

ThreatNG’s Investigation Modules allow security teams to drill down into specific threats that could compromise Data Principals.

Domain Intelligence and DNS Analysis This module analyzes DNS records to identify authorized and unauthorized vendors, ensuring that third-party Data Processors are vetted. It includes Web3 Domain Discovery, checking for .eth or .crypto domains to prevent brand impersonation that could mislead users. It also analyzes Domain Name Permutations (typosquatting), identifying lookalike domains that could be used in phishing attacks to harvest personal data.

Sensitive Code Exposure ThreatNG searches public code repositories for leaked API keys, access tokens, and credentials (e.g., AWS Access Key IDs, Stripe API keys, Google OAuth tokens). DPDPA compliance requires preventing unauthorized access; detecting and revoking these leaked credentials is a critical preventive measure.

Social Media and Dark Web Monitoring The solution monitors Reddit and other platforms for "Narrative Risk"—public chatter that might indicate a planned attack or a leak of internal data. It also checks Dark Web repositories for compromised credentials that could grant attackers access to internal systems processing personal data.

Intelligence Repositories (DarCache)

To stay ahead of threats, ThreatNG maintains Intelligence Repositories (branded as DarCache). These repositories provide context on active threats, such as Ransomware Groups (e.g., LockBit, BlackCat) and their tactics. Understanding which ransomware groups are active and their methods allows organizations to harden specific defenses, thereby preventing the "loss of access" to personal data, which is considered a breach under DPDPA.

Cooperation with Complementary Solutions

ThreatNG serves as a critical source of intelligence, enhancing the effectiveness of other cybersecurity solutions within a DPDPA-compliant architecture. By feeding high-fidelity data into broader security ecosystems, it ensures that external risks are managed with the same rigor as internal controls.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Platforms ThreatNG effectively feeds external risk data into GRC platforms. Since ThreatNG performs an External GRC Assessment that maps findings directly to DPDPA frameworks, this data allows GRC tools to maintain a real-time view of compliance gaps. For example, if ThreatNG detects a new cloud bucket with open access, it serves as a compliance violation trigger within the GRC dashboard, prompting immediate governance review.

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems ThreatNG enhances SIEM solutions by providing "outside-in" context. While a SIEM monitors internal logs, ThreatNG provides intelligence on Compromised Credentials and Impending Ransomware Activity. A SIEM can use this data to elevate the severity of internal login anomalies if the user's credentials were recently found in a ThreatNG Dark Web dump.

Vulnerability Management Systems Traditional vulnerability scanners often require internal access or authentication. ThreatNG acts as a complementary external scanner that identifies Known Vulnerabilities and subdomain vulnerabilities from an attacker's perspective. This data enriches the vulnerability management program by prioritizing external-facing flaws that have Verified Proof-of-Concept Exploits.

Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) Solutions Since DPDPA holds Data Fiduciaries liable for the actions of Data Processors, ThreatNG’s Supply Chain & Third Party Exposure rating is vital for TPRM. ThreatNG identifies the vendors and technologies an organization relies on via Domain Record Analysis. TPRM solutions can use this inventory to ensure that all discovered third-party processors have signed the necessary data processing agreements required by the Act.