Indian Armed Forces to Suspend Google Mail Use on January 26: Source

Indian defense forces will cease using Google's email service. The move comes in the wake of mounting concerns about a rise in the number of cybercrime and hacking incidents, which according to a Global State of Information Security Survey report grew by 48 percent in 2014.

NEW DELHI, January 6 (Sputnik) — Indian defense forces will cease using Google's email service starting 26 January, sources in the Indian Ministry of Defense told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"As per the instructions given from the Government of India, we are in the process of changing over from Gmail to the nic.in domain. So the email ID with the Gmail domain will be discontinued with effect from 26 January, 2015," sources told Sputnik.

Earlier the Government of India approved a proposal to establish a secure and encrypted email service for government officials.

In keeping with the military's suspension of its Google email service, other government officials are also expected to follow suit starting this March.

The move comes in the wake of mounting concerns about a rise in the number of cybercrime and hacking incidents, which according to a Global State of Information Security Survey report grew by 48 percent in 2014.

Internet security experts predict a rise in cyberattacks and other cybercrimes this year, while Pew Research data released in October show two-thirds of respondents expected that a major cyberattack would cause widespread harm in the next decade.