As India’s digital landscape expands rapidly, so too do the threats posed by cybercriminals targeting the country’s key sectors and sensitive data.

A leading Russian cybersecurity firm Positive Technologies has revealed that more than two-thirds of cyberattacks in India lead to leaks of confidential information, making India a focal point for improving cyber defences. The company presented its findings at the Positive Hack Talks meetup on October 11 in Bengaluru, underscoring a pressing need for fortified cybersecurity measures.

The company’s report highlights a 15% increase in cyberattacks across India in 2023, with a staggering 46% rise in attacks in Q2 of 2024 alone, significantly outpacing the global growth rate of 30% in the same period.

The surge in digital transformation and investments in IT and AI infrastructure has made India’s networks a tempting target for cybercriminals, particularly advanced persistent threat (APT) groups. In total, 80% of these attacks focused on organizations, with government and industrial sectors being the hardest hit.

In 70% of attacks on organizations, sensitive data, including trade secrets, was compromised, with personal data and financial information constituting over 60% of stolen information in incidents targeting individuals.

Government and public sector organizations are among the most affected, with more than a third of cyberattacks utilizing malware and social engineering – a powerful combination often employed together by APT groups, which were responsible for 56% of attacks on public sector targets.

“India’s rapid digital evolution has drawn cybercriminals’ attention, especially towards industries crucial to the country’s infrastructure and economy, like healthcare, IT, and government,” said Darya Lavrova, a cybersecurity analyst at Positive Technologies. Lavrova noted that India’s fast-paced digital adoption has also created vulnerabilities unique to its IT landscape, with cybercriminals often breaching cloud solutions and targeting small- to mid-sized IT firms that lack extensive cybersecurity resources.

One particularly alarming trend highlighted by the Russian company is the increase in ransomware incidents. In 2024 alone, ransomware use surged by 22%, with 33% of malware attacks involving ransomware. Spyware, however, remains the most popular tool, used in 38% of cases, and is primarily spread through phishing emails – a strategy accounting for 64% of malware distribution.

To counter these trends, Russian cybersecurity experts advocate a “results-driven” approach. For years, companies and governments have poured vast sums into cybersecurity, assuming it guarantees safety even when it often doesn’t. Effective cybersecurity must be measurable and results-oriented, enabling organisations and government to assess the true impact of their spending. The first step then is identifying what constitutes critical damage to a company or government, followed by a focus on proactive, targeted training, simulated threat scenarios, and international knowledge-sharing. This strengthens defenses to ensure hackers cannot cause intolerable damage – one that paralyses the work of an organisation or government altogether.

In August, Positive Technologies organised an educational camp for international cybersecurity students and enthusiasts.The programme allowed participants to immerse themselves in cutting-edge cybersecurity training while also exploring Russian culture through guided tours and activities. Several Indian students have joined the programme, along with 70 other students from 20 different countries. These participants were selected from a pool of over 350 applicants, 30 of whom were from India.

Positive Technologies’ initiative, which aligns with India’s goal of building resilient digital defenses, allows Indian cybersecurity professionals to collaborate with Russian experts, gaining insights from a global pool of knowledge and experience. By addressing India’s specific challenges, such as threats to cloud solutions and the unique vulnerabilities of smaller IT companies, Russian cybersecurity experts can help equip Indian organizations with robust tools and skills to deter and mitigate cyberattacks effectively.

As India continues its rapid digital growth, collaborations are proving essential to ensuring the security of critical infrastructure and protecting citizens’ data from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

Positive Technologies is a global leader in cybersecurity, co-founded in 2002 by Yury Maksimov – one of only three Russian high-tech billionaires to have made his fortune in software. Maksimov served as the company’s CEO until 2021. In 2022, he co-founded Cyberus, a foundation uniting the IT industry, business, and governments to build breakthrough IT products and resilient global infrastructure. Designed to be impenetrable to cyberattacks, these innovations empower end-users with the sovereignty and control essential in a future digital world.