Are 72% of Indian Firms Facing AI-Driven Cyberattacks?

Bengaluru, June 8 (NationPress) A staggering 72% of organizations in India have been subjected to AI-powered cyberattacks within the last year, as indicated by a recent report released on Sunday.

The study, conducted by the cybersecurity firm Fortinet in collaboration with global research agency IDC, highlights that AI is emerging as a formidable tool for cybercriminals, facilitating quicker, more advanced, and stealthy attacks than ever before.

The report reveals that these AI-enhanced threats are not only increasing in frequency but are also becoming more challenging to identify.

Many of these attacks take advantage of weaknesses in human behavior, poorly configured systems, and identity management protocols—areas where conventional cybersecurity measures typically fall short.

The predominant AI-enabled threats in India include credential stuffing, brute force attacks, deepfake impersonation in business emails, AI-generated phishing scams, and polymorphic malware that continuously alters its form to evade detection.

Even more concerning is the evident lack of preparedness among Indian businesses. Only 14% of organizations express strong confidence in their capability to defend against such sophisticated attacks.

Additionally, 36% admit that AI-based threats are surpassing their detection capabilities, and 21% report having no systems in place for tracking these threats, creating a significant security vulnerability across various sectors.

"The emergence of AI in the arsenal of cybercriminals is not a distant threat—it is a current reality," stated Simon Piff, Vice-President at IDC Asia-Pacific.

He further emphasized, "Organizations must evolve from reactive measures to adopt predictive, intelligence-driven cybersecurity strategies to stay ahead of the curve."

The report also indicates that cyber risk has become an ongoing challenge for Indian businesses, no longer confined to sporadic incidents.

Current attacks are targeting cloud infrastructure, software supply chains, and zero-day vulnerabilities.

While traditional threats like phishing and ransomware persist, more complex attacks—including insider threats and cloud misconfigurations—are perceived as significantly more harmful.

Vivek Srivastava, Country Manager for India and SAARC at Fortinet, remarked, "AI has become both the greatest threat and the most effective defense. Our mission is to facilitate the transition of Indian enterprises from disparate tools to integrated, AI-driven security platforms that are designed to evolve and scale."

Rashish Pandey, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Fortinet Asia & ANZ, added that the focus is pivoting from mere infrastructure concerns to strategic priorities such as identity security, cyber resilience, and access control.