Has the Cost of Data Breaches in India Reached a Record Level of Rs 22 Crore?

New Delhi, Aug 7 (NationPress) The average cost of a data breach for organizations in India has soared to a staggering Rs 220 million (approximately Rs 20 crore) in 2025, representing a 13 percent increase compared to the previous year, as reported on Thursday.

Moreover, the duration required to identify and manage a breach in India has diminished to 263 days, reflecting a 15-day reduction from 2024, primarily due to enhanced detection capabilities among organizations, according to a report by the US-based consulting firm, IBM.

Currently, only 37 percent of Indian organizations have adopted AI access controls, with nearly 60 percent either lacking AI governance policies or still in the process of formulating them, the report noted.

Among those with AI governance frameworks, just 34 percent are utilizing AI governance technologies.

The main contributors to data breaches in India include phishing at 18 percent, followed closely by third-party vendor and supply chain compromises at 17 percent, and vulnerability exploitation at 13 percent.

The report highlights that the growth of AI adoption is outstripping the implementation of AI security and governance measures globally. While the number of organizations facing AI-related breaches is relatively low within the total surveyed population, AI remains a prime target for cyber attacks.

Firms are focusing on rapid AI adoption at the expense of security and governance practices. Systems lacking governance are more vulnerable to breaches, resulting in significantly higher costs, the report indicated.

“The fast-paced adoption of AI in India presents vast opportunities, but it also exposes businesses to novel and complicated cyber threats. The lack of access controls and AI governance tools transcends mere technical issues; it represents a strategic weakness. Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) must take immediate action—integrating trust, transparency, and governance into AI frameworks,” stated Viswanath Ramaswamy, Vice President of Technology, IBM India & South Asia.

Shadow AI, or the unauthorized utilization of AI tools without IT department oversight, ranks among the top three financial contributors to breaches in India, elevating the average breach cost by Rs 17.9 million. Alarmingly, only 42 percent of organizations have measures to detect shadow AI.

The research sector in India has suffered the most significant financial impact from data breaches, with average costs reaching Rs 289 million, followed closely by the transportation sector at Rs 288 million and the industrial sector at Rs 264 million.