Indian Data Breach Costs Surge to Record High Amid Rising Cyber Threats

The average cost of a data breach in India has reached an all-time high of Rs 25.5 crore, according to a report by IBM.

This represents a notable increase of 16% from the previous year's figure of Rs 22 crore.

The number of records compromised in data breaches also increased, with an average of 39,500 records affected per breach in 2026, compared to 38,200 in 2025.

Gaurav Agarwal, vice president of technology at IBM India and South Asia, emphasized the importance of adopting AI in security operations, stating that 'AI with agentic capabilities must be embedded across the full security lifecycle'.