India's AI-Driven Cyberattacks Skyrocket Costs to ₹25.5 Crore
The average cost of a data breach in India has skyrocketed to ₹25.5 crore in 2026, as artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used by cybercriminals to launch more sophisticated attacks.
This marks a 15.9% year-on-year increase from ₹22 crore in 2025, with the average number of compromised records also rising to 39,500, highlighting the growing financial and operational impact of cybersecurity incidents on Indian organisations.
Gaurav Agarwal, Vice President of Technology at IBM India & South Asia, noted that 'India's accelerating AI adoption is creating immense opportunities for innovation, but it is also enabling cyber threats to evolve rapidly.'
The report found that 26% of malicious breaches in India involved AI-generated attacks, with cybercriminals leveraging AI to automate phishing campaigns and craft more convincing social engineering attacks.