India's Data Breach Costs Hit Record ₹25.5 Crore in 2026

The average cost of a data breach in India reached a record ₹25.5 crore (₹255 million) in 2026, a 15.9% year-on-year increase from ₹22 crore in 2025, according to IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report 2026.

The report, conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by IBM, examined data breaches experienced by 602 organisations globally between March 2025 and February 2026. It found that phishing remained the leading entry point for cyberattacks.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming part of the cyber threat landscape. According to the report, 26% of malicious breaches in India involved AI-generated attacks.

Gaurav Agarwal, Vice President, Technology, IBM India & South Asia, said that organisations using AI alongside strong governance were better positioned to defend against attacks. He added that AI with agentic capabilities should extend beyond threat detection to support analysis, prioritisation and remediation across the security lifecycle.