India's Data Breach Costs Hit Record High Amid Phishing Fears

India has seen its highest average cost of a data breach in 2026 at INR 255 million (INR 25.5 crore), according to IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report.

This represents a 15.9% increase from last year's INR 220 million (INR 22 crore) and marks the largest average breach in India, with an average of 39,500 records compromised.

The report found that phishing, including voice and SMS phishing, was the most common initial attack vector in India, at 19%, followed by drive-by compromise and supply chain compromise at 16% and 15% respectively.

Interestingly, the report highlighted how AI is not only enabling cyber threats to evolve rapidly but also helping organizations strengthen their cyber resilience. Organizations that extensively deployed AI and security automation experienced significantly lower breach costs and faster breach response.