India's Data Breach Costs Soar to Record High
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 16% increase from last year's figure of Rs 22 crore.
The number of compromised records also grew, with an average of 39,500 records breached in 2026 compared to 38,200 in 2025.
Gaurav Agarwal, vice president at IBM India and South Asia, emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in security. He noted that AI enables cyber threats to evolve rapidly and must be embedded across the full security lifecycle.
The report found that organizations with no AI and automation in their security operations paid an average of Rs 31.6 crore per breach, while those with extensive use of AI and automation paid an average of Rs 21.3 crore.