India's Data Breach Costs Soar to Record High Amid Rise in AI-Generated Threats

The average cost of a data breach in India has reached an all-time high of Rs 25.5 crore, according to IBM's annual Cost of a Data Breach Report. The report found that this is a 16% increase from the previous year's average of Rs 22 crore. In terms of scale, the average breach in India also grew, with 39,500 records compromised on average.

The most common initial attack vector in India was phishing, accounting for 19% of malicious breaches. The report also found that 26% of malicious breaches were AI-generated, highlighting how AI is enabling attacks to become faster and more sophisticated.

Gaurav Agarwal, Vice President of Technology at IBM India and 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 a significant gap in the use of AI and security automation in Indian organisations. Only 32% reported extensive deployment of these tools, while 68% had limited or no use.