Cisco Sounds Alarm, 93% of Indian Companies Unprepared for AI-Era Cyber Attacks

India is facing a growing cybersecurity crisis. Two comprehensive reports- Cisco's 2025 Cybersecurity Readiness Index and the India Cyber Threat Report 2025 from Data Security Council of India(DSCI) - portray an alarming scenario: attacks are growing at an accelerated rate, while the vast majority of companies in India remain unprepared.

Cisco's research reveals that just 7% of Indian companies have reached a "Mature" state of cybersecurity preparedness - a small increase from 4% last year. On the other hand, 95% experienced AI-led security incidents within the last year. Most workers and IT teams remain unaware of how AI is being weaponised by attackers.

“This year's report continues to reveal alarming gaps in security readiness and a lack of urgency to address them," said Cisco's Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel, who called on companies to invest in more intelligent, AI-driven defence solutions.

DSCI’s report further underscores the urgency. It recorded over 369 million cyber threat detections in just one year, averaging 11 threats every second across 8.44 million devices. Behaviour-based threat detection grew slightly (from 12.5% to 14.5%), suggesting attackers are using smarter techniques to bypass traditional defences.

The healthcare industry was most targeted, with 21.8% of total attacks, followed by hospitality (19.5%) and banking (17.3%). Interestingly, cloud ecosystems experienced 62% of total threat detections, reflecting the risks of hasty digital transformation and inadequate cloud setups.

Tier-2 cities are also getting heavily attacked, which indicates that cybercriminals are no longer targeting only technology hubs such as Telangana and Tamil Nadu.

One key area is talent shortage. Cisco's report reveals that 92% of Indian organisations are having trouble finding qualified cybersecurity talent, with 65% reporting more than 10 vacancies.

Notwithstanding, cybersecurity spending is not keeping pace. Just 54% of organisations spend more than 10% of their IT budget on cybersecurity - a 7% decline from last year.

The two reports call for swift action: deploy AI-based security platforms, boost employee vigilance, rectify cloud security holes, and hire talent with expertise. 

If India does not have a robust and concerted response, its expanding digital economy can remain an easy prey for ever-more-sophisticated cybercriminals.

Read more: AI-Driven, Deepfake-Enabled Cyber-Attacks To Rise in 2025: Report