India becomes world's top target for cyberattacks
In May, 12.4% of the devices running on the Windows operating system in India experienced malware detections, the highest worldwide, rising to 13.2% in June, according to the Acronis Cyberthreats Report for the first half of 2025.
Malware, or malicious software, refers to a software program or code designed to gain unauthorized access to an endpoint such as a computer or a network, and disrupt operations.
India's digital ecosystem faces a 'perfect storm' of hostile factors, warned the report, which drew on threat intelligence from more than a million global endpoints or devices such as laptops and mobile phones.
Cyberattacks on official emails, known as business email compromise, increased from 20% in early 2024 to 25.6% in the first half of 2025, according to the Acronis report.
The cybersecurity firm attributed this to cybercriminals using sophisticated artificial intelligence tools to craft convincing messages impersonating official platforms to manipulate users into divulging sensitive information such as passwords or credit card details.
'Generative AI has lowered the barriers for attackers—making phishing emails, fake invoices and even deepfake-led scams cheaper, faster and harder to detect,' the report said.
'Post-pandemic hybrid work models have left organizations exposed through insecure remote setups, especially when connected with a public internet network,' said Rajesh Chhabra, general manager, India and South Asia, Acronis.
The report cited manufacturing, information technology services, and telecom among India's most at-risk sectors.
The surge in cyberattacks in India is part of a broader shift in global cybercrime. Ransomware cartels such as Cl0p, Akira, and Qilin have ramped up their activities worldwide, while criminals increasingly weaponize trusted tools like remote management software to spread malware.
Cybercriminals use ransomware, a malicious software, to breach and make systems and files inaccessible, demanding a ransom for their release.
'With India now the top global hotspot for cyberthreats, organizations must accept that prevention alone is not enough,' Acronis said in its report. 'Resilience and rapid recovery are non-negotiable.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Who Is Gaurav Trivedi And What Is Windows Defender Security Center Scam?
Windows Defender Security Center popup is a fake message that forces victims to call 'Microsoft'. What to do when you receive this popup? NanoBaiter, who tracks down online scammers, recently shared a story about a man named Gaurav Trivedi who allegedly tried to scam him. According to NanoBaiter, Trivedi was a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli, and he operated his 'scam center" from his apartment complex. 'Meet Gaurav Trivedi, an Indian scammer who impersonates Microsoft support and then rips off innocent vulnerable people," NanoBaiter wrote in his viral X thread that has been viewed by nearly 35 million people on the platform. Here's the story of the alleged scammer and how you can help protect your vulnerable family members from the common 'Windows Defender Security Center" scam. In his introductory post, NanoBaiter alleged that a man named Gaurav Trivedi tried to scam him but ended up being baited instead. 'He tried to scam me……but instead of paying him money, I hacked into his laptop and turned on his live webcam feed," NanoBaiter wrote. NanoBaiter claimed that Trivedi ran a fairly common Windows support scam that involved a fake pop-up message that locked the desktop screen, blared a loud alarm, and instructed the victim to immediately call the 'Microsoft" number to 'save" all the data on the system. NanoBaiter, in his X thread, shared the primary goal behind the scam: to trick the victim into giving remote access of their system to the scammer. To achieve this, the scammer running the Windows pop-up scam made the victims download AnyDesk or TeamViewer programs to access their systems remotely. Although there exist several variations to the Windows scam, the primary goal of scammers is to make money. They would steal or delete the victim's data and convince them that their data would be restored if they opted for the 'service package" provided by the 'Microsoft engineer" they just called. These scammers also maintained an Excel sheet of the most gullible or vulnerable callers who were tricked into opting for a quarterly or yearly 'service package". This enabled the scam to continue. NanoBaiter Strikes Back NanoBaiter, who 'scams" scammers for a living and documents the satisfying journey on his YouTube channel with over 600K subscribers, allowed Trivedi to access his virtual Microsoft machine, tricking the alleged scammer into believing that they had a new bait in their net. However, NanoBaiter reversed the remote access and accessed the purported scammer's system. 6/ I basically got a front-row seat to his life, watching him eat, sleep, and then scam innocent people… all through his webcam. — NanoBaiter (@NanoBaiter) August 19, 2025 This was when NanoBaiter claimed that he identified the man as Gaurav Trivedi. The YouTuber, once inside the scammer's system, accessed Trivedi's webcam to snap a photo of him. Then, he saw the real name of the scammer on the softphone dialer. A Softphone dialer is an application that allows users to make or receive phone calls via the Internet. Identifying the location of Trivedi's 'scam center" was NanoBaiter's third step. '1. I accessed his webcam and snapped a clear shot of his face. 2. He pulled up the softphone dialer and boom, his real name appeared on the screen: Gaurav Trivedi. 3. The wifi card on his laptop was active, letting me trace his exact location." A Stern Warning The online vigilante shared the exact coordinates of Trivedi and had the front row seats to the alleged scammer's life as he watched him eat, sleep, and exist in his house. NanoBaiter did confront Trivedi at one point, who quickly ducked and left the frame when called out. All of this was recorded by the YouTuber who shared all the clippings from his interaction with Trivedi. Got The Windows Pop-up? Jim Browning, Kitboga, Scammer Payback, Tekkitrealm, among many others, enjoy a huge following on YouTube where they educate the public about the most common scams that exist in the wild and document their 'scamming the scammers" journey. This, by far and large, is a very niche community. So what do you do when you are bombarded with loud notifications and Microsoft Defender pop-ups? The pop-up, according to Microsoft forums, appeared after a user clicked on an unsafe website that was riddled with malware. (Photo by u/TheTekTyrant | Reddit) The pop-up blocked the use of the cursor, leaving the user anxious and concerned that they were under an attack that required immediate attention from an expert. A user on Reddit noted that the easiest way out of this was to either force restart your system or press the Escape (ESC) key to close the pop-up window, which, in reality, was a website. Another alternative was to press the 'Ctrl + Alt + Delete" keys simultaneously, which opened the Windows Security screen from where the user could then restart their system. top videos View all Additionally, Microsoft never explicitly gave out a number to call them. NanoBaiter, in his concluding post on X, tagged the Raebareli Police and urged them to take action against the alleged scammer. He further wrote that such scammers ruined the lives of people, and they needed to be stopped. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk More Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. Get Latest Updates on Movies, Breaking News On India, World, Live Cricket Scores, And Stock Market Updates. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : scammer view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: August 21, 2025, 10:53 IST News explainers Who Is Gaurav Trivedi And What Is Windows Defender Security Center Scam? Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...
Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
Luxury watch brand Franck Muller planning Indian realty foray
Synopsis Franck Muller is set to launch unique experience centers in India, aiming to engage watch enthusiasts beyond sales. The brand plans to introduce limited-edition collections celebrating Indian culture and is exploring its first real estate venture in India, potentially in Mumbai or Delhi, with an announcement expected next year. Erol Baliyan, CEO for Middle East, Africa and India, Franck Muller Luxury watch brand Franck Muller is planning to open 'first of its kind' experience centres in 'strategic' locations in India for watch collectors and connoisseurs. The company is also in talks with developers and is hoping to announce its first real estate project in India in the first quarter of next year, Erol Baliyan, CEO for Middle East, Africa and India, Franck Muller, told ET in an interview.'We are increasing our points of sales, and we have a plan of opening new experience centres in strategic locations in India. It's not just about selling watches, but we are trying to create a unique experience for watch lovers that could include talking about watchmaking and getting their opinions on creating better collections,' said Baliyan.'This is going to be a very interesting concept and the first in the world for the brand. It is going to be replicated in other parts of the world,' he said Indians figure in the list of top three consumers for the luxury brand in markets such as Europe, Middle East and Asia, and it is important to cater to their requirements.'One of the ways to cater to them is through limited edition collections associated with the culture and history of India,' he said. 'We have a very exciting collection coming up and we hope to launch it during the festive season. It took us a year to work on this, and nobody has done anything like this. The collection will have a religious figure embedded in the watch,' he watch exports to India rose to 128.3 million Swiss francs between January and June this year, up 12.7% over 2024, as per data released by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. In contrast, shipments to Japan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore fell 3.2%, 18.7%, 13.3% and 3.7%. To be sure, India's robust growth came on a much smaller base than the other markets.'There is a bit of a global slowdown, but India should see a steady single digit growth in sales this year as well. We are nowhere close to our potential in India. We keep advocating for a reduction in duties and taxes,' said Baliyan.'Today, to bring a $ 1000 watch into the country, there is a GST of approximately 40%. This hasn't changed. If that reduces, watch sales will soar. Indians will come and buy in their own country rather than buying in Dubai or Singapore or London,' he said the company is in 'active' discussions for launching its maiden real estate project in India. 'We are announcing our third project in Dubai. Most of our buyers in Dubai are Indian, so we feel now it's time to do something in India,' he said.'The strategy would be to add something new to the skyline of India. It's probably going to be Mumbai, and then maybe, Delhi. We are in talks with a couple of big names. Hopefully, we should be able to announce something in the first quarter of next year,' he said other luxury brands are now realising that India is the market to watch out for.'Luxury brands understand and realise what we realised six years ago that India is a country full of culture and deep history,' he said.'From a real estate angle, from a new experience standpoint, and expanding our retail network. We will keep trying to do better here. Because for India, sky's the limit,' he added.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Luxury watch brand Franck Muller planning Indian realty foray
Luxury watch brand Franck Muller is planning to open 'first of its kind' experience centres in 'strategic' locations in India for watch collectors and connoisseurs. The company is also in talks with developers and is hoping to announce its first real estate project in India in the first quarter of next year, Erol Baliyan , CEO for Middle East, Africa and India, Franck Muller, told ET in an interview. 'We are increasing our points of sales, and we have a plan of opening new experience centres in strategic locations in India. It's not just about selling watches, but we are trying to create a unique experience for watch lovers that could include talking about watchmaking and getting their opinions on creating better collections,' said Baliyan. 'This is going to be a very interesting concept and the first in the world for the brand. It is going to be replicated in other parts of the world,' he added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Famous Celebrities With Unexpected Degrees Learn More Undo Baliyan said Indians figure in the list of top three consumers for the luxury brand in markets such as Europe, Middle East and Asia, and it is important to cater to their requirements. 'One of the ways to cater to them is through limited edition collections associated with the culture and history of India,' he said. Live Events 'We have a very exciting collection coming up and we hope to launch it during the festive season. It took us a year to work on this, and nobody has done anything like this. The collection will have a religious figure embedded in the watch,' he added. Swiss watch exports to India rose to 128.3 million Swiss francs between January and June this year, up 12.7% over 2024, as per data released by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry . In contrast, shipments to Japan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore fell 3.2%, 18.7%, 13.3% and 3.7%. To be sure, India's robust growth came on a much smaller base than the other markets. 'There is a bit of a global slowdown, but India should see a steady single digit growth in sales this year as well. We are nowhere close to our potential in India. We keep advocating for a reduction in duties and taxes,' said Baliyan. 'Today, to bring a $ 1000 watch into the country, there is a GST of approximately 40%. This hasn't changed. If that reduces, watch sales will soar. Indians will come and buy in their own country rather than buying in Dubai or Singapore or London,' he added. Baliyan said the company is in 'active' discussions for launching its maiden real estate project in India. 'We are announcing our third project in Dubai. Most of our buyers in Dubai are Indian, so we feel now it's time to do something in India,' he said. 'The strategy would be to add something new to the skyline of India. It's probably going to be Mumbai, and then maybe, Delhi. We are in talks with a couple of big names. Hopefully, we should be able to announce something in the first quarter of next year,' he added. Baliyan said other luxury brands are now realising that India is the market to watch out for. 'Luxury brands understand and realise what we realised six years ago that India is a country full of culture and deep history,' he said. 'From a real estate angle, from a new experience standpoint, and expanding our retail network. We will keep trying to do better here. Because for India, sky's the limit,' he added.
