Only 7% of organisations in India ready for cyber threats: Cisco report
Amid a growing wave of AI-driven
cybersecurity
threats, only 7% of organisations in India are adequately prepared to defend against them, according to Cisco's 2025 Cybersecurity Readiness Index.
This is a modest increase over the 4% reported last year. Overall readiness remains alarmingly low, particularly as hyperconnectivity and the rise of AI continue to introduce complex new security challenges.
The report is based on a double-blind survey of 8,000 private sector security and business leaders in 30 markets. This is a research method where both the participants and the researchers interacting with them are unaware of certain key aspects of the study, to avoid bias.
The report states that 9 in 10 organisations faced AI-related security incidents last year. However, only 66% of respondents are confident that their employees understand these threats.
About 63% believe their teams fully understand how malicious actors use AI to execute sophisticated attacks.
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'As
cyberattacks
grow in scale and sophistication, the risks now extend far beyond data loss. Organisations face operational disruption, damage to brand reputation, and erosion of customer trust,' Samir Kumar Mishra of
Cisco India
& SAARC said in a statement.
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Cybersecurity agency CERT-In flags spike in online threats
Understanding the foe
The lack of cybersecurity readiness in India is high as 81% of respondents anticipate business disruptions from
cyber incidents
within the coming two years.
About 96% of organisations are using AI to understand the threats, 88% use it for threat detection and 77% for response and recovery. This shows that the technology contributes equally on both sides of the fence.
Another important finding was that 46% of employees use approved third-party
generative AI tools
. However, 28% have unrestricted access to public
Gen AI
tools and 43% of IT teams are unaware of employee interactions with Gen AI.
With hybrid work models, 90% of organisations are exposed to
security risks
as employees access networks from unmanaged devices.
Investment priorities shift
About 98% of organisations plan to upgrade their
IT infrastructure
. However, only 54% allocate more than 10% of their IT budget to cybersecurity (a 7% reduction year-over-year).
A staggering 92% of respondents identified a shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals as a major challenge, with 65% reporting more than ten positions to fill.
Looking ahead, respondents identified malicious actors and state-affiliated groups as more significant threats to their organisations than internal risks.
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