INDIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Probir Roy Chowdhury and Shivani Bhatnagar, JSA
groups and state-sponsored actors targeting critical infrastructure and public utility services. The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and other regions have also led to increased cyber- activity aimed at undermining India’s global standing. Additionally, cyber-activity around key national events (eg, Independence Day and Republic Day) reflects efforts to undermine India’s standing on the global stage. One of the most revealing insights about India’s cybersecurity preparedness comes from the Cyber Security Maturity Survey (the “Survey”) conducted as part of the Report. The Survey, which involved organisations across India, offers a comprehensive look into critical areas such as cyber-resiliency, preparedness, and priorities. The Survey found that nearly 73% of organisations are unaware if they have ever been attacked and found that 57% lack cyberhygiene practices. Impact of AI and other emerging technologies In 2024, AI-driven threats became a significant challenge for Indian organisations owing to their scalability, ability to evade detection, and adaptability against conventional cybersecurity measures. The widespread availability of open- source AI tools and low-cost cloud computing enabled even less-skilled attackers to execute advanced cyber-attacks. Platforms accessible on the dark web simplified the creation of phish - ing campaigns and business email compromise (BEC) attacks, reducing the technical expertise required for such activities. By way of example, generative AI has been weaponised to craft hyper-personalised phish - ing emails by scraping publicly available data from social media and corporate websites. There has been a surge in fraud cases where AI-sim -
ulated voices mimicked executives to author - ise fraudulent transactions, demonstrating the alarming precision of these tools. AI-enhanced malware, such as BlackMamba, represents a paradigm shift in cybersecurity threats. Unlike traditional malware, BlackMamba leverages generative AI to dynamically rewrite its code, evading signature-based detection sys - tems. This adaptability allows attacks to per - sist undetected, which complicates mitigation efforts for organisations. Similarly, polymorphic ransomware employs reinforcement learning to alter its behaviour in real-time, targeting critical sectors such as healthcare and finance with increased efficiency. The healthcare sector, already strained by high- value data and operational criticality, witnessed a rise in automated attacks on exposed internet of things (IoT) devices in 2024. Emerging technologies such as data-centric ran - somware signify a strategic shift in attacker pri - orities. Instead of encrypting data, adversaries now use AI to identify and exfiltrate high-value information, threatening public disclosure unless ransoms are paid. This approach – observed in the 2024 attack on C-Edge Technologies, which disrupted 300 rural banks – minimises detection risks while maximising extortion leverage. Con - currently, supply chain compromises through third-party AI vendors and open-source librar - ies have expanded the attack surface, with mali - cious code injected via compromised updates or dependencies. Indian government’s efforts To counter these threats, the Indian govern - ment has prioritised regulatory and institutional reforms. The DPDPA mandates stringent safe - guards for AI training datasets, requiring explicit
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