Cybersecurity Threats in India: Insights from Trend Micro’s 2025 Cyber Risk Report

India ranks second globally in email threats, contributing 6.9% to global detections and nearly 24% to Asia’s total. The country also holds the third place globally in malware detections, responsible for 4.74% of all global threats. The Banking, Financial Services, and Government sectors remain the most targeted in India.

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global cybersecurity leader, has released its Trend 2025 Cyber Risk Report, which offers insights into India’s vulnerability in the face of evolving cyber threats. The report is based on Trend Micro’s telemetry from 2024 and recognizes exposures and understands attacker behavior, enabling the implementation of countermeasures for the year ahead.

Email Threats: India’s Most Pressing Cybersecurity Concern

Email remains the top attack vector globally, with over 1.49 trillion threats detected. India alone contributed 6.9% of these incidents, underscoring the scale of the challenge. Within Asia, India was responsible for a staggering 23.92% of email-based threats and a dominant 90.78% in Southern Asia, making it the primary hotspot in the region. In absolute numbers, India recorded over 1.03 billion email threats, reflecting its exposure across industries and the urgent need for improved email security infrastructure.

Malware and Ransomware Continue to Threaten Indian Enterprises

India remains a top target for cyber threats, ranking third globally and second in Asia with 19.3 million malware detections—accounting for 4.74% of global activity. The Banking, Financial Services, and Government sectors were most impacted, frequently targeted by malware families such as CoinMiner, FakeMS, and Mudyupdate. Ransomware also remains a major concern in the region, with India accounting for 3.36% of global ransomware detections and a staggering 77.68% within Southern Asia.

Expert Commentary

Commenting on these findings, Sharda Tickoo, Country Manager for India & SAARC, Trend Micro, said: "India’s growing digital footprint makes it an attractive target for cybercriminals. From ransomware and malware to email threats, attackers are becoming more persistent and adaptive. With AI transforming the threat landscape, it’s crucial that businesses in India recognize the dual-edged nature of these technologies. Now is the time for proactive, intelligence-driven cybersecurity that goes beyond basic defenses."

Global and Regional Threat Patterns

The report highlights the following global and regional threat patterns:

• Globally, email threats surged past 1.49 trillion, ransomware reached 6.23 million, and malware detections crossed 407 million.
• Asia witnessed over 430 billion email threats, with India contributing nearly a quarter.
• In Southern Asia, India dominated in all categories: 90.78% of email threats, 93.82% of malware, and 77.68% of ransomware.

Recommendations to Lower Cyber Risk Index

To lower the cyber risk index, Trend Micro urges organizations to:

• Optimize security settings to maximize product features and get alerts on misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and other risks.
• Contact the device and/or account owner when a risky event has been detected to verify and investigate.
• Conduct an inventory of stale accounts to delete inactive and unused ones, disabling risky accounts, resetting passwords with strong credentials, and enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA).
• Apply the latest patches or upgrade application/OS versions regularly.

Article Details

• Published On: Jun 12, 2025, at 09:01 AM IST

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