According to PwC’s 2026 Global Digital Trust Insights survey released on November 17, 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud security have emerged as the top cybersecurity investment priorities among Indian organizations amid a rapidly evolving threat landscape. Nearly 87% of Indian businesses plan to increase their cyber budgets in the next 12 months, reflecting heightened concerns over widening cyber risks.
Investment in AI security tools leads with 46% of firms prioritizing it in their budgets, followed by cloud security (33%), cyber managed services (28%), and data protection (26%). With cyber breaches increasingly costly—nearly 25% of Indian enterprises reported losses exceeding $1 million from their most severe breach in the last three years—the focus is shifting toward proactive threat hunting and agentic AI models capable of autonomous cyber defense.
However, skill shortages pose a major challenge. PwC highlights that 60% of organizations face a lack of knowledge in applying AI for cyber defense, and 50% report gaps in relevant skills overall. This deficit affects readiness against emerging threats like third-party breaches and quantum attacks.
Cybersecurity leaders emphasize a shift from reactive measures to intelligence-led resilience embedded into core business strategies. Nearly three-quarters of Indian organizations now prioritize cyber risk at the board level.
PwC’s India Cyber Leader, Sundareshwar Krishamurthy, notes that the organizations best equipped for future threats will be those investing in AI, cloud security, talent development, and forward-looking risk quantification capabilities.
The survey underscores the critical importance of aligning cybersecurity investments and workforce upskilling with emerging risks to safeguard India’s expanding digital economy.
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