India to lose ₹20,000 crore to cybercrime in 2025: CloudSEK Nexus Report

CloudSEK has released a report projecting that India will suffer cybercrime losses amounting to ₹20,000 crore in 2025. Based on extensive data analysis and OSINT, CloudSEK's Nexus platform estimates that of these losses, brand abuse alone is expected to account for ₹9,000 crore, underscoring the increasing threat posed by fraudulent websites, phishing campaigns, and malicious applications. 

This comprehensive report leverages rigorous data analysis from 200 companies, analyzing over 5,000 domain takedowns and the abuse of approximately 16,000 brands. It also incorporates official statistics from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), revealing the nation's alarming scale of cyber threats.

The report by AI-powered CloudSEK Nexus highlights the growing threat of brand name abuse. Cybercriminals exploit consumers' trust in familiar brands to deceive them into sharing money or sensitive information. This tactic has fuelled a surge in cyber fraud, with investment scams and advance-fee scams leading the charge.  

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Massive Financial Losses: ₹20,000 crore cybercrime losses projected in India for 2025.
• Brand Abuse: Brand abuse-driven cyber fraud to cost Indian businesses and consumers ₹9,000 crore, which is 45% of the total money lost.
• Surge in Complaints: Cybercrime complaints are expected to exceed 2.5 million, with 500,000 explicitly mentioning brand impersonation.
• Sectoral Impact: Banking and financial services will bear the maximum brunt of the losses (₹8,200 crore), followed by retail and e-commerce (₹5,800 crore) and government services (₹3,400 crore).
• Dominant Fraud Vectors: Investment scams (pig-butchering) and advance-fee scams are the primary drivers of financial losses.
• Brand Abuse Amplification: Cybercriminals are exploiting the trust consumers place in reputable brands, leading to significant financial and reputational damage.
• Fraudulent Apps and Domains: Fraudulent domains are projected to increase by 65%, while fraudulent apps are expected to surge by 83%, particularly in financial services.

Beyond the staggering financial losses, brand name abuse takes a significant toll on individuals and organizations alike. Consumers face not only financial ruin but also the emotional distress of identity theft and betrayal. Organizations, even when not directly at fault, suffer reputational damage, legal battles, and increased regulatory scrutiny.

“The biggest revelation from our research is the sheer scale of financial losses—over ₹20,000 crores due to cybercrime, of which ₹9,000 is due to brand name abuse alone. The fact that brand abuse is implicated in nearly one-third of all cybercrime incidents and a staggering 70% of high-value scams is a wake-up call for India. CloudSEK’s Nexus Platform is a game-changer in this fight, giving organizations the ability to detect, quantify, and neutralize threats in real time. With Nexus, we are not just reacting to cyber fraud but predicting and preventing it before it happens,” said Pavan Karthick M, Threat Intelligence Researcher at CloudSEK.

CloudSEK is committed to mitigating the impact of cyber fraud through its multi-faceted approach:

• Brand Protection: CloudSEK monitors various channels to identify and disrupt fraudulent campaigns that exploit organizational identities.  
• Data Leak Monitoring: CloudSEK tracks the deep and dark web to detect data breaches, preventing stolen credentials and sensitive information from fueling further fraud.  
• Attack Surface Management: CloudSEK assesses and secures organizations’ digital footprints, identifying vulnerabilities that cybercriminals could exploit.