India’s Ransomware Crisis Deepens

India witnessed a sharp 53% rise in ransomware attacks in 2024, affecting healthcare, BFSI, and manufacturing, as per CERT-In data. 
 
With 370 million malware strikes and a million ransomware detections, the threat grew more severe, particularly in Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
  

The emerging ransomware-as-a-service platforms like LockBit, along with AI-powered social engineering, enabled widespread, targeted breaches. 
 
Cloud misconfigurations and stolen credentials further exposed systems, especially in critical sectors.
 
Healthcare saw major breaches, including Star Health’s data leak and the AIIMS server outage, disrupting services and risking patient privacy. 

Ransom demands exceeded $900,000 on average in this sector alone.
 
The BFSI industry suffered high-profile incidents like the Fullerton India leak and attacks on digital banking infrastructure, revealing vulnerabilities in complex IT environments and interlinked systems.
 
Manufacturing, responsible for 29% of global ransomware hits, saw attacks on Polycab and Solar Industries, where unpatched IoT devices created backdoors.
 
Recovery costs averaged $1.85 million.
Cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, Surat, and Bengaluru became cyber hotspots, with mid-sized firms paying average ransoms of $247,000. 
 
Think Teal reported 80% of affected organizations suffered brand damage.
 
NIST recommends zero-trust frameworks and multi-factor authentication. 
 
DSCI advocates incentives for MSMEs to adopt cyber insurance, while robust employee awareness programs remain crucial to reducing risk.
 
With AI-enabled threats and quantum computing on the horizon, India’s cybersecurity landscape demands urgent, scalable resilience across all sectors.