AI Threats: India’s cyber budgets poised to touch $3.4-bn mark
New Delhi: End-user spending on information security in India is projected to reach $3.4 billion in 2026, an 11.7 per cent increase from 2025, according to a report by Gartner released on Monday.
Security software will remain the largest and fastest-growing segment, with spending expected to rise 12.4 per cent, as organisations prioritise infrastructure and cloud protection.
The report said network security and security services are also expected to expand strongly, each growing 11.1 per cent, taking overall information security spending in India to about $3,435 million in 2026.
Security services spending will be driven mainly by managed security services, the fastest-growing subsegment, projected to grow 15.1 per cent. According to Gartner, enterprises are increasing cyber security investments as they confront more sophisticated AI-driven threats and stricter regulatory requirements.
“Security spending in India is set to grow in 2026 as enterprises confront increasingly sophisticated AI-driven threats and comply with more stringent regulatory requirements,” said Shailendra Upadhyay, Senior Principal at Gartner. He added that Indian chief information security officers (CISOs) are shifting toward dynamic and pre-emptive defence strategies. The report also warned that identity-based attacks, including credential theft and deepfake-enabled fraud, are rapidly expanding the cyber threat landscape. As a result, identity threat detection and response (ITDR) is becoming a major priority.
Gartner noted that the implementation of India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act is also pushing organisations to strengthen identity-first security frameworks.
The firm advised companies to adopt managed detection and response (MDR) and strengthen collaboration across legal, business and procurement teams to manage rising cyber risks.
