AI and Cybersecurity in 2026: What India must learn from the global risk outlook

According to the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 by the World Economic Forum and Accenture, AI cyber threats and geopolitical cyber risks are reshaping the future of cybersecurity in India and across the world. The future of digital risk is grim in terms of the global utilisation of artificial intelligence, geopolitics and cyber inequity to redefine the future of digital risk. To India, where the use of AI is gaining pace in banking, governmental and startup circles, the report has some pressing knowledge on preparation and governance.

AI-driven cyberattacks: AI is supercharging the cyber arms race

The report warns that AI-driven cyberattacks are growing faster than traditional threats, with attackers using automation, deepfakes and vulnerability scanning tools powered by artificial intelligence. The report states that 94% of global executives think AI will be the greatest catalyst of change in the sphere of cybersecurity in 2026. As AI continues to reinforce threat detection and automation, it is simultaneously enabling attackers to conduct phishing attacks more quickly, commit deepfakes and auto-scan vulnerabilities.

It is important to note that AI-related vulnerabilities were cited by 87% of the respondents as the quickest expanding cyber risk in 2025, indicating that innovation is surpassing security controls. For India’s fintech and e-governance systems, securing MLOps pipelines and AI governance frameworks will be critical to prevent large-scale breaches. Indian enterprises should consequently eliminate conventional perimeter security and embrace AI governance frameworks, model risk assessment and secure MLOps pipelines, and balance innovation and responsibility.

Geopolitical cyber risk:Geopolitics is redefining cyber strategy

Rising geopolitical cyber risk has exposed weaknesses in national cyber preparedness, especially in digitally dependent sectors such as power grids, airports and identity systems. Cyber risk has now been characterised by geopolitical fragmentation. According to the report, 64% of organisations are also considering geopolitically inspired cyberattacks in their risk management plans, and 91% of major organisations have adjusted to the geopolitical volatility through a change of cybersecurity posture.

Strengthening digital infrastructure security has become a strategic priority for India as cyber conflicts increasingly spill into physical systems. This is important to India because key infrastructures, such as power grids, airports, digital identity, and others, get heavily digitised. The recent events in the world concerning airports and hydro plants demonstrate how cyber war can cross into material interference. The report also shows that there is dwindling trust in national preparedness with 31% of the surveyed citizens displaying a low level of trust in how their country would react in the event of a major cyber incident.

The Indian drive towards data sovereignty and local cloud computing infrastructure should be accompanied, however, with international collaboration in the cyber domain, in particular, in terms of threat intelligence exchanges and incident response procedures.

Cyber enabled fraud and UPI fraud in India

The surge in cyber-enabled fraud is being driven by AI-generated scams, deepfake impersonation and identity theft, with UPI fraud in India becoming a growing concern. The report notes that there has been an acute increase in cyber-enabled fraud with 73% of respondents having been personally victimized in 2025. Fraud has become top on the list of CEOs, and it has been propelled by identity theft and AI-driven scams. This becomes particularly applicable to India, where UPI fraud, deepfake impersonation and social engineering are becoming issues of concern. AI-based fraud detection and biometric verification will be essential to protect Indian consumers in the next phase of digital expansion. Policymaking-wise, the change will necessitate enhanced AI-based fraud detection, digital literacy initiatives and biometric security on a large scale.

The future outlook

As cyber risk in 2026 intensifies, cybersecurity in India will depend not only on advanced technology but also on global collaboration, policy alignment and shared threat intelligence. One conclusion can be made by the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026: cybersecurity is no longer a technical problem- it is also an economic and a societal one. To ensure the AI-first future of India, the resilience will not only be determined by technology but also by the cooperation between government, industry, and international bodies. AI is driving innovation and attack faster; therefore, collective cyber defence can become the most potent strategic asset of the country.