TLDR: India has emerged as the world’s primary target for cyberattacks, with a significant increase in malware detections on Windows devices. A recent report highlights the escalating threat landscape, driven by sophisticated ransomware and the weaponization of AI tools by cybercriminals.
India has officially surpassed Brazil and Spain to become the leading global target for cyberattacks, according to the Acronis Cyberthreats Report for the first half of 2025. The report reveals a concerning trend, with 12.4% of Windows devices in India experiencing malware detections in May 2025, a figure that further climbed to 13.2% in June, marking the highest worldwide.
The surge in cybercriminal activity is attributed to a ‘perfect storm’ of hostile factors within India’s rapidly expanding digital ecosystem. Key sectors identified as most vulnerable include manufacturing, information technology services, and telecommunications. The report underscores a broader global shift in cybercrime, characterized by the intensified operations of prominent ransomware cartels such as Cl0p, Akira, and Qilin.
Cybercriminals are increasingly leveraging trusted software, like remote management tools, to propagate malicious software. Ransomware, a particularly insidious form of malware, continues to be a primary threat, designed to lock users out of their systems and files until a ransom is paid.
A critical development highlighted in the Acronis report is the escalating sophistication of business email compromise (BEC) attacks. Incidents of cyberattacks on official emails rose from 20% in early 2024 to 25.6% in the first half of 2025. This alarming increase is directly linked to cybercriminals’ adoption of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools. These AI-powered capabilities enable attackers to craft highly convincing phishing messages that impersonate legitimate platforms, effectively manipulating users into divulging sensitive information such as passwords or credit card details.
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‘Generative AI has lowered the barriers for attackers—making phishing emails, fake invoices and even deepfake-led scams cheaper, faster and harder to detect,’ the report stated, emphasizing the evolving challenge posed by AI in the cybersecurity landscape. The findings are based on threat intelligence gathered from over a million global endpoints, including laptops and mobile phones, painting a comprehensive picture of the current cyber threat environment.
