New Delhi [India], May 20 (ANI): Cybersecurity readiness remains alarmingly low in Indian companies, with only 7 per cent of firms in India achieving a mature level of readiness by 2025, according to a recent report by global technology firm Cisco.

This is an increase from last year's (2024) Index, in which 4 per cent of Indian organisations were designated as mature, the Cisco 2025 Cybersecurity Readiness Index observed.

This demonstrates that despite an improvement from last year, cybersecurity preparedness remains low as hyper-connectivity and AI introduce new complexities for security practitioners.

The report added that artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising security and escalating threat levels, with 9 in 10 organisations (95 per cent) facing AI-related security incidents last year.

However, only 66 per cent of respondents are confident that their employees fully understand AI-related threats.

The report further observed that more than half of Indian organisations (57 per cent) suffered cyberattacks, hindered by complex security frameworks with disparate point solutions in the previous year.

Cybersecurity Readiness Index adds that the industry respondents view external threats like malicious actors and state-affiliated groups (46 per cent) as more significant to their organisations than internal threats (54 per cent), underscoring the urgent need for streamlined defence strategies to thwart external attacks.

The Index evaluates companies' readiness across five pillars--Identity Intelligence, Network Resilience, Machine Trustworthiness, Cloud Reinforcement, and AI Fortification-- and encompasses 31 solutions and capabilities.

The deep dive into the findings, the lack of cybersecurity readiness in India is alarming as 81 per cent of respondents anticipate business disruptions from cyber incidents within the next 12 to 24 months.

In India, about 96 per cent of organisations use AI to understand threats better, 88 per cent for threat detection, and 77 per cent for response and recovery, underscoring AI's vital role in strengthening cybersecurity strategies.

The report observes that the Generative AI (GenAI) tools are widely adopted, with 46 per cent of employees using approved third-party tools. However, 28 per cent have unrestricted access to public GenAI, and 43 per cent of information & Technology (IT) teams are unaware of employee interactions with GenAI, underscoring major oversight challenges.

On the investment front, about 98 per cent of organisations plan to upgrade their IT infrastructure; only 54 per cent allocate more than 10 per cent of their IT budget to cybersecurity, down 7 per cent year over year. (ANI)