As enterprises accelerate digital transformation, cyber adversaries are evolving even faster. Insights from the India Cyber Threat Report 2026 by Seqrite Labs, complemented by global research from Kaspersky and platform innovations from CrowdStrike, point to a threat landscape defined by scale, automation, and stealth. Monitoring over 8 million endpoints, Seqrite Labs recorded 265.52 million detections between October 2024 and September 2025—nearly 505 detections every minute—underscoring the relentless pace of cyberattacks targeting Indian organisations.
Drawing on these insights, here are the top five cyber threats enterprises must be aware of in 2026, along with practical guidance on how organisations can stay ahead of an increasingly fast, stealthy, and automated threat environment.
1. Trojan-Dominated Malware and File Infector Attacks
The India Cyber Threat Report 2026 reveals that Trojans and File Infectors account for nearly 70% of all enterprise attacks, with 88.4 million Trojan and 71.1 million File Infector detections recorded during the year. These malware families continue to be the primary entry point for attackers, enabling persistence, lateral movement, and long-term access to enterprise networks. Increasingly, such threats evade traditional signature-based controls through obfuscation, polymorphism, and fileless execution. To mitigate this risk, enterprises must adopt behaviour-based security technologies such as Next-Gen Antivirus and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) that can identify anomalous activity in real time. This shift away from static defences is also reflected in Kaspersky’s global malware research, which highlights the growing ineffectiveness of signature-only protection against modern threats.
2. Ransomware Evolution and Stealth Monetisation Techniques
Seqrite’s findings show ransomware activity peaking in January 2025, with 185 incidents and over 113,000 detections, while cryptojacking surged to 6.5 million detections, signalling a move toward stealthier monetisation strategies. Enterprises now face a dual risk of operational disruption and silent resource exploitation, often without immediate visibility. Defending against these threats requires early detection of pre-encryption behaviour, robust backup and recovery mechanisms, and continuous monitoring for abnormal data movement. Regular testing of incident response plans is essential to minimise downtime and financial impact. CrowdStrike’s global threat intelligence supports this approach, noting that ransomware groups increasingly operate with automation and scale, making predictive and proactive defence critical for enterprises.
3. Advanced Persistent Threats and Coordinated Cyber Campaigns
The India Cyber Threat Report 2026 documents 25 major global and regional cyber campaigns in 2025, including Operation Sindoor, a state-sponsored APT36 and SideCopy operation combining cyber espionage, data theft, and digital disruption. These campaigns often remain undetected for extended periods, leveraging legitimate tools and trusted access to blend into enterprise environments. To counter such long-dwell threats, enterprises must integrate threat intelligence into SOC operations, monitor for indicators such as lateral movement and privilege escalation, and continuously assess identity and access controls. Regular security audits and red-teaming exercises can further help uncover blind spots. Research from Kaspersky and CrowdStrike reinforces the importance of intelligence-led detection in countering sophisticated APT activity.
4. Exploit-Led Attacks and Rapid Weaponization of Vulnerabilities
Seqrite Labs observed over 9.2 million network-based exploit scans and more than 8 million host-based exploit detections, targeting widely used enterprise technologies and legacy systems. Zero-day vulnerabilities in platforms such as Oracle E-Business Suite, Microsoft Windows, and Cisco IOS XE were rapidly weaponised, significantly shrinking the response window for defenders. Enterprises can reduce exposure by adopting risk-based vulnerability management, prioritising patching for internet-facing and mission-critical assets, and segmenting legacy infrastructure to limit blast radius. Continuous monitoring of exploit attempts and automated patch deployment are critical, a concern also highlighted by Kaspersky’s analysis of unpatched systems across Indian enterprises.
5. Emerging Attack Surfaces Across AI, Mobile, and Digital Identity
The report highlights the rapid expansion of attack surfaces across AI stacks, mobile platforms, and digital identity channels. Attackers exploited Langflow RCE vulnerabilities, deployed AI-generated honey traps, impersonated government services, and used advanced banking Trojans such as OctoV2 and Zanubis to conduct real-time fraud. These threats extend well beyond traditional enterprise perimeters. To stay ahead, organisations must secure APIs, developer environments, AI infrastructure, and mobile endpoints, while also monitoring external digital footprints for impersonation, credential abuse, and brand misuse. Extending visibility beyond the network edge and strengthening security awareness are now essential components of enterprise cyber resilience.
