India’s digital infrastructure is expanding faster than its security maturity. As organisations scale cloud adoption, AI-driven operations, and digital customer engagement, cyber threats are becoming more frequent, targeted, and disruptive. The India Cyber Threat Report 2026 by Seqrite (The enterprise arm of Quick Heal) recorded over 265 million cyberattacks in the past year, signalling that existing defence models are struggling to keep pace. In 2026, cybersecurity failures will stem not from lack of tools, but from strategic and operational missteps. These are the five mistakes enterprises must avoid.
1. Relying on Static, Rule-Based Security Controls
Many organisations still depend on fixed security rules and signature-based detection, which are ineffective against adaptive, AI-driven threats. Phishing attacks today are highly contextual, using role-specific and organisational cues to evade detection.
According to Barracuda Networks, modern phishing campaigns can bypass both role-based and behavioural controls, exposing gaps in legacy security architectures. Enterprises need adaptive security frameworks that continuously learn from threat behaviour rather than relying on predefined rules.
2. Treating Ransomware as a One-Time Event
Ransomware is increasingly executed as a multi-stage operation, combining encryption, data theft, and repeat attacks on the same environment. Treating it as an isolated incident leaves organisations vulnerable to prolonged disruption.
Insights from Seqrite Labs show ransomware activity reaching record levels, with attackers targeting backups and cloud systems. Enterprises that lack immutable backups, recovery planning, and segmentation risk extended downtime and operational impact.
3. Automating Security Without Governance
AI-driven SOC tools and automated response mechanisms are improving detection speed, but automation without governance introduces new risks. Blind reliance on AI can lead to mis-prioritised incidents and compliance failures.
Experts at Barracuda Networks stress that effective SOC transformation depends on human-led oversight, where AI accelerates response but decision-making remains aligned with business risk and regulatory requirements.
4. Overlooking External Digital Risk Exposure
Cybersecurity strategies often focus inward, ignoring external threats such as brand impersonation, fake domains, and social media fraud. These attacks directly impact customer trust and business reputation.
Experts at Quick Heal Technologies highlight the need for continuous digital risk monitoring across open, deep, and dark web environments, as attackers increasingly exploit brand identity rather than just infrastructure.
5. Treating AI Adoption as Separate from Cybersecurity
According to Onix’s 2026 AI Trends Report, enterprises are rapidly adopting agentic and orchestrated AI systems that operate across core workflows. Deploying such systems without embedded security increases data exposure and operational risk.
AI transformation must be accompanied by governance, access control, and security-by-design principles to prevent new vulnerabilities from being introduced at scale.
