Senior enterprise security leaders from across India gathered in Delhi for Kaspersky Connect 2026, an exclusive annual intelligence-sharing forum hosted by Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company. The event focused on real threat data, with Kaspersky’s analysts and Frost & Sullivan researcher sharing findings on active attack campaigns, dark web trading of enterprise data, and the widening gap between the threats Indian organisations face and their current defences.

Kaspersky Connect is an exclusive annual event hosted by Kaspersky in India, bringing together senior enterprise security decision-makers, including CIOs, CISOs, and CTOs, for intelligence sharing, peer exchange, and strategic discussion on the evolving cybersecurity landscape. The 2026 edition brought together 53 participants from 46 organisations, with 62% of attendees at CIO, CISO, CTO, or senior management level, representing organisations across manufacturing, BFSI, IT services, telecom, and government.

What India Is Actually Up Against

During the event, Kaspersky detailed active APT campaigns targeting Indian organisations, alongside a growing volume of Indian enterprise data, including credentials, financial records, and sensitive operational data, being traded on dark web forums.

In 2025, Kaspersky solutions detected 500,000 new malicious samples daily and track over 900 APT groups globally.

Multiple active campaigns are targeting India directly. Transparent Tribe (APT36) continues operations against government and military entities; Lazarus targets nuclear, defence, and scientific institutes; and a newly identified APT group discovered in 2024 used Google Translate as a command-and-control proxy while targeting an Indian telecom research centre.

In March last year, Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GreAT) discovered CVE-2025-2783, a Chrome zero-day exploit in APT attacks against government agencies, educational institutions, and media outlets.

On the dark web, Kaspersky’s Digital Footprint Intelligence recorded 78 defaced Indian websites, 48,100 compromised credentials in malware logs, and 25 advertisements selling Indian organisation’s databases. Access to Indian enterprise networks was found on sale for between $350 and $3,500.

A Growing Market, But Spending Gaps Remain

Frost & Sullivan placed India’s cybersecurity market at USD 6 billion in FY2025, growing at 18.6% annually to reach USD 14 billion by FY2030. Despite this growth, spending remains below what the threat environment demands.

Cybersecurity as a share of IT budgets stands at around 11%, against a recommended 20% for data-sensitive organisations. BFSI leads at 16 to 18%, while manufacturing, energy, and utilities trail at 8 to 10%.

Commenting on the intelligence shared at the event, Adrian Hia, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky, said, “The data we presented at Kaspersky Connect 2026 reflects a threat environment that has fundamentally changed. Attacks on India are no longer opportunistic. They are targeted, persistent, and in many cases state-linked. The challenge for Indian enterprises is not just deploying the right technology; it is closing the visibility gap fast enough to stay ahead of adversaries who are already inside many networks they have yet to detect.”

Jaydeep Singh, General Manager for India at Kaspersky, added, “India’s digital growth is real and accelerating, and so is the attack surface that comes with it. As highlighted at Kaspersky Connect 2026, organizations need a more integrated approach to security, one that combines visibility, intelligence, and automation. Kaspersky Connect plays a critical role in enabling collaboration, sharing practical insights, and helping businesses strengthen their long-term cyber resilience.”

The event also featured insights on key cybersecurity priorities, including extended detection and response (XDR), threat intelligence, and industrial cybersecurity. With the convergence of IT and operational technology (OT), organizations are increasingly required to secure both digital and physical environments, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing, energy, and critical infrastructure.

Attendees’ feedback reflected strong engagement and high satisfaction, with participants rating sessions, networking opportunities, and event logistics consistently at or near the maximum score. Attendees emphasized the value of platforms such as Kaspersky Connect for fostering knowledge exchange and delivering practical, actionable insights to address real-world cybersecurity challenges.

“Kaspersky Connect was a great experience where we got to understand how Kaspersky serves its customers through its products and innovation, as well as the thought process of an OEM. We expect continued support from Kaspersky about the OEM process so that we can effectively navigate and tackle challenges in our day-to-day digital lives and journeys,” says Mr. Kaushik Chakravarty, DGM IT, Rashmi Group.

When asked about overall feedback about Kaspersky’s enterprise solutions and services, Prakash Sharma, Group CIO at Kredent Group shares, “It is the only product that does not affect the internal latency of any of my systems. It also helps in my business growth and revenue. Latency is the most important factor in a share trading environment, and Kaspersky, while defending my systems, does not affect latency at all.”

With cyber threats continuing to evolve in scale and sophistication, Kaspersky Connect serves as a dedicated space for knowledge sharing, peer collaboration, and equipping organizations with the tools and strategies needed to navigate today’s dynamic security landscape.

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