India Under Digital Siege: Why Classrooms, Clouds and Credentials Are Becoming Prime Targets

India’s cyber threat landscape in 2025 tells a story not just of scale, but of structural vulnerability.

While cyberattacks are rising globally, India stands apart for how intensely and consistently it is being targeted. On average, organisations across Indian industries absorbed more than 2,000 cyberattacks every week this year—well above the global baseline—signalling that threat actors increasingly view India as a high-reward, low-resistance environment.

Why Education Became Ground Zero

Globally, education has overtaken every other sector as the most attacked vertical—and the gap isn’t even close. Universities, schools, and research institutions are now facing thousands of weekly intrusion attempts, ranging from low-level malware to coordinated credential-harvesting campaigns.

The reason is simple:

Education systems sit at the intersection of valuable data, underfunded security, and massive user bases. Student records, biometric identifiers, research IP, and login credentials make institutions an attractive launchpad for both financial crime and espionage-linked activity.

No Safe Sector: From Telcos to Government

India’s exposure isn’t limited to classrooms. Telecommunications providers, hospitals, banks, and government agencies continue to experience sustained attack volumes, reflecting how deeply digital services are now woven into daily life.

What’s notable is not just the frequency of attacks—but their persistence. Threat actors are returning repeatedly to the same sectors, suggesting that remediation efforts are lagging behind attacker innovation.

The Cloud Blind Spot

One of the most worrying findings is how cloud adoption has outpaced cloud security maturity.

Despite storing vast volumes of sensitive information online, less than one-tenth of critical cloud data is encrypted. In one cited incident, an unsecured cloud repository leaked half a terabyte of personal and biometric data, including records tied to law enforcement and military personnel—data that cannot simply be “reset” once exposed.

Even more concerning: most organisations still fail to detect or contain breaches within the first hour, giving attackers ample time to exfiltrate data or establish persistence.

Malware Is Getting Quieter—and Smarter

Rather than flashy ransomware attacks, 2025 has seen a surge in credential-focused malware designed to quietly siphon access.

Infostealer families such as Lumma, Vidar, and RedLine compromised tens of thousands of Indian devices in just a few months, while enterprise environments continue to grapple with phishing-driven infections from AgentTesla and FormBook. AgentTesla alone saw double-digit growth year-on-year, reflecting how effective targeted email campaigns remain against corporate users.

The Bigger Picture

India’s cyber crisis is not just about volume—it’s about timing. Rapid digital adoption, cloud-first strategies, and a growing online population are colliding with uneven security practices.

The result is an ecosystem where attackers are scaling faster than defenders—and where education systems, public infrastructure, and enterprises are increasingly on the front line of a quiet but relentless digital war.

By - Aaradhay Sharma