India is one of the most cyber-attacked nations. Here’s how AI adds another layer to the threat

The article discusses the escalating cyber threats amplified by Artificial Intelligence (AI), highlighting India's vulnerability as one of the most cyber-attacked nations. It explains how AI accelerates and sophisticates cyber-attacks through automated vulnerability discovery, deepfakes, AI-enabled social engineering, and autonomous malware generation (e.g., LLM-generated polymorphic malware, zero-day exploits). The piece emphasizes the geopolitical imbalance in AI capabilities, with a few countries dominating development, and questions India's preparedness. It cites recent cyber incidents targeting India's critical infrastructure (Kudankulam nuclear plant, government entities) and outlines steps taken by Indian policymakers, such as CERT-In's adoption of AI-driven threat detection and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's exploration of consent-based and liability frameworks for AI. The article concludes by stressing the need for India to build indigenous AI capabilities, ensure supply-chain scrutiny, and integrate AI and cybersecurity policymaking.