ESET Enterprise Cybersecurity Report 2026 finds widespread AI adoption alongside rising cyber risks, with phishing, impersonation and deepfakes among key threats.
ESET has released its Enterprise Cybersecurity Report 2026highlighting the growing cybersecurity risks associated with artificial intelligence adoption in India.
The report found that 85% of Indian organisations experienced at least one AI-related cyber threat during the past 12 months. At the same time, 99% of organisations surveyed are already using or piloting AI across at least one business function.
The study was commissioned by ESET and conducted by Blackbox Research in Q2 2026. It surveyed 400 cybersecurity decision-makers across Indian enterprises, including large businesses and SMBs.
AI Adoption Is Expanding Across Indian Enterprises
AI is now being used across several enterprise functions.
These include customer service, document processing, business analytics, software development, risk management and threat detection.
However, visibility into AI usage remains limited. Only 56% of organisations have implemented measures to monitor AI tool access and outputs.
ESET said this creates a gap in organisations’ ability to oversee AI-related risks.
“AI is becoming deeply embedded in how businesses operate. As we give it access to more data and greater influence over decisions, organisations must ensure the right oversight and safeguards are in place,” said Parvinder Walia, President of the APAC region, ESET.
“Trusting AI also means knowing how and where it is being used,” Walia added.
AI-Generated Phishing and Deepfakes Emerge as Major Threats
The report identified threats from both inside organisations and external attackers.
Around 40% of organisations reported employee misuse of generative AI. Meanwhile, 48% reported data leakage through AI platforms.
AI is also being used to make cyberattacks more convincing.
AI-generated phishing and impersonation attacks were reported by 48% of organisations. AI-enabled deepfake and voice-cloning attacks affected another 47%.
These attacks can target human judgement and everyday business decisions.
80% of Organisations Experienced a Major Cybersecurity Incident
AI-related threats formed part of a broader cybersecurity challenge.
The report found that 80% of Indian organisations experienced at least one major cybersecurity incident during the past year.
Nearly half, or 44%experienced three or more incidents during the same period.
Data exfiltration, cloud environment breaches and business email compromise were among the most commonly reported incidents.
Responding quickly remains another challenge.
While 77% of organisations said they could detect and respond to threats within 24 hours, 55% identified delayed detection as a major challenge.
Limited internal resources were cited by 54%, while 53% reported a lack of visibility across environments.
Confidence Does Not Always Match Cyber Resilience
The research also identified a gap between confidence and operational capability.
Around 95% of respondents said they were moderately or very confident in their organisation’s ability to withstand and recover from a cyberattack.
However, repeated incidents and persistent visibility challenges remain concerns, according to the report.
“In cybersecurity, speed changes the outcome. A threat left undetected for hours can quickly become a business-wide incident,” said Walia.
“Organisations need continuous visibility, rapid response and access to deep expertise to contain threats early and protect business continuity,” he added.
Multiple Weaknesses Drive Cybersecurity Incidents
The report did not identify one dominant cause behind cyber incidents.
Instead, organisations reported several weaknesses across their technology environments.
Lack of visibility across IT environments was cited by 42% of respondents as a leading cause.
Third-party or supply-chain compromise followed at 40%.
Weak or stolen credentials and limited security resources were each cited by 38% of respondents.
The findings highlight the role of visibility, people and processes alongside cybersecurity technology.
Human Risk Remains a Major Challenge
Cybersecurity training is already widespread among Indian enterprises.
However, employee awareness and training remained a major challenge for 45% of respondents.
A lack of employee engagement was cited by 44%, while 43% said training materials were not engaging enough.
The shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals was also reported as a challenge by 42% of respondents.
Meanwhile, 39% pointed to the rapidly evolving threat landscape.
“Phishing and social engineering continue to demonstrate why the human layer of cybersecurity cannot be overlooked,” said Walia.
“As AI makes malicious communications more convincing and personalised, organisations need to continuously build employee awareness through relevant training and realistic simulations,” he added.
MDR and Cyber Insurance Gain Attention
As AI, cloud platforms and connected technologies expand, organisations are shifting their security priorities.
The report found that Managed Detection and Response (MDR) was the most widely planned cybersecurity capability for the next 12 months.
Overall, 84% of organisations are currently using MDR or planning to adopt it.
Cyber insurance is also gaining attention.
Around 57% of organisations already have coverage, while another 32% plan to obtain it.
However, 97% reported challenges in obtaining or maintaining cyber insurance.
Half of these organisations cited stricter security requirements as a challenge.
The financial impact of cyber incidents also remains significant.
Around 15% of organisations reported significant financial losses from cyber incidents.
Cybersecurity Becomes Critical to AI Adoption
ESET said organisations need to understand their exposure as AI and connected technologies become more embedded in business operations.
“Cybersecurity is now essential to keeping businesses running,” concluded Walia.
“As AI and connected technologies grow, organisations need to understand where their risks are, react quickly when something goes wrong, and adopt new technology with confidence.”
The ESET Enterprise Cybersecurity Report 2026 provides a snapshot of cybersecurity challenges among Indian organisations based on responses from 400 cybersecurity decision-makers.
The research covered enterprise resilience, AI adoption, evolving security priorities and approaches to managing cyber risk.