As India accelerates toward digital transformation, a shadow war is being fought in cyberspace. A report unveiled in Bengaluru reveals that Rs 22,812 crore was lost to AI-driven cyber frauds in 2024 alone, a stark indicator of how artificial intelligence is arming cybercriminals faster than the nation’s defences can evolve.
The New Face of Cybercrime: AI as an Accelerant
Artificial Intelligence, once a beacon of innovation, is now a potent tool of destruction in the hands of cybercriminals. The “State of AI-Powered Cybercrime: Threat & Mitigation Report 2025,” jointly published by GIREM and Tekion, paints a grim picture: 80% of phishing attacks in India during 2024 were executed using AI-generated content. From hyper-realistic deepfakes to cloned dashboards of banks and government portals, AI is enabling criminals to bypass human suspicion and outdated security protocols.
The impact isn’t limited to urban India. Cybercriminals are now breaching rural users with fake helplines, counterfeit government service apps like Parivahan, and manipulated calls pretending to be police or tax authorities, known as ‘digital arrest’ scams, which accounted for over Rs 1,936 crore in losses last year alone.
India’s Growing Vulnerability: Alarming Rise in Attacks
India saw 1.91 million cybercrime complaints in 2024, a nearly ten-fold increase from 2019. Financial losses from digital frauds have tripled in a year, with Bangalore emerging as a hotspot: over 12,356 reported cybercrimes in the first eight months of 2024 and a loss of Rs 1,242 crore.
The Karnataka police reported 11.46 million malware hits and 1.78 million ransomware attacks in the state in 2024, many of which deployed AI to mutate and bypass traditional detection systems. Organised cybercrime syndicates, including global players like FIN7, are now targeting India’s restaurant and hospitality sectors, using AI-enabled reconnaissance and exploitation techniques.
Karnataka DG&IGP M.A. Saleem stated that these syndicates are exploiting weaknesses in human psychology and digital systems alike. It’s not just a technical war, it’s psychological warfare.
FCRF x CERT-In Roll Out National Cyber Crisis Management Course to Prepare India’s Digital Defenders
The Fightback Begins: India’s Cyber Command and the Way Forward
Amid rising panic, Karnataka has launched India’s first Cyber Command Centre, a centralised war room integrating 45 cyber police stations statewide. But experts agree this is just a starting point.
The report recommends sweeping reforms:
- Mandatory cybersecurity curriculum in schools and colleges
- AI-enabled threat detection systems across public infrastructure
- Cybercrime labs in police academies and universities
- Multilingual awareness campaigns to reach rural populations
- Global alliances to counter transnational cybercriminals
As India becomes the second-most targeted country in the world for crypto-related cyberattacks, after the U.S., experts warn that time is running out. AI is no longer the future of crime. It is its present.
About the author – Prakriti Jha is a student at National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar, currently pursuing B.Sc. LL.B (Hons.) with a keen interest in the intersection of law and data science. She is passionate about exploring how legal frameworks adapt to the evolving challenges of technology and justice.