India lost Rs 22,845 Cr to cybercrime in 2024; 20.5L incidents logged: Microsoft

Guwahati, Nov 19: India suffered massive financial losses to cybercrime in 2024, with experts warning that the scale and sophistication of attacks demand an urgent overhaul of digital security and investigative systems.

Speaking at a national conference on “Cybersecurity, Digital Forensics and Intelligence” at Gauhati University on Wednesday, Microsoft’s Head of Public Sector, Keshri Kumar Asthana, said the country lost Rs 22,845 crore to cyber fraud in 2024, marking a 205.6% surge from the previous year.

“Over 36 lakh financial fraud cases were reported during the year,” he said.

Asthana further informed that around 20.5 lakh cybersecurity incidents were reported to national nodal agency CERT-In in 2024, up from 15.9 lakh in 2023, highlighting the escalating threat landscape.

He added that the average cost of a data breach in India in 2025 is Rs 22 crore, the highest on record, with 83% of organisations experiencing more than one breach in their lifetime.

“The cost is high because incidents are being caught late. Attackers are not thinking linearly but in graphs and hence, the defence too has to think in graphs to stop their graphical thinking,” he said.

Shreekrishna Ashutosh of Cellebrite said 50% of agencies have reported case backlogs on a year-on-year basis, while 60% of investigators continue relying on outdated methods.

“Average time spent per case reviewing digital evidence is 69 hours,” he said.

Asthana added that 90% of criminal cases include digital evidence and 98% of prosecutors now consider such evidence pivotal, underscoring that digital forensics has become “essential, not optional”.

Cybersecurity experts at the conference warned that most attacks originate from “non-friendly countries” and called for a resilient AI-driven defence and investigation mechanism, along with wider public awareness.

They pointed to bottlenecks such as IT and system constraints, too many disconnected data threads, selective or incomplete evidence extraction, and limited remote capabilities — all of which could be addressed through AI-enabled tools and better skilling.

The two-day event has been organised by NIELIT Assam & Nagaland under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), in association with Assam Police and Gauhati University, and supported by the Department of IT, Government of Assam, and the United Service Institution of India.

This year’s theme is “Cyber Secure Bharat: Fortifying India’s Digital Future.”

Delivering the welcome address, L. Lanuwabang, Director, NIELIT Assam & Nagaland and Conference Chair, noted the expansion of NCCDFI from Kohima to Guwahati to ensure wider participation across the Northeast.

“Cyber Secure Bharat is not merely a theme; it is a national mission. A secure India is the foundation of a strong digital future,” he said.

The conference features over 30 distinguished speakers and has drawn over 300 delegates from government departments, police organisations, the judiciary, academia, industry and other bodies.