NEW DELHI, Mar 17: Global cybersecurity major Kaspersky is set to double down on its investments in India, citing stronger-than-expected financial performance and plans to use the country as a hub for regional services, according to a senior company official.
In an interview with PTI, Adrian Hia, Managing Director, Kaspersky (APAC), said the company is considering basing its marketing, business development, and cloud operations in India to serve both local and regional customers.
Following a strong double-digit growth in 2024, Hia indicated that the company’s 2025 financial results, expected to be released in April, show even better performance.
“We are going to continue to double down, not only in people, not only in offices, but we are now even thinking of how we can get some consolidated effort regarding marketing, business development engine, cloud services, cloud engine, to be based in India, but not only to serve the Indian customers, but also to serve customers across the region, (Our) investment has paid off. We are very confident that this year is going to be an even better year than 2025,” Hia said.
He added that if the company establishes a data centre in India to serve regional customers, the hiring numbers would increase significantly.
Addressing the evolving threat environment, Hia warned that cyber-attacks are likely to worsen in 2026.
With Kaspersky blocking over 4.7 crore web-based threats in India in 2025, Hia said that the ease of access to AI tools has made threats like deepfakes rampant and high-quality, noting that it has now become crucial to “use AI to fight AI”.
“Harness the power of AI, No matter which country you are from, wherever you are, because our digital footprint today is beyond just one single device. The way that we use social media, the way that we have more and more services digitally, it is increasing the attack surface. So, is it going to come down in 2026? Unfortunately, no. I think it’s going to get worse,” he warned.
Hia commended the Indian government’s “tiering of data” strategy, which distinguishes between sovereign data and less classified data suitable for the cloud. However, he cautioned that localised sovereign Large Language Models (LLMs) require nations to be solely responsible for the surrounding cybersecurity threats.
Hia also pointed to the risks inherent in India’s interconnected systems.
“When we talk about all the linked data from healthcare to banking to payments… supply chain attacks are going to be something to watch out for,” Hia warned, noting that an infection in one part of an integrated system could have a “cascading effect.”
To address the cost-sensitive nature of the Indian market, Hia identified “SOC (Security Operating Centre) as a Service” as a major trend. He noted that while over 90 per cent of Indian enterprises have a SOC strategy, more than half are looking for “as-a-service” models to achieve economies of scale and better quality at a lower cost point.
On the topic of AI-led job losses, Hia acknowledged that AI would replace manual tasks such as basic accounting, software coding, and web page handling.
“I strongly suggest everybody upgrade yourself. I think upgrading yourself is going to be really important,” he said. (PTI)
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