Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 Regional Analysis South Asia

Geopolitics –Geopolitical volatility is influencing cybersecurity strategies globally and organizations in South Asia are no exception. Some 74% of organizations surveyed have changed their cybersecurity strategies due to geopolitical volatility (globally 66%). –In response, 70% incorporate geopolitically motivated cyberattacks into their risk mitigation plans – among the highest across regions (globally 64%). Cybercrime –Ransomware and cyber-enabled fraud are the top two perceived cyber risks in South Asia, mirroring trends in other regions. Resilience –In South Asia, 8% of organizations rate their cyber resilience as exceeding requirements, while around 77% assess their cyber resilience as meeting minimum requirements. Around 15% assess their resilience as insufficient. –Globally, 17% of all surveyed organizations across the world indicate insufficient resilience, 65% report minimum resilience and 19% say their cyber resilience exceeds requirements.Rank Which cyber risks concern you most for your organization? Ransomware attack Cyber-enabled fraud and phishing Exploitation of software vulnerabilities1 2 3 –Additionally, 85% of organizations in South Asia believe that the risks of cyber-enabled fraud and phishing attacks have increased. –60% of organizations perceive risk of ransomware attacks to have increased. –66% of businesses in the region report experiencing a significant cyber incident in the past 12 months, with 40% of these cases involving social engineering techniques such as phishing, vishing, or deepfakes.How would you rate your organization’s cyber resilience?Which cyber incidents (e.g., significant financial damage, major operational disruption, etc.) have affected your organization in the past 12 months? Our cyber resilience is insufficientOur cyber resilience meets minimum requirementsOur cyber resilience exceeds our requirements15% 77%8% –The top three challenges to achieving cyber resilience in this region are: 1. Rapidly evolving threat landscape and emerging technologies, tied with Cybersecurity skills and expertise (64%) 2. Third party and supply chain vulnerabilities, tied with Lack of funds (32%)South AsiaSocial engineering (phishing, vishing, deepfake, etc.) Data leakage/breach (personal data, intellectual property, strategic information, etc.) Identity theft and/or identity abuse (incl. insider attacks) Supply chain disruption Disinformation campaign Extortion (including ransomware)40% 40% 21% 19% 17% 9%