Cybersecurity in India 2026: Risks, Laws, and Compliance
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- January 27, 2026
- law & rights, Technology
- 0 Comments
Key highlights
- India’s cyber rulebook is a stack: IT Act + CERT-In directions + sector rules + DPDP Act. India Code+2CERT-IN+2
- The biggest 2026 risk isn’t “hackers”; it’s downtime + fraud + data exposure—operational pain. CERT-IN+1
- Incident handling is no longer optional theatre; CERT-In directions formalise reporting and log expectations for covered entities. CERT-IN
- DPDP makes data governance a board-level topic, not a “legal footer.” MeitY
Cybersecurity in 2026 is not an IT department issue. It’s a cash-flow protection system.
What risks dominate in 2026?
- Ransomware + extortion
CERT-In reporting and thematic publications show ransomware remains a material threat vector. CERT-IN+1 - Financial fraud and identity abuse
The attacker doesn’t need to “breach” you if they can socially engineer your staff or customers. - Cloud misconfiguration
You “migrate,” and accidentally publish your database to the internet—classic 2026 failure mode. - Supply-chain compromise
A vendor breach becomes your breach.
The legal spine: what law actually applies?
- Information Technology Act, 2000: foundational cyber offences/contraventions framework. India Code
- CERT-In Directions (2022): operational requirements around incident reporting and related obligations for covered entities. CERT-IN
- DPDP Act, 2023: India’s data protection law—sets obligations for handling digital personal data. MeitY
- IT Rules, 2021 (for intermediaries/platform contexts): compliance expectations depending on business model. MeitY
Compliance in 2026: the checklist that actually saves you
- Know what you have: asset inventory (devices, cloud accounts, endpoints).
- Log like you mean it: centralise logs; test retrieval (incident time is not the time to learn your logs are useless). CERT-IN
- Patch discipline: reduce “known vulnerability” exposure windows.
- Backup immutably: ransomware response is a restore race. CERT-IN
- Incident playbook: who calls CERT-In, who calls legal, who calls customers. CERT-IN+1
Small questions people actually search
- Do small businesses need cybersecurity compliance in 2026?
Yes—because attackers love small businesses. Law applicability varies, but operational risk doesn’t. CERT-IN+1 - Is DPDP only for big tech?
No—DPDP is about handling digital personal data, not company size. MeitY - What’s the first step that gives the biggest ROI?
Inventory + backups + patching + basic email security. It’s boring, and that’s why it works. CERT-IN+1
