India's rapid AI adoption spurs innovation and security concerns: Report 

India's adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is increasing, but organisations must navigate the balance between innovation and robust security strategies, according to a new report by cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks. 

The Cloud Native Security Report for 2024 reveals that while AI accelerates cloud application development, it also poses significant security risks. This report is based on research conducted across 10 countries, consulting over 2,800 cloud security and DevOps professionals. 

India emerges as a major player in AI adoption, ranking second globally. The report highlights that 58% of Indian respondents are extensively using AI to generate and optimise code. This is in contrast to countries like Germany and Japan, where just over half of the organisations describe their AI adoption as moderate with selective use. 

Security professionals are increasingly concerned about AI-powered threats. More than 43% of respondents anticipate that AI-driven threats will evade traditional detection methods, and 47% expect AI-fueled supply chain attacks to compromise crucial software components or cloud services. 

The proliferation of cloud security tools is another challenge. Respondents reported using an average of 16 tools from 14 different vendors, with 91% highlighting the problem of blind spots created by these disparate tools, which hinder risk prioritisation and threat prevention. 

India stands out with 42% of respondents allocating 30% or more of their cloud Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to optimise legacy applications for the cloud. This indicates a strong focus on integrating older systems with cloud technologies to maximise cloud computing benefits. 

Investment trends also vary significantly. In India, 41% of organisations invest below $10 million in cloud computing, reflecting a higher presence of small to medium-sized enterprises and conservative spending strategies. This contrasts with mature markets like the United States and United Kingdom, which show more substantial investments. 

Anil Valluri, MD & VP India & SAARC at Palo Alto Networks said, "With India's relatively rapid adoption of AI, the nation is on the brink of a tech revolution that promises unprecedented innovation and efficiency. However, this also brings emerging threats, with over 40% of security professionals anticipating AI-powered attacks that evade traditional defenses. To fully harness cloud computing and AI while safeguarding against these threats, India must balance innovation with robust security measures, policy development, and the adoption of comprehensive, consolidated security solutions.” 

A separate report by International Data Corporation (IDC) supports this trend, indicating that AI and GenAI adoption in India is increasing significantly. Spending on AI-centric systems, including software, services, and hardware, is projected to reach $6 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.7% from 2022 to 2027.