As enterprises accelerate digital transformation, cyber threats are evolving at a faster pace. Findings from India-focused threat research, alongside broader global cybersecurity studies, point to a landscape increasingly shaped by scale, automation, and stealth. Monitoring millions of endpoints, researchers recorded hundreds of millions of threat detections over a 12-month period, underscoring the persistent and high-volume nature of attacks targeting Indian organisations.

Based on these observations, the following five cyber threats are expected to pose the greatest risk to enterprises in 2026, along with key considerations for mitigation.

1. Trojan-Dominated Malware and File Infector Attacks

Trojan malware and file infectors continue to account for the majority of enterprise attacks, together representing nearly 70 percent of observed detections. These threats are frequently used as initial access vectors, enabling persistence, lateral movement, and long-term compromise. Increasing use of obfuscation, polymorphism, and fileless techniques has reduced the effectiveness of traditional signature-based security controls. Detecting such activity increasingly depends on behavioural analysis and real-time monitoring of anomalous system behaviour. 2. Ransomware Evolution and Stealth Monetisation

Ransomware activity remains a major concern, with notable spikes in both incident volume and detection rates. At the same time, cryptojacking has surged, indicating a shift toward quieter monetisation methods that can operate undetected for extended periods. This dual threat increases the risk of both visible operational disruption and hidden resource abuse. Effective defence relies on early detection of pre-encryption behaviour, strong backup and recovery processes, and continuous monitoring for unusual data movement or system activity.

3. Advanced Persistent Threats and Coordinated Campaigns

Threat research documented multiple large-scale cyber campaigns in 2025, including operations linked to state-backed actors. These campaigns often combine espionage, data theft, and disruption, remaining undetected for long periods by using legitimate tools and trusted credentials. Countering such threats requires intelligence-led security operations, close monitoring of identity misuse, lateral movement, and privilege escalation, as well as regular security audits and adversary simulation exercises.

4. Exploit-Led Attacks and Rapid Weaponisation of Vulnerabilities

Millions of exploit attempts were recorded against both network and host-based systems, frequently targeting widely deployed enterprise software and legacy infrastructure. Vulnerabilities in commonly used platforms were weaponised rapidly, significantly narrowing the response window for defenders. Reducing exposure depends on risk-based vulnerability management, prioritised patching of critical and internet-facing assets, segmentation of legacy systems, and continuous monitoring for exploit activity.

5. Expanding Attack Surfaces Across AI, Mobile, and Digital Identity

The attack surface is widening beyond traditional enterprise perimeters to include AI frameworks, mobile platforms, APIs, and digital identity systems. Threat actors are exploiting vulnerabilities in AI tools, using synthetic identities and impersonation techniques, and deploying advanced banking malware to conduct real-time fraud. Addressing these risks requires securing developer environments and APIs, extending visibility to mobile endpoints, monitoring for external impersonation and credential abuse, and strengthening user awareness around emerging threat techniques.

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