GUWAHATI, Nov 20: India reported staggering financial losses of ₹22,845 crore to cybercrime in 2024, marking a 205.6% surge from the previous year, Microsoft’s Head of Public Sector, Keshri Kumar Asthana, revealed at a national conference on Cybersecurity, Digital Forensics and Intelligence held at Gauhati University on Wednesday.

Speaking at the event organised by NIELIT Assam & Nagaland under MeitY, Asthana said over 36 lakh financial fraud cases and 20.5 lakh cybersecurity incidents were recorded in 2024, underscoring an unprecedented escalation in cyber threats. Incidents reported to CERT-In rose sharply from 15.9 lakh in 2023, he said.

Asthana noted that the average cost of a data breach in 2025 has reached ₹22 crore, the highest ever in India, with 83% of organisations experiencing multiple breaches.
“The cost is high because incidents are being detected late. Attackers think in graphs, not lines — our defence systems must adapt the same way,” he emphasized.

Digital forensics experts highlighted alarming operational gaps.
Shreekrishna Ashutosh of Cellebrite said 50% of investigative agencies face rising case backlogs, while 60% of investigators still rely on outdated methods, spending an average of 69 hours per case analysing digital evidence. With 90% of criminal cases involving digital evidence, experts stressed that digital forensics is now “essential, not optional”.

Speakers warned that most attacks originate from “non-friendly countries” and urged the adoption of AI-driven investigation tools, better skilling, and stronger public awareness. They flagged major bottlenecks including infrastructural constraints, fragmented data, incomplete evidence extraction, and limited remote capabilities.

NIELIT Assam & Nagaland Director and Conference Chair, L. Lanuwabang, said the event’s theme, Cyber Secure Bharat: Fortifying India’s Digital Future, reflects a national mission to build a robust cyber ecosystem. He announced the expansion of NCCDFI from Kohima to Guwahati to increase participation across the Northeast.

The two-day conference features over 30 speakers and more than 300 delegates from government, police, judiciary, academia, and industry, aiming to strengthen India’s digital defence framework at a time of rapidly intensifying cyber threats.