India’s critical infrastructure is likely to face more frequent and disruptive cyberattacks in 2026 as geopolitical tensions, hybrid warfare, and rapid digitalisation reshape the threat landscape. Kaspersky Global Research & Analysis Team (GReAT) warns that advanced persistent threats (APTs) will increasingly focus on operational technology (OT) environments and cyber-physical systems, shifting from pure espionage to disruption and potential sabotage.
Geopolitics and APT Campaigns
According to Kaspersky, regional tensions and ideological hacktivism will continue to fuel both state-sponsored APTs and non-state threat actors. Expected attack patterns include website defacement, politically motivated ransomware, data leaks, DDoS campaigns, and operations linked to diplomatic incidents.
As India’s digital public infrastructure and e-governance systems expand, attackers gain more high-impact targets. The convergence of IT and OT in sectors like power, utilities, transport, and smart cities enlarges the attack surface, often on top of legacy systems that were never designed for today’s threat environment.
Critical Infrastructure and OT Risk
Kaspersky notes that critical infrastructure such as electricity grids, water utilities, transport networks, and government services are becoming more connected and automated, sometimes without adequate segmentation or updated security controls. This creates opportunities for threat actors to move laterally from IT systems into OT networks.
In high-impact scenarios, India could see attempts to interfere with electricity and water supplies, disrupt transport operations, or target supply chains for geopolitical leverage. As IT–OT integration deepens, advanced threat intelligence and integrated security operations centres become central to safeguarding operational continuity and national interests.
From Espionage to Disruption
The report anticipates a shift from traditional data theft toward campaigns aimed at disruption, coercion, or signalling. This may involve destructive malware, targeted ransomware with political messaging, and long-term intrusions where attackers quietly prepare to strike at moments of maximum pressure.
Kaspersky stresses the importance of intelligence-led monitoring, anomaly detection in OT environments, and strong network segmentation between business systems and control networks to contain any breach and reduce blast radius.
Recommended Security Measures
To strengthen defences against these threats, Kaspersky recommends that organisations:
Maintain a robust patch management process, supported by vulnerability assessment tools and curated vulnerability data feeds, to close known security gaps promptly.
Use comprehensive security solutions that provide incident detection, response, and threat hunting to identify and stop complex, multi-stage attacks early.
Run regular employee training and security awareness programmes, as most APT groups still rely on spear-phishing emails as the initial attack vector.
For Indian enterprises and public agencies, 2026 will require moving from a compliance-centric mindset to a resilience-first strategy, treating critical infrastructure protection as a core national and business priority.
