AI on pause? Indian companies tackle cyber risks and legal gaps
The application of artificial intelligence continues to rise in Indian organizations and systems, integrating it into various operations. However, there is concern over cyber threats, data loss vulnerability, and regulatory issues. Moreover, a report by Deloitte Access Economics and Deloitte AI Institute shows that a lack of understanding of the technology and legal and ethical risks is also furthering AI implementation in the country.
The report involved a survey of 102 strategic respondents from India, including chiefs of risk, compliance, and data from public and private organizations and not-for-profits across financial services, education, healthcare, and IT. To further generalise the results, the firm surveyed 797 participants across the South Asian region.
Workforce Skills Remain a Key Concern
According to the report, workforce readiness remains a major issue in AI adoption. On average, approximately 56% of employees in organisations have the skills to use AI responsibly. Despite this, it was also revealed that at least 60% of the global workforce across organisations had adequate skills to deploy AI solutions in both ethical and legal systems. This sums up the requirements in Indian companies concerning ongoing training and integration of AI governance into multi-disciplinary outfits.
Jayant Saran, Partner at Deloitte India, emphasized the importance of proactive measures, stating, “Effective AI governance is not just about regulation or compliance. It is about fostering innovation while ensuring accountability and transparency. The encouraging focus on workforce readiness reflects a critical step forward, but the journey requires continuous upskilling.”
Security and Governance Issues
The report highlighted that AI systems are not immune from cyberattacks and data breaches that are evolving rapidly. The global average cost of data breaches reached nearly USD 5 million in 2024, a 10% increase from the previous year. AI adoption has two aspects, security and regulatory issues, that Indian organisations simply cannot ignore.
In Asia-Pacific, the report reveals that while companies pinpoint roles responsible for AI standards, most organizations still need deadlines to achieve governance objectives. As many as 67% of artificial intelligence policies in the region still lack clear tactical objectives mapped to actionable plans, indicating a major gap in the region’s strategic AI governance.
The Future Course of the Indian Organizations
To tackle such challenges, there is a need to fill the skills gap in India’s workforce; an AI governance framework and cybersecurity measures for organisations within India need to be put in place. Specifically, risk management needs to be proactive, as well as integrate functions and cooperation between those functions to stimulate innovation and maintain responsibility.
The report usefully highlights the potential of AI within organisations and the requirement for the corresponding implementation of possible solutions to counterbalance the risks and satisfy the regulations.
