By Sanjeev Agarwal, CBO, CelerityX
India’s corporate landscape is buzzing with digital ambition. Traditional manufacturing firms are pivoting to smart supply chains. Fintech startups are scaling services to remote towns. Even government portals now touch nearly every citizen’s life. Everywhere you look, digital infrastructure is becoming the base layer of business continuity and innovation. But here’s the shift: security is no longer a supporting element of businesses but one of the key asset in the balance sheet.
The era of building systems and then patching them is over. CIOs today must design networks with the assumption that breaches are not just possible, but probable. Every device, user, and application must pass continuous verification. It’s the only way to stay operational in a hybrid and cloud-first world. Cybersecurity has moved beyond being an IT checkbox. It’s now a business advantage and a trust signal, one that drives resilience.
Security is the Foundation of Digital Transformation
The traditional approach to perimeter defence doesn’t work anymore. Workforces are mobile. Applications live across clouds. Attack surfaces have exploded.
Smart enterprises are rethinking infrastructure with zero trust principles. Security is being baked into every API integration, every cloud instance, and every remote access point. Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a vital role. From detecting anomalies to blocking threats in real time, and minimising human error.
But technology isn’t enough. The smarter approach is to treat security as an ongoing behaviour. This means, investing in security awareness programmes that are relevant to different roles. It’s simple: what a finance team needs to know is different from what a tech team should flag. Training can’t be generic anymore. It must connect directly to daily risks.
Equally important is building internal security expertise. Relying solely on external vendors creates dependencies and slows response times. Upskilling internal teams builds a sharper, faster line of defence. It also fosters a stronger sense of ownership.
Media & Entertainment: A Sector Under Siege
Take India’s entertainment economy. Today, it’s already worth over ₹3 trillion. But behind the glamour lies vulnerability. Streaming platforms, digital ads, and creator economies are often easy targets for cybercriminals.
Piracy is old news. What’s new is deepfake content, fake subscriber data, and monetisation fraud. Many independent creators don’t have the protections bigger studios enjoy. For this sector, cybersecurity is about safeguarding the creative economy, protecting users, and preserving digital trust.
Scale Without Safety Is Risk
Another vital example is India’s telecom and cable networks. Today, this sector reaches 1.2 billion people. The fact remains; these networks are more than communication tools; they power smart homes, digital classrooms, and e-health services.
But every smart metre, connected TV, and home assistant also opens new entry points for attack. We’re talking about not just data theft, but potential disruptions to daily life. Network safety is no longer optional; it directly impacts national resilience.
The Supply Chain Cannot Be Ignored
Most cyberattacks today don’t come through the front door. They piggyback on third-party vendors, outdated APIs, or unsecured tools.
This is why supply chain security has become non-negotiable. Businesses need clear vendor risk management frameworks. Contracts must include cybersecurity clauses. And perhaps most critically, CIOs should ensure their organisations are active in threat intelligence networks because what hits your vendor today could hit you tomorrow.
From Compliance to Culture: Why Continuity Matters
India’s legal landscape is evolving. The Digital India Act and upcoming Data Protection Bill are reminders that regulation is catching up. But meeting compliance requirements doesn’t mean you’re secure.
Boards and leadership must treat cybersecurity like they treat finance or product development—as a core operational pillar. It needs budget, attention, and regular audits. But culture matters even more. A security-first mindset needs to run across departments not as fear, but as hygiene. And that culture starts at the top.
Moreover, security isn’t set-and-forget. It must be measured, refined, and improved constantly. Start with clear KPIs on security measures and protocols. These shouldn’t just reflect technical metrics like patching or incident response times but preventive measures as well. They must also show business impact, like recovery time, customer attrition post-incident, or reputational shifts.
Monitoring tools must offer real-time visibility into posture. Penetration testing and audits should be periodic and proactive. The cost of inaction often arrives silently, and then all at once.
A Secure India is a Stronger India
Digital infrastructure is the new lifeline of our economy. And like any critical infrastructure, it must be secure—from every login or transaction to every app download. These are trust contracts between businesses and users. If we break them, we lose more than data; we lose confidence.
The good news is that the tools, frameworks, and knowledge already exist. What’s needed is intent, consistent execution, and even some AI tools to leverage. Besides, when we stop viewing cybersecurity as insurance. In today’s landscape, cybersecurity is infrastructure. We need to build it that way.