NASSCOM Warns Firms to Prepare for Cyber Threats Amid Middle East Crisis

Rising geopolitical tensions in parts of West Asia are prompting Indian companies to strengthen their cybersecurity systems and contingency planning. Industry body NASSCOM has cautioned that geopolitical conflicts often lead to an increase in cyberattacks, digital espionage, and disinformation campaigns targeting businesses and institutions.

The warning comes at a time when organisations are already struggling with a surge in AI-powered cyber threats, including deepfake impersonation attacks, identity fraud, and misinformation campaigns that can disrupt corporate operations.

With India’s technology sector deeply integrated into global markets, companies are now focusing on reinforcing both digital infrastructure security and business continuity strategies.

NASSCOM Issues Advisory to Indian Companies

In response to the evolving geopolitical environment, NASSCOM has issued a formal advisory urging companies to increase vigilance and strengthen operational resilience.

“While business operations currently remain stable, organisations are proactively reviewing contingency plans and strengthening resilience measures to mitigate potential disruptions should the situation evolve,” the advisory said.

Many Indian firms have significant operations or employees in West Asian markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. As a result, companies are carefully monitoring developments in the region.

Companies Activate Business Continuity Plans

Businesses with offices or employees in the Middle East have started activating business continuity and disaster recovery frameworks to ensure that services remain uninterrupted even if disruptions occur.

Measures Being Implemented

Companies are implementing several precautionary measures, including:

• Enabling work-from-home arrangements for employees in sensitive regions

• Closely monitoring geopolitical developments to ensure employee safety

• Ensuring uninterrupted delivery of services to global clients

India’s IT and outsourcing sector relies heavily on global operations, and ensuring operational resilience is critical for maintaining client confidence.

Cloud and Data Infrastructure Under Review

Technology firms are also reviewing the resilience of their cloud infrastructure and data systems.

Infrastructure Protection Steps

Some organisations are:

• Assessing alternate routing paths for cloud services

• Evaluating backup data centre locations

• Strengthening redundancy mechanisms for critical systems

These measures help ensure that digital operations remain functional even if disruptions occur in key global network routes.

Global hyperscale providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Google play a crucial role in maintaining cloud resilience for Indian enterprises.

Companies Issue Travel Advisories

Many corporations have also issued internal travel advisories.

Since West Asia serves as a major global aviation transit hub, employees are being advised to limit non-essential travel through the region.

Travel Precautions

Organisations are encouraging staff to:

• Avoid unnecessary travel through sensitive regions

• Choose alternate flight routes where possible

• Stay updated on government travel advisories

Such steps are aimed at ensuring employee safety while maintaining operational continuity.

Cybersecurity Becomes a Top Priority

Beyond operational readiness, cybersecurity has become the central focus for many organisations.

NASSCOM warned that geopolitical crises frequently coincide with:

• coordinated cyberattacks

• critical infrastructure targeting

• misinformation and propaganda campaigns

To counter these risks, companies are being advised to adopt stronger cybersecurity protocols.

Key Security Measures Recommended

Organisations have been asked to:

• Reset credentials across corporate systems

• Accelerate patching of critical software vulnerabilities

• Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA)

• Secure virtual private networks (VPNs) and cloud administration systems

These measures are designed to prevent unauthorized access and protect sensitive corporate data.

Deepfake and AI-Driven Attacks on the Rise

The concerns come amid a rapid rise in AI-driven cyber threats, particularly deepfake attacks.

According to the 2026 Data Threat Report by Thales:

• 65% of organisations in India reported experiencing deepfake-driven attacks

• 55% reported damage from AI-generated misinformation or impersonation campaigns

Deepfake technology uses artificial intelligence to create realistic but fabricated audio, video, or images that can impersonate individuals.

Cloud Infrastructure Also Under Threat

The report also highlighted that credential theft remains the most common attack method targeting cloud systems.

• 68% of organisations in India that experienced cloud attacks reported credential theft as the main method used by attackers.

Experts Warn About AI-Driven Cyber Risks

Cybersecurity experts say the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is amplifying digital risks across organisations.

Ankur Kanaglekar, Vice President – India at Thales, highlighted the growing danger posed by AI-enabled cyber threats.

“The rapid adoption of AI is driving a surge in next-gen cyber threats, particularly deepfakes,” said Ankur Kanaglekar, Vice President – India at Thales. “When identity governance, access policies, or encryption frameworks are weak, AI can amplify those weaknesses across corporate environments far faster than any human ever could.”

Experts warn that AI tools can now automate cyberattacks at scale, making them more difficult to detect and prevent.

Limited Data Visibility Raises Risks

Another challenge facing organisations is lack of complete visibility over corporate data assets.

The report revealed that:

• Only 35% of organisations in India know where all their data resides.

This gap increases vulnerability because companies cannot fully protect data that they cannot track or classify effectively.

As businesses increasingly adopt cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and digital platforms, securing sensitive information across distributed systems has become more complex.

Conclusion

With geopolitical tensions in West Asia adding a new layer of uncertainty, Indian companies are taking proactive steps to strengthen both operational and cybersecurity resilience. Industry bodies like NASSCOM are urging organisations to stay vigilant as geopolitical crises often trigger cyberattacks, infrastructure disruptions, and misinformation campaigns.

At the same time, the rapid rise of AI-powered threats such as deepfakes and credential theft is forcing companies to rethink their cybersecurity strategies. Experts believe that stronger identity governance, better data visibility, and advanced threat detection systems will be essential for protecting corporate infrastructure in an increasingly complex global digital landscape.