India’s data centre industry is expanding rapidly as demand for AI, cloud computing and digital services continues to rise. But alongside the investment boom, security is emerging as a growing concern.
Data centres now support critical services across banking, government, enterprise software and digital platforms, making them increasingly important infrastructure. As their role grows, so does the impact of cyberattacks, insider threats, physical disruptions and operational failures.
The financial risks are significant too. The average cost of a data breach in India reached ₹25.5 crore in 2026, highlighting how expensive security failures can become for businesses relying on third-party infrastructure.
The challenge is not limited to cybersecurity. Fires, power failures, physical access risks and geopolitical tensions can also disrupt data centre operations, making resilience and business continuity just as important as capacity expansion.
At the same time, India continues to attract billions of dollars in new data centre investments, driven by cloud adoption, AI workloads and data localisation requirements.
As the sector scales, companies will need to focus not only on building more capacity, but also on stronger cybersecurity, physical protection, disaster recovery and clear accountability between data centre operators and their customers.
India’s data centre boom reflects the strength of its digital economy. But as these facilities become more critical, ensuring they are secure and resilient will be just as important as building them.
Filed by
Startup Unplugged
