Artificial intelligence is changing how businesses operate, but it is also forcing India’s major IT companies to rethink how they protect their systems and data.
As companies increasingly deploy AI applications, APIs and autonomous AI agents, traditional cybersecurity strategies are being expanded to cover these new technologies. Firms such as Infosys, HCLTech, Cognizant and Persistent Systems are strengthening their security frameworks as AI creates new points of vulnerability.
AI Is Expanding The Cybersecurity Battlefield
Earlier, cybersecurity teams primarily focused on protecting employees, devices, networks, applications and cloud infrastructure.
AI is adding another layer to that security challenge.
Companies now have to protect AI models, applications, APIs, datasets and autonomous agents that can interact with enterprise systems. These systems can access sensitive information and, in some cases, perform actions without a human carrying out every individual step.
This means a compromised AI system could potentially create risks beyond those associated with a traditional application.
Zero Trust Gets An AI Upgrade
One of the key approaches being adopted by companies is the Zero Trust security model.
Instead of automatically trusting a user, device or application simply because it is inside an organisation’s network, Zero Trust requires continuous verification.
The approach is now being extended to AI systems as well.
Companies are looking at ways to verify AI agents, control what they can access and limit the actions they can perform. Security teams also need visibility into the interfaces and external AI models connected to enterprise environments.
Employee Use Of AI Creates Another Risk
AI security is not limited to sophisticated attacks.
Employees using external AI tools can accidentally expose sensitive corporate information by entering confidential data into public or third-party AI systems.
Persistent Systems, for example, has introduced data governance and threat-testing measures designed to address risks associated with enterprise AI usage.
This makes employee awareness and AI-specific policies increasingly important alongside technical security controls.
Cloud Credentials Remain A Major Weakness
The expansion of AI does not mean traditional security problems have disappeared.
Compromised credentials remain a significant threat, particularly when attackers gain access to cloud platforms.
As more enterprise applications and AI workloads move to cloud environments, controlling identities and permissions becomes critical. A stolen credential can potentially provide access to large volumes of corporate data and systems.
IT Companies Are Using AI To Fight AI Threats
The same technology creating new security risks can also help companies defend themselves.
IT firms are increasingly exploring AI-powered monitoring, threat detection and automated security operations. AI can analyse large volumes of security data much faster than human teams and help identify suspicious activity.
However, security experts emphasise that AI systems themselves need strong governance and controls.
Organisations need to know which AI systems exist in their environment, what data they can access and what actions they are authorised to perform.
Human Oversight Remains Important
As AI agents become more autonomous, companies are also looking at stronger controls around high-risk actions.
Activities such as deploying code, changing infrastructure settings, transferring large amounts of money or deleting sensitive data may require explicit human approval.
The broader shift is therefore not simply towards using more AI in cybersecurity. Companies are having to redesign their security architecture around environments where humans and AI agents operate together.
For India’s IT industry, the challenge is becoming increasingly complex. AI adoption is creating new opportunities for productivity and innovation, but it is also expanding the security perimeter that organisations need to defend.
Summary
AI is forcing Indian IT companies to expand cybersecurity beyond traditional networks, devices and applications. Firms are increasingly securing AI models, APIs, data and autonomous agents while extending Zero Trust principles to AI systems. Employee use of external AI tools and compromised cloud credentials remain additional risks. Companies are also using AI for threat detection while maintaining stronger governance and human oversight.
