1 in 3 Indian PC Users Hit by Offline Cyberattacks in 2025: Kaspersky
25 March 2026 9:00 PM IST25 March 2026 9:00 PM IST
As remote work becomes commonplace, cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting removable devices.
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New Delhi: Disconnecting from the internet does not guarantee safety from cyber threats, as nearly one in three computer users in India were targeted by local, on-device attacks in 2025, according to a report by cybersecurity major Kaspersky.
The company stated it detected and blocked over 6.46 crore local incidents in India between January and December 2025. These threats were primarily delivered through offline sources such as USB drives and other removable media, placing India among the top 80 most affected countries globally for local cyber threat exposure.
According to the data from Kaspersky Security Network (KSN), 29.8 per cent of users in the country encountered these offline threats, with worms and file viruses accounting for a significant share of the attacks.
"As remote and hybrid work environments have become normalised, cybercriminals are persistent in exploiting the removable devices and tools people rely on every day. In 2025, our researchers even found out that attackers are mimicking popular collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams and Google Drive to trick users into downloading malware, ultimately stealing login credentials, banking information, and sensitive personal data," said Adrian Hia, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky.
Global detection systems also recorded a massive 59 per cent surge in password stealers and a 51 per cent increase in spyware detections.
In the Asia Pacific region specifically, Hia noted a considerable increase in malicious files designed to remotely execute commands and harvest confidential data from victims' devices.
( Source : PTI )
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