India’s digital journey is accelerating. From mobile banking and online payments to cloud services and AI-powered platforms, technology now touches almost every part of daily life. But as digital adoption deepens, cyber risks are becoming more frequent — and far more sophisticated.
In an effort to stay ahead of these evolving threats, Zscaler and Bharti Airtel have partnered to set up the AI & Cyber Threat Research Center in India. The initiative is aimed at strengthening the country’s cyber defences while ensuring that artificial intelligence is deployed in a secure and responsible way.
The new centre will focus on protecting sectors that are critical to the nation’s stability and economic growth — including telecom, banking, energy and other essential digital infrastructure. These industries are increasingly being targeted by complex cyberattacks, making proactive security measures more important than ever.
Why Zero Trust and AI Are Becoming Essential
Security teams monitoring Indian networks report seeing millions of attempted breach efforts each month. These range from coordinated espionage campaigns and organised infiltration attempts to the growing misuse of zero-day vulnerabilities. The pattern suggests that attackers are not only becoming more aggressive, but also more strategic.
Both companies believe that older security models, built around perimeter-based systems like firewalls and VPNs, are no longer sufficient in today’s cloud-first, AI-driven environment. Instead, the research centre will promote a Zero Trust approach — a framework that requires continuous verification of users and devices, regardless of where they are accessing a system from.
Artificial intelligence will play a central role in this effort. By using AI-powered tools to detect unusual behaviour and emerging threat patterns, the centre aims to help organisations respond faster and reduce potential damage. The idea is to shift from reactive defence to smarter, predictive security.
The collaboration will also extend to working with government bodies on improving cyber readiness and incident response strategies. Another key focus area will be talent development, with efforts to promote AI-based security training and certifications in Zero Trust architecture to build a stronger cybersecurity workforce in India.
Leaders from both organisations have described the initiative as an important step toward building secure-by-design digital systems tailored to India’s unique threat landscape. By combining global intelligence capabilities with local expertise, the centre aims to create solutions that are both practical and future-ready.
In the coming months, the partnership is expected to expand by inviting more public and private organisations to participate, reinforcing a collective effort to safeguard India’s growing digital ecosystem.
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