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Over the past twenty years, India’s insurance industry has experienced robust growth, expanding at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17%. However, despite this impressive trajectory, the sector has seen a sharp rise in cyber threats in recent years. A 2025 report* revealed that India encountered nearly 370 million malware attacks in 2024, with the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector among the most frequently targeted.
In response to the growing demand for proactive cybersecurity practices, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) incorporated new provisions into its ‘Information and Cyber Security Guidelines, 2023’ on 24 March 2025. These provisions focus on managing cyber incidents and enhancing crisis preparedness among insurance companies and intermediaries across India.
As per the latest circular, regulated entities (REs) are also required to report any cyber incident to IRDAI in the specified format within six hours of detection or notification.
Non-compliance with reporting obligations can attract regulatory attention and result in penalties, thereby establishing the importance for organisations to maintain a robust and well-defined incident response strategy.
At Grant Thornton Bharat, our dedicated team of experts - proficient in risk assessment and other cyber security capabilities - can support your organisation through various stages of incident response strategy until execution. With our globally acceptable methodology and renowned forensic technology applications, we can efficiently process large volumes of data while being cost effective in managing large eDiscovery matters.
We can help you with:
Ensuring ICT logs are stored and monitored for 180 days, guaranteeing availability during crises.
Developing and implementing CCMP, including cyber threat intelligence procedures, ensuring preparedness and business continuity.
Empaneling forensic experts for immediate availability through a flexible retainership model, ensuring swift mitigation of incidents.
Providing SOC operations, attack surface monitoring, and red teaming without conflicts of interest, maintaining investigation integrity.
Conducting training sessions and supporting incident notification to regulators, using global methodologies for detailed investigations.
Our Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) capabilities and offerings provide end-to-end support, from proactive readiness and forensic investigation to complete incident response, data recovery, and litigation support.
IRDAI mandates insurers and intermediaries to empanel cyber forensics experts to ensure swift response and preparedness for cyber incidents.
Insurance companies must actively manage cyber incidents with speed and full regulatory compliance. They must implement both proactive and reactive strategies to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats and vulnerabilities.
To know more, connect with our experts.
