Cyber risks are cited as the biggest threat faced by Indian organisations with 38 per cent of respondents feeling highly or extremely exposed to it, says a survey.

With this, cybersecurity has jumped two spots from number three to number one on the risk radar when compared to the 2022 Global Risk Survey, the PwC’s 2023 Global Risk Survey- India edition stated.

PwC said the final results of the survey are based on 3,910 survey responses from Business and Risk Management leaders (CEO, board, risk management, operations, technology, finance, audit) across 67 territories providing their views on the status and direction of risk in their organisation. 163 Indian organisations were a part of this survey.

Other digital and technology risks are also top concerns for business leaders in India (at 35 per cent).

To address the challenges, Indian organisations are making bold investments in cybersecurity with more than half of the respondents planning to invest in cybersecurity tools (55 per cent) and AI, machine learning and automation technologies (55 per cent) in the next 1-3 years, according to survey findings.

To back these investments, 71 per cent of Indian organisations are gathering and analysing cybersecurity and IT data for risk management and opportunity identification. Globally 61 per cent of the organisations are doing the same.

Sivarama Krishnan, Partner and Leader, Risk Consulting, PwC India said that the 2023 Global Risk Survey shows that Indian business leaders are not only demonstrating an increased appetite for taking risks but are also doing a reasonable job of identifying opportunities presented by risks.

“This mindset shift is critical for an organisation’s progress- it will not only help businesses be better prepared to manage risks, but also grow, build resilience, deliver outcomes and create value for all stakeholders,” Krishnan added.

The survey also showed that 99 per cent of Indian business leaders are confident their organisation can balance growth with managing risk effectively, of which 66 per cent are very confident of the same. Globally these figures stand at 91 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.

Further, Indian businesses are seeing technology disruptors as opportunities, with 69 per cent of Indian executives seeing Generative AI as an opportunity (against 60 per cent globally).

The survey also revealed how organisations are taking the help of emerging technologies such as GenAI for risk management, with 48 per cent of Indian enterprises having deployed AI and machine learning for automated risk assessment and response to a large extent. This is slightly lower than the global response of 50 per cent.

To leverage the positives brought in by risks and disruptions, the survey said 88 per cent of Indian organisations are actively investing in building resilience in their ecosystem over the last 12 months. Globally, 77 per cent of the businesses are investing in the same.