A staggering 75% of organizations in India have suffered an email security breach in the past year, according to Barracuda Networks’ latest Email Security Breach Report 2025. The global figure stands at 78%, underscoring the escalating risks posed by sophisticated and evasive email-based attacks.
The research, conducted in partnership with Vanson Bourne, surveyed 2,000 IT and security decision-makers across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. It highlights how delayed response times and limited automation amplify both the frequency and impact of breaches.
Organizations taking more than nine hours to address an email breach have a 79% chance of also being hit by ransomware, the report found. The average global cost of recovery reached $217,068, with smaller businesses taking the hardest hit — incurring costs of nearly $1,946 per employee compared to $243 for larger firms.
The consequences extend beyond finances. In India, 46% of breached organizations reported reputational damage, while many also lost new business opportunities.
“Email security is no longer just about stopping spam or mass phishing — it’s about preventing the first domino from falling in a cyberthreat chain that could end in operational paralysis, data loss, and long-term business impact,” said Neal Bradbury, Chief Product Officer, Barracuda. “Responding quickly and effectively to email breaches is critical to cyber resilience. However, many organizations struggle due to complex attacks, skills shortages, and lack of automation.”
Key Highlights from the Report:
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75% of Indian and 78% of global organizations experienced an email breach in the past year
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71% of breached organizations also faced ransomware attacks
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46% in India and 41% globally suffered reputational damage
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$217,068 – average global cost of responding to an email breach
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Only 50% detected breaches within an hour
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52% of Indian organizations cite advanced evasion techniques as the main challenge to incident response
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44% globally point to the lack of automated incident response as a major delay factor
Barracuda’s findings emphasize that as email threats grow more targeted and sophisticated, a unified, automated security platform is essential to defend against cascading cyber risks.
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