Zscaler and Airtel launch AI and cyber threat research center to strengthen India’s digital resilience

As India builds digital infrastructure at population scale, cybersecurity has moved from being an IT concern to a national priority. In a strategic move to bolster the country’s cyber defenses, Zscaler and Bharti Airtel have launched the AI & Cyber Threat Research Center – India, a collaborative initiative focused on strengthening cyber resilience and enabling trusted AI adoption.

India’s digital expansion across telecommunications, banking, energy, and public infrastructure has significantly widened the national attack surface. At the same time, cyber threats are evolving at machine speed. Zscaler’s ThreatLabz India has observed millions of infiltration attempts every month, including nation-state espionage campaigns, over a million intrusion attempts from thousands of sources targeting Indian entities, and a sharp rise in zero-day exploits.

In this environment, traditional perimeter-based security models are increasingly inadequate. The new center is designed to help India transition toward secure-by-design digital systems built on ...