As long as the world is powered by the internet and computers, cyber security will stay relevant. That’s another way of saying that the cybersecurity industry is a stable, future-proof industry. And why wouldn’t it be? The world is witnessing a record surge in cyber attacks on a year-on-year basis. 2023 saw a staggering 6.06 billion malware attacks around the globe.
India, too, witnessed a 15% rise in cyber attacks in 2023, totalling 2138 attacks per organisation. Cybersecurity is the need of the hour. Businesses and individuals – both require the services of cyber security companies to keep themselves safe in terms of money, reputation and customer dissatisfaction.
The industry is in for a steep growth. And India is not behind in this growth story. There are a number of listed cybersecurity companies in India that have been doing fabulous work for many years. In this blog, we will take a look at cyber security stocks that are worthy of keeping on your watchlist.
The Growing Importance of Cyber Security In India
India has matured a lot in terms of high-speed internet penetration and technological prowess. Today, it’s not possible to think of any business that does not use technology or high-speed internet – irrespective of any industry. However, this massive technological growth comes with the dangers of cyber attacks, vulnerabilities and leakage of sensitive data.
The situation is scary, and the Indian government has taken it upon itself to make C-level business leaders aware of these cyber threats. In 2023, MeitY launched an intensive program titled Cyber Surakshit Bharat, spanning more than 6 months. The aim of this program was to make Indian CISOs and CTOs aware of different forms and channels of cyber attacks and how to keep businesses safe.
Our country has been witnessing high-profile cybersecurity breaches for many years now. Do you remember the 2022 AIIMS ransomware attack? 1.3 terabytes of sensitive data was encrypted by the attacker. Although the hospital was able to recover the data from backups, the sensitive information contained in the data might have been breached. Thankfully, AIIMS learned a lesson and was successful in thwarting another cyber attack in 2023. Similarly, ICMR suffered a cyber attack in 2023, resulting in the leakage of Covid test data concerning 81 million Indians. In fact, it was reported that ICMR sustained at least 6000 attempted breaches from 2022 to 2023.
Effects of Cyber Attacks on Indian People and Businesses
Cyber security incidents aren’t just simple data breaches or ransomware attacks – they have real-world repercussions. Consider the ICMR data breach. The leaked data also contained Aadhar numbers along with the names and addresses of Indians. This can lead to severe misuse of personal data, resulting in impersonation and monetary losses. On the other hand, cyber-attacks against individual citizens can be damning as well. As of the latest data, 20% of citizens in India fell victim to cyber-attacks in the first quarter of this year. Despite not being sophisticated in nature (involving social media engineering), these attacks led to impersonation, theft of data and monetary loss.
To combat this threat, various Indian companies – along with foreign ones – have established a firm foothold in the industry. The industry is lucrative and people and businesses need these companies. It’s a win-win situation. As of 2024, the Indian cyber security industry is valued at USD 4,044.6 Million and is expected to grow at 15.61% CAGR till 2033.
Let’s now delve deeper into listed cyber security companies in India fighting to keep Indian citizens and companies safe:
Please be mindful that the companies mentioned here are not endorsed as investment recommendations; they’re included solely for educational purposes. It’s highly recommended that you conduct your own thorough analysis before investing.
Quick Heal Technologies (NSE: QUICKHEAL)
Established in 1995, Quick Heal Technologies has been a known name for many, many years. The company has been able to carve a niche for itself despite the presence of established foreign players. Quick Heal originally caters to home users and is compatible with all major platforms – Windows, Android and Mac. The company has an enterprise arm as well – Seqrite – that is more geared towards businesses.
After two bland years, this Indian cyber security stock performed well in terms of profit. The company charted a revenue of 313.1 crore INR in FY 24 and bagged a net profit of 24.1 crore INR. The growth has been impressive, but now the stock seems to be overvalued. Put it on your watchlist, but exercise caution.
Tech Mahindra (NSE: TECHM)
Tech Mahindra is a leading player in the enterprise cyber security segment. The company provides advanced 360-degree cyber security services. From cloud workload protection to cloud-native application protection, from AI-powered enterprise security to IoT security, from DLP to Data Security Monitoring and cyber advisory – the company is present across the length and breadth of all major aspects of enterprise cyber security. With a presence in international markets, Tech Mahindra has a robust deal pipeline. However, investors must exercise caution as the profits of the company have been on a downward slide since the last two financial years. The management has laid out a three-year turnaround plan for the company with the hope of achieving a 15% turnaround margin from 2027 onward.
TAC Infosec (NSE: TAC)
TAC Infosec is a new entrant in the list of cyber security stocks in India. Headquartered in the United States, the USP of the company lies in the fact that it integrates heterogeneous enterprise and cloud security tools into one single platform. The benefit? Improved visibility into application and infrastructure security. The company has five products that pack cyber security services, such as SaaS. It’s a relatively new entry in the Indian stock market. Investors should exercise caution before making a buying decision.
Tata Consultancy Services (NSE: TCS)
TCS has a managed security services arm that provides comprehensive cyber security consultation, execution and cyber attack mitigation services. The company boasts a comprehensive suite of platform-agnostic security services that include securing edge devices and industrial applications, enterprise security as a service, cloud security, incident response and recovery, and more. While it is not possible to gauge exactly how much percentage of revenue is driven by the cyber security arm of TCS, a 2022 report shows 3X growth in cyber security deals bagged by the company.
TCS has come up with some innovative cyber security services from which it will reap benefits in the coming years. For example, the company offers Digital Security as a Service – a cloud-based cyber security governance platform specifically meant specifically for schools. In 2023, the company launched an innovative platform powered by Amazon Security Lake that makes use of generative AI to analyse security findings and alert users in case of any anomaly detection.
While TCS is a fundamentally strong stock, make your buying decision after carefully analysing the broader market sentiment pertaining to technology stocks.
HCL Tech (NSE: HCLTECH)
HCL Tech is another leading listed cybersecurity company in India. The company focuses on prevention, mitigation and compliance – the critical foundations of cyber security execution. As far as prevention is concerned, the company is involved in data and application security, IAM, on-prem and off-prem security and IoT security. HCL Tech has also established itself as a reliable partner for threat mitigation and containment solutions. From managing and mitigating attack surface and cyber threat to quick recovery after an incident – the company deftly handles cybercrimes, contains them and prevents escalation. From a legal point of view, HCL Tech helps companies stay compliant in terms of data governance and third-party risk mitigation.
Expleo Solutions (NSE: EXPLEOSOL)
While Expleo Solutions isn’t primarily just a cyber security company, much of its work involves protecting real-world infrastructure and assets with resilient cyber security protocols. For example, its innovative Smeeta Suitcase is a platform-in-a-box cyber security tool which is capable of assessing the cyber-resilience of vehicles. The company specialises in keeping embedded systems, IoT devices and networks secure and resilient against cyber attacks. Despite being a promising cyber security stock in India, its price has been moving sideways since 2022.
RS Software (NSE: RSSOFTWARE)
RS Software is a trusted player in the payments solution and fintech industries. The company offers multiple products to solve various payment-related pain points. One such product is RS IntelliEdge, which is aimed at improving the detection of fraud in the payments industry. The company takes traditional rules-based fraud detection to the next level and infuses AI and ML to keep up with the constantly updating threat landscape.
After three years of dwindling revenue, the company posted an increase in revenue in FY 24. Profits, too, have turned green this year. Keep this stock on your watchlist, but verify the fundamentals before investing.
Analysing streaming data on a real-time basis is highly challenging and requires specific skills. RS Software has the capability to analyse large amounts of streaming data on a real-time basis and alerts whenever the observation deviates from the baseline.
Final Words
The specialisation of the Indian IT industry lies in providing quality IT services to the world. It’s heartening to see that the country’s IT companies are now placing the country on the map as a formidable cybersecurity service provider. These cyber security stocks in India have the potential to grow spectacularly in the coming years. Cyber threats aren’t going anywhere – in fact, the number of threats is increasing on a daily basis. It’s an opportunity for the Indian cybersecurity industry to grow exponentially.
-Nischay Avichal
