India’s cybercrimes have increased fourfold, with Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh being the main victims.

Our India has reported over 12 lakh cybercrimes as of June 30, 2022, with Maharashtra being the worst-affected state with 1.6 lakh cases. Cybercrimes such as digital arrest, sextortion, online fraud, and cyberattacks have increased fourfold over the last four years, according to the government. According to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, there will be more than 22 lakh reported cybercrimes in 2024—a rise of more than 401 percent. Over the past four years, cybercrime has increased at the fastest rates in Gujarat, Odisha, and Karnataka.

The growing number of cybercrimes also targets children and teenagers. In 2018 and 2022, there were over 3,000 cases of child pornography and over 500 cases of cyberstalking against children and teenagers under the age of 18. Social media, website chat rooms, and online gaming environments were the sites of 25 percent more cybercrimes against children in 2021 and 32.5 percent more in 2022.

Cyberattacks have also been increasing rapidly, with an average of 761 cyberattack attempts per minute last year. The healthcare and medical sector was the primary target, followed by hospitality and banking. Following the Pahalgam terror attack in 2025, over 15 lakh cyberattacks were attempted against the country’s critical infrastructure, including defense, power, telecom, finance, and transportation sectors, carried out by Pakistan and allied hacking groups.