India cybercrime agency warns financial firms on AI attacks

India’s cybercrime agency has warned banks, non-bank lenders and other financial firms that hackers are using AI agents to carry out financially motivated attacks at machine speed. The warning comes amid a rise in cyber incidents and growing concern among regulators about AI-related risks to financial systems.

The agency said attackers exploit unpatched software or misconfigured IT systems, then target automated fund disbursement systems and payment APIs. It urged banks, fintech firms and payment aggregators to follow cybersecurity measures issued by CERT-In and suggested transaction limits, beneficiary-name checks and monitoring for unusually fast transfers. The Reserve Bank of India has also asked banks for evidence of compliance and details of their readiness for AI-related threats.