AI-driven cyber threats open up huge opportunity for Infosys, says CEO Salil Parekh

“Cyber is a huge opportunity for Infosys, but the capabilities have to be very strong,” Parekh said in response to a Moneycontrol question on whether the emerging cybersecurity opportunity could be comparable to the Y2K technology transition. He said Infosys was building capabilities that combine AI agents and human expertise while working with different frontier AI models to identify and address vulnerabilities.

“Because each frontier model is unearthing different things on the application layer, which needs to be addressed in a different way,” Parekh said. The comments come amid growing concerns over AI-enabled cybersecurity threats, with recent incidents raising questions about the ability of traditional security systems to keep pace with vulnerabilities discovered using increasingly advanced AI models.

Developments over the past couple of days include the discovery of critical vulnerabilities in PHP, a programming language used by nearly 70% of websites; a security lapse at Indian digital certificate provider eMudhra; and disclosures about AI agents bypassing security controls. Parekh said Infosys had already developed defences against some of the vulnerabilities that had emerged in recent days and was sharing these capabilities with its enterprise clients.

“Some of the ones that have come out this week, we have some defences for which we're sharing with our clients,” he said. The company has also been working closely with frontier AI laboratories to develop cybersecurity solutions alongside the release of newer models. Recalling similar developments a few months ago, Parekh said Infosys had worked with a frontier model developer and built cybersecurity defences using an earlier version of its model.

“So, it's a strong part of our business. It's something that we are looking to scale up even more,” he said. Infosys has also strengthened its cybersecurity business through an acquisition in Australia a few quarters ago. Parekh said the acquisition was helping the company use AI agents to identify vulnerabilities in client systems in an ethical manner. The company sees opportunities both in protecting enterprise systems against emerging threats and in using AI capabilities to identify security weaknesses before they can be exploited.

Cybersecurity budgets may not rise disproportionately Despite the growing cybersecurity opportunity, Parekh cautioned that enterprises may not necessarily increase their overall technology spending disproportionately to address emerging threats. Responding to a question on whether the recent wave of cyber incidents could lead to higher IT budgets, he said clients would continue to manage their technology expenditure carefully.