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Hyderabad: Telangana’s cybercrime and economic offence rates are running far above the national average, a NITI Aayog-backed study has found, even as a separate World Economic Forum (WEF) report has flagged cyber insecurity as India’s biggest national risk over the next two years.

The Investment Friendliness Index 2026 found that Telangana reported 43 cybercrime cases per lakh population, against a national average of five, and 75 economic offence cases per lakh population, compared with a national average of 16, placing the state among the poorest performers on both counts.

The report said the high incidence of cyber and economic offences could raise concerns about the state’s institutional environment and dent investor confidence if not addressed effectively.

Cyber insecurity India’s top national risk: WEF

The findings come against the backdrop of the WEF’s Global Risks Report 2026, which ranked cyber insecurity as the sixth most severe global risk over the next two years and the top national risk for India. The report said rapid digitisation, artificial intelligence (AI), misinformation campaigns and geopolitical tensions were increasing vulnerabilities in digital systems worldwide.

Of the 116 economies covered by the WEF’s Executive Opinion Survey, only nine identified cyber insecurity among their most serious national risks. Besides India, Azerbaijan and Mali also ranked it as their top concern, while several European nations flagged the threat of cyber attacks and cyber warfare.

The concern is reflected in India’s rising cybercrime numbers. According to National Crime Records Bureau data, the country registered 1,01,928 cybercrime cases in 2024, a 17.9 per cent rise from 86,420 cases in 2023. Online fraud accounted for nearly three-fourths of all cybercrime cases, with 73,987 incidents reported nationwide.

Telangana recorded 21,639 cybercrime first information reports (FIR) in 2025, accounting for one in four major crime cases in the state, with total financial fraud losses reaching Rs 1,524 crore, according to Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) CV Anand.

Experts involved in the WEF study called for stronger cyber resilience, greater public awareness, improved digital literacy and closer cooperation between governments and the private sector to counter evolving cyber threats.

For Telangana, the findings suggest that tackling cybercrime and digital financial fraud may be as critical to sustaining investor confidence as building physical infrastructure such as roads, power networks and industrial parks.