Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, kicked off the India chapter of its Risk to Resilience World Tour 2025 in Mumbai, gathering over 130 cybersecurity leaders from 70 organizations, including both enterprises and government bodies. The theme for this year’s event, “Proactive Security Starts Here,” focused on the urgent shift needed from reactive defense strategies to forward-thinking, AI-driven security approaches.
In her keynote, Sharda Tickoo, Country Manager for India & SAARC at Trend Micro, highlighted the growing threat of cybercriminals using AI to automate and speed up attacks, shortening the time to exploit vulnerabilities from weeks to mere hours. However, she pointed out that AI-driven defense mechanisms are advancing even faster, enabling real-time detection, automated responses, and proactive threat mitigation.
Ms Tickoo introduced the concept of Agentic AI, a breakthrough in cybersecurity where intelligent AI agents collaborate and share insights to provide preemptive protection. This innovation is at the heart of Trend Micro’s AI-powered platform, Trend Vision One™, which integrates specialized cybersecurity tools like TrendCybertron. These tools leverage predictive analytics, risk assessment, and automated remediation to safeguard diverse environments. While AI is revolutionizing Security Operations Center (SOC) functions, Sharda emphasized that fully autonomous SOCs remain a long-term goal, with human judgment still crucial for effective decision-making.
During the panel discussion, “Proactive Security in the Age of AI,” Rajesh Thapar, CISO at NSE, and Abhijit Chakravarty, EVP – Networks & Cybersecurity at Kotak Mahindra Bank, delved deeper into what proactive security looks like in practice. Mr Thapar emphasized that proactive security is no longer just a tactical approach but a strategic necessity that requires coordination across the entire security ecosystem. Mr Chakravarty highlighted the importance of visibility—especially into unmanaged assets and user activities—as the foundation for true proactivity, and stressed the need to turn data into actionable intelligence.
On the topic of vulnerability prioritization, Mr Thapar noted the shortcomings of traditional scoring systems and called for a more context-driven, risk-based approach. Mr Chakravarty stressed the importance of criticality-based methods and the need to present risk in terms that resonate with business objectives. He also introduced the TRIC framework (Threat, Risk, Impact, Consequence), which helps bridge the gap between security teams and business leaders. Both panelists agreed that AI plays a dual role: as both a powerful enabler and a potential risk. While AI significantly enhances SOC capabilities, human oversight remains essential to ensure responsible security practices.
The Mumbai event highlighted how industries in the region, particularly manufacturing and the BFSI sector, are leading the way in adopting advanced technologies and security solutions, making it a mature cybersecurity market. The BFSI sector’s stringent compliance requirements further fuel the demand for hybrid security solutions that cater to both operational and regulatory needs. This Mumbai stop kicks off a four-city tour across India, following last year’s successful global series, which reached over 60 countries. The next event will take place in Kolkata on June 20, 2025.
Trend Micro is a trusted name in global cybersecurity, committed to protecting the digital exchange of information. Backed by decades of industry experience, in-depth threat intelligence, and ongoing innovation, the company offers an AI-driven security platform that safeguards millions of users and hundreds of thousands of businesses across cloud environments, networks, endpoints, and connected devices.
Recognized for its leadership in cloud and enterprise security, Trend Micro delivers advanced threat protection tailored for platforms such as AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud. Its unified platform offers centralized visibility, enabling quicker, more accurate threat detection and response. With a global workforce of over 7,000 professionals in 70 countries, Trend Micro remains dedicated to securing the connected world and supporting the evolving needs of modern digital infrastructure.
