Zscaler and Airtel Launch Joint AI & Cyber Threat Research Center to Protect India’s Digital Future
Two powerhouses in technology and telecommunications have joined forces to tackle one of India’s most pressing challenges. Zscaler, the global cloud security leader, and Bharti Airtel, one of India’s largest telecom providers, announced the launch of the AI & Cyber Threat Research Center – India on February 20, 2026 — a landmark initiative designed to fortify the nation’s cybersecurity infrastructure at a population scale.
Why This Matters Now
India’s digital transformation is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, expanding across critical sectors including banking, energy, and telecommunications. But with scale comes exposure. Zscaler’s research arm, ThreatLabz India, has recorded millions of infiltration attempts every month — including 1.2 million intrusion attempts from 20,000 distinct sources targeting 58 Indian digital entities; a surge in zero-day exploits; and sophisticated nation-state cyber espionage campaigns exploiting regional geopolitical tensions.
Traditional perimeter-based security models are simply not built for this reality. Attackers are now leveraging AI to identify and weaponize vulnerabilities in minutes, making the need for a modern, Zero Trust-based approach not just strategic — but urgent.
What the Center Will Actually Do
Built around four pillars — Protect, Remediate, Facilitate, and Build — the center aims to deliver real-time threat intelligence, partner with government agencies to neutralize attacks, accelerate adoption of AI-driven defense, and develop the next generation of cybersecurity talent through specialized certifications.
Zscaler brings its Zero Trust Exchange platform, which processes over 500 billion daily transactions, to extract actionable intelligence. Airtel contributes deep visibility into IoT and mobile traffic, enabling faster threat detection and coordinated responses.
A Platform Designed “In India, For India”
Framed explicitly around India’s Viksit Bharat vision, the center is structured as a multi-stakeholder platform welcoming additional public and private sector partners.
As Jay Chaudhry, CEO of Zscaler, put it, securing India’s digital ambitions demands architecture that was built for a hyper-connected world, not legacy tools designed for a simpler era.
The center isn’t just a security initiative. It’s a statement about where India’s digital sovereignty is headed.
