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Advancements in Generative Al technologies are evident, and this is no longer a future prediction. This is touching almost every sector, such as industry. healthcare, education, IT, and ITES. This also affects every organization irrespective of the size of compa-nies, such as large enterprises or micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The impact is seen not only in professional domains, but also in personal lives, in terms of searching for information, analysing large documents, or creating innovative images. In all this, there is still a debate about which application is more impacted by Generative Al and whether jobs are created or lost. Overall, there is one field that would benefit significantly and create ample opportunities, that is, cybersecurity.

A Double- Edged Sword: Generative Al and Cyber Security

From a cybersecurity perspective, Generative Al is a double- edged sword. While it opens new fields of transformative defence capability, it also opens an unprecedented cyber threat. This enables attackers to have highly personalized phishing attacks but simultaneously enables the automatic detection of vulnerability. As saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility’, and hence with the added power of Generative Al, comes the added responsibility to ensure that the systems continue to be secure. This additional responsibility becomes more challenging for MSMEs, owing to their limited budgets and resources.

“The Rise of Al-Powered Cybercrime: India’s Threat C Mitigation Report 2025″, highlights that “In 2024 alone, India registered over 19.18 lakh cybercrime complaints, up from 15.56 lakh in 2023, reflecting a tenfold jump since 2019”. Consequently, cyberattacks have increased with an increase in the availability of Generative Al technology. While cyber attackers are sharpening their tools to attack, MSMEs also need to improve their cybersecurity defence mechanisms.

Real World Implications: Connected Eco System

Recently, during visit to IIT, Roorkee, research topics related to “Cybersecurity impacts on Electric Vehicles and the National Grid” discussed. With the help of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, tomorrow’s EVs would not only be drawing electricity from Nation’s Grid but would also have the capability to give back electricity to the grid, as the need arises. This technology has evolved in India, and field trials have been conducted in the IIT Bombay. All this needs to be done in a very secure manner to avoid disaster- like situations due to cyberattacks on the nation’s grid. As there has been tremendous growth in the Electric Vehicle sector and its connected ecosystem, the related cybersecurity domain provides additional opportunities to the MSME sector for growth.

Digital Transformation & Expanded Threat Surface

Owing to advancements in Industry 4.0/5.0, in terms of Internet of Things (IoT), Automation, Cloud, Digital Twin, 3D printing, etc., the government’s push in digitalization is making people’s lives relatively convenient, but this also increases the cybersecurity risk due to increased digital attack surfaces. A single data breach can cause losses in terms of confidential data, financial damage, and penalties as per the DPDP (The Digital Personal Data Protection) 2023 act.

Challenges & Opportunities for MSMEs

This phenomenon affects the MSME sector in several ways.

1. The MSME sector has a limited budget to ensure that cybersecurity is not compromised in pursuit of the latest technologies. In fact, it is essential to safeguard running businesses/operations before implementing these digitalization initiatives.
2. The MSME sector, especially in the tech field, can also cash in this opportunity to offer various con-sultancy, training, integration, audit, verification, and validation (PEN Test, etc.) to various other companies. This also opens opportunities for training, learning, and development.
3. Uttar Pradesh Govt. is coming up with Al City in Lucknow, and companies related to cyber securities can use this opportunity to open start-ups in each area.

Recommendations for MSMES

In summary, Generative Al is here and MSMEs should not just react to cybersecurity impacts but plan to take advantage of it. This would require a mindset shift to avoid defending but innovate to remain relevant in the current seenario, Cybersecurity can be offered as a service along with secure digital practices in the new Al ccosystem. MSMEs also need to collaborate with institutions like IEEE (Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers), IETE (The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers), Cert In (Computer Emergency Response Team) and MeitY The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) for better coordinated planning and response. A systematie response would decide the tate of MSME: flourish or perish!