Exposed credentials, weak access controls, and cloud misconfigurations enabled ‘rogue’ AI agents to hack into Indian systems, raising a bigger question: How prepared are the country’s organisations for attacks that unfold at unprecedented speed and scale? “None of these attacks used sophisticated AI capability to find zero-day vulnerabilities or anything unprecedented. This shows that the cybersecurity conditions of the firms under attack are terrible, and need overhaul and require proper regulatory intervention. The lesson is not about AI tools and their tendency to go beyond their sandboxes but about our organisations failing to do their job,” Professor Sandeep Shukla, director, International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad, told The Indian Express.

Prof Sandeep Shukla, Director of IIIT Hyderabad, stresses the importance of understanding how employment is defined in the survey. “The first thing is to read the report carefully to understand what they mean by employed,” Shukla says. He argues that the gap between educational qualifications and available opportunities is a particular concern for graduates. A school-leaving qualification may not be enough to secure the professional work many aspire to, while a degree or postgraduate qualification does not guarantee stable, well-paid employment. Some graduates take low-paid or insecure jobs, while others continue searching for positions that better match their skills and expectations. For Shukla, addressing the challenge requires a stronger emphasis on entrepreneurship and practical problem-solving.

In an interview with Mint on October 13, 2026, Sandeep Kumar Shukla, director of the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT Hyderabad), said global guidelines are needed to manage AI risks, but geopolitical tensions between the US and China could make it difficult for countries to agree on slowing its development. Shukla explained how advanced AI could help detect software vulnerabilities that decades of human expertise have failed to uncover. The same capabilities, however, could make cyberattacks easier and enable malicious actors to develop dangerous technologies. He said governments should focus on regulating the use of AI in military operations rather than on preventing individual countries from developing AI systems.