Hyderabad: India’s cybersecurity job market is undergoing a sharp repricing as companies accelerate investments in AI-led operations, cloud infrastructure and customer data protection, pushing pay premiums for skilled cyber professionals close to those seen in artificial intelligence roles, say talent management firms.
A senior-level cloud security architect (over 20 years’ experience) in a GCC can earn close to ₹1 crore, while job switches can bring an 18-20% increase, according to TeamLease Digital. It pegged median fixed pay for a cloud security architect in a GCC at ₹98.6 lakh for professionals with over 15 years of experience and around ₹95.8 lakh for an operational technology security architect in manufacturing. TeamLease Digital said India’s cybersecurity workforce is estimated at 4-5 lakh, while employers are trying to fill nearly 40,000 open positions, with mid-to-senior talent remaining short by 25-30%.
The strongest salary gains are emerging in specialised roles linked to cloud, AI risk, DevSecOps, zero-trust architecture, application security and operational technology security. The gap is especially acute in application security, data security and data loss prevention, and cloud and infrastructure security, Sharma explained.