Professional, in-depth training on advanced concepts of cybersecurity for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) was conducted at the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi from May 8-12, 2023. This unique public-private partnership (PPP) initiative was supported and funded by the National e-Government Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). A total of 24 CISOs were carefully selected from various public agencies, PSUs, and defense organizations.
The 5-day intensive training aimed to enhance the skills of public sector CISOs in understanding the cyber-attack threat landscape, risk mitigation strategies, and more. Participants gained a comprehensive understanding of legal and regulatory provisions of cybersecurity, including the IT Act and its amendments, IT Rules, and various standards and policies such as IEC/ISO 27001, NIST framework, and CCMP. The goal was to empower them to effectively support their organizations in developing concrete cyber crisis management strategies.
The training featured speakers from industry, academia, and government, including the Programme Coordinator who spoke on topics such as Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC), Cyber Security Products in India, Endpoint Security, Digital Workplace Security, Network Security, Application and Data Security, Mobile Security, Cloud Security, and Atmanirbharat (development of indigenous tools for cybersecurity).
The CISOs had the opportunity to interact with experts, gaining insights into the influence of new-age technologies like Blockchain, IoTs, Generative AI, and Quantum Computing on the cybersecurity landscape. They also addressed queries on Advanced Persistent Threats (APT), Incident Response Mechanism (IRM), Zero Trust Architecture, Forensic Sciences, Cybersecurity Audits, Risk Management, Critical Information Infrastructure Security, Cryptography, SSO, MeriPehchaan, and more. The skills acquired during the training were rigorously evaluated by cybersecurity experts, including Prof. Charru Malhotra, Mr. Dipak Singh, Prof. Ashish Agarwal, and Dr. Dinesh Taneja, who served as distinguished jury members. Overall, the program provided extensive exposure to the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity.
The training concluded with a valediction function graced by Ms. Uma Chauhan, Scientist-G, Group Coordinator (Cyber Security), MeitY, as the chief guest, and Mr. Dipak Singh, Senior Technical Consultant at CCA, as the Guest of Honor. The chief guest commended the dedicated efforts of IIPA in consistently improving the quality of CISO training under the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative. At the same time, the Guest of Honor praised the innovative approach taken by IIPA in conducting the training.
Like the past five years, the program was conducted by Prof. (Dr.) Charru Malhotra, Professor (e-Governance and ICT) at the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi.
