13,000 students enrol for March for Secure Code Program

Bengaluru: The March for Secure Code programme, conducted by CySecK, K-Tech Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Cybersecurity, in partnership with NASSCOM FutureSkills Prime was inaugurated online on Monday. CySecK is the Karnataka State government's CoE in Cyber Security, housed in the IISc (Indian Institute of Science) campus, with IISc as the anchor institute and KSCST (Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology) as the implementation agency.

Dr Ajeet Bajpai, Director General, National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) said that there is great scope for students to contribute in the field of cyber security, as cyber security experts and freelancers. He said that sky is the limit for learners.

Kirti Seth, Head, FutureSkills Prime said, "The collaboration between Cyber Security CoE of Karnataka is an example of the innovative modes of engagement that we need to adopt to inspire learners to get skilled in the digital technologies. The vision of FutureSkills Prime, a digital skilling initiative that is a partnership between NASSCOM and MEITY, GOI, is to skill 4 million people 2025. This partnership with CySeck will serve as an example to others to demonstrate how an ecosystem approach, with multiple stakeholders can be driven successfully."

More than 43% of data breaches are tied to web applications. As India accelerates its adoption of digital technologies, awareness of secure coding practices amongst application developers is becoming more important than ever. March for Secure Code is a month-long programme on secure application coding and cybersecurity, consisting of an online, self-paced course "Application Security – Vulnerability Assessment" from SkillsDA and also a "Grand Challenge" from SkillsDA, which will be a Capture-the-flag event at the end of the month with 3 rounds.

Over 13,000 students from 81 colleges across 18 districts of Karnataka have registered to participate in the event. CySecK has announced exciting cash prizes and awards for the winners of the Grand Challenge, and the top three students who complete the course first from each district in Karnataka. colleges with maximum participation will also be recognised. Only the students who complete the course will be allowed to participate in the Grand Challenge. NCIIPC will be providing internships for top 10 students of the Grand Challenge. Training partner SkillsDA has offered internship opportunities for the top performers from each of the 81 colleges as well.