ASSOCHAM Telangana Cybersecurity Conference Unveils Urgent Need for Vigilance and Innovation

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) Telangana State Development Council, in response to escalating cybersecurity concerns, organised a Conference on Cybersecurity - Challenges and Opportunities. The conference, held at the Novotel Hyderabad, was designed to raise awareness about the growing hazards in the cyber industry.

The conference commenced with a warm welcome by Rambabu Boorugu, Convenor of the IT Panel at ASSOCHAM Telangana State Development Council and Executive Director & CTO of Pranava Group, who set the tone for the discussions ahead.

Shikha Goel, Additional Director General of Police, CID, Telangana State emphasized the significance of the occasion. Goel shared insightful statistics on the rising cyber threats and stressed the urgent need for public awareness and preventive measures in the cyber domain. She stated "Cybercrime, predicted to inflict damages totalling $10.50 trillion globally in 2025, would rank as the world's third-largest economy if measured as a country. These statistics underscore the importance of awareness, prevention, and stringent policies to combat cybercriminal activities effectively."

Addressing the audience, Rama Devi Lanka, Director of Emerging Technologies and OSD at ITE &C Dept., Government of Telangana, delved into emerging technologies and their feasibility for implementation in cybersecurity measures. "We need to embrace emerging technologies to stay ahead in the cybersecurity realm," she remarked.

Senior Professor M V Panduranga Rao from IIT Hyderabad provided insights into the perspective of IIT on cybersecurity threats and outlined the measures being undertaken by the institute to mitigate these challenges effectively.

Neehar Pathare, Tech CEO of 63 SATS, shed light on the latest cyber threats and innovative technologies available to counter them effectively. He stated, "Our approach is to stay proactive in identifying and addressing cyber threats.” He highlighted tools developed by 63 Moons technologies such as 63 SATS for every enterprise server, CYBERDOME for public infrastructure networks, and CYBX for mobile phone security.

The inaugural session was also attended by Manoj Kumar Padhi, Deputy Inspector General, Chief Staff Officer (Tech), Eastern Seaboard, Headquarters, Coast Guard Commander (Eastern Seaboard); Deepak Mishra, Co-convenor of the IT Panel at ASSOCHAM Telangana State Development Council and Senior Vice President & Head of Cyber Defence Centre, Cloud4C; and Macha Dinesh Babu, Additional Director at ASSOCHAM. The conference attracted around 100 top CXO delegates.