Context
- Recently, the National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) launched CYBER KUSHTI 2026.
- It is a national cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence (AI) hackathon designed to assess human judgment in cybersecurity assessment, rather than merely detection speed.
CYBER KUSHTI 2026: Key Features
- What is it? A national cybersecurity and AI hackathon launched as the official parallel technical track of the 3rd National Conference on Cyber Security, Digital Forensics and Intelligence (NCCDFI 2026).
- The Difference: Unlike conventional cyber competitions that focus on “Capture The Flag” (CTF) challenges or discovering new vulnerabilities, CYBER KUSHTI focuses entirely on human judgment.
- Methodology: Participants are given an identical, deliberately imperfect “Security Assessment Package” generated by AI. This package contains true, false, and duplicated findings. The goal is not to find a hidden problem, but to evaluate, prioritize, and defend cybersecurity decisions by identifying genuine issues and correctly rejecting false machine-generated noise.
- Structure: The hackathon is conducted in three progressive rounds—Akhada (Round 1), Dangal (Round 2), and Kesari (Final in-person round in New Delhi). The winning team is awarded the title “Cyber Kesari 2026.”
Key Organizations Involved
- NIELIT (Organiser): The National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology is an Autonomous Scientific Society under MeitY. Notably, it has been conferred the status of a “Deemed to be University” and is the only university operating directly under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- ISAC Foundation (Collaborator): The Information Sharing and Analysis Center is a registered not-for-profit (Section 8) organization focusing on cybersecurity, AI, and professional ethics. It operates the National Security Database (NSD), which is a professional recognition and certification project for information security practitioners.
- CERT-In (Knowledge Partner): The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents.
About NCCDFI 2026
- What is it? The National Conference on Cyber Security, Digital Forensics and Intelligence (NCCDFI) is a multidisciplinary platform that brings together the government, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, industry, and academia to deliberate on emerging digital threats.
- Current Edition: The 3rd edition (NCCDFI 2026) is being organized by NIELIT in New Delhi, where the final live assessments of the CYBER KUSHTI hackathon will take place.
Conclusion
CYBER KUSHTI 2026 represents a shift from simply detecting cybersecurity vulnerabilities to evaluating, prioritising and defending security decisions. By combining AI-generated analysis with human expertise in a controlled environment, the initiative seeks to strengthen India’s cybersecurity talent pool while promoting responsible and critical use of AI in the digital security ecosystem.