NPCI Onboards Two Experienced Leaders Into Its Information Security Division

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced two new leadership hires in the Information Security team to further strengthen its commitment to data protection and security. It has onboarded Benjamin Ambrose as Chief Information Security Officer, and Pravin Kumar as Chief Market Information Security Officer.

With these appointments, NPCI is poised to elevate its information security practices to newer heights, further safeguarding the interests of both its stakeholders and customers.

Benjamin brings with him over two decades of rich experience across various domains of Information/Cyber security across geographies. His role at NPCI will entail ascertaining and controlling risk, developing and maintaining robust security standards, enhancing defensive and offensive security capabilities, threat intelligence and next-gen security operations.

Pravin comes with an extensive experience spanning more than 25 years in cyber security, privacy controls, and enterprise risk management. In his current role, Pravin will primarily focus on strategizing and managing infosec and privacy risk within NPCI and across ecosystem players, ensuring compliance with regulatory audits, security guidelines applicable to third parties and stakeholder engagement across organizational boundaries.

Commenting on the strategic appointments, Mr. Vishwanath Krishnamurthy, Chief Risk Officer at NPCI said, “At NPCI, we acknowledge the evolving security landscapes and the technological advancements required to keep abreast with the developments in digital payments space. Benjamin and Pravin bring a wealth of experience in technology compliance and Information Security governance. We are confident that they will play instrumental roles in enhancing NPCI's security posture and driving forward our mission to provide secure, seamless digital payment solutions for all.”

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. NPCI has created a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country. It has changed the way payments are made in India through a bouquet of retail payment products such as RuPay card, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) and Bharat BillPay.

NPCI is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through the use of technology and is relentlessly working to transform India into a digital economy. It is facilitating secure payment solutions with nationwide accessibility at minimal cost in furtherance of India’s aspiration to be a fully digital society.

IETE Conducts Mid-term Symposium on Digital Forensics and Information security

The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) celebrated the World Telecommunication and Information Society day, on the theme "Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" set by International Telecom Union (ITU), highlighting the ICT advances for transition to smart and sustainable development. The program was conducted by Dr. Ajay Thakare, Convener & Chairman Technical Programs and Publicity Committee (TPPC), IETE.

Mid Term Symposium (MTS) is a flagship program of IETE. This year the theme chosen was on "Digital Forensics and Information security" said Dr. Thakare. Opening remarks on MTS was given by Mr. Kulchandra Singh, Chairman, IETE Imphal Centre and concluding remarks came from Mr. Ajay Kumar, Zonal Mentor, East, IETE.

"On this occasion of World Telecommunications Day & Information Society Day and Mid Term Symposium of IETE, I would like to share the strategic step IETE has taken by launching its dream project "Centre of Excellence on Cyber Security and Critical infrastructure security" last week. IETE is on transformation path in digital era to serve the society," said Dr. J. W. Bakal, President, IETE. The program was presided over by Dr. Bakal.

Addressing the online participants, Dr. Manpreet Singh Manna spoke about the transformation which is taking place. "It is a fact that this is the time for us to adopt the transformation from chalk-board teachers to digitally enabled teachers. This is the path towards building a Nation for new tomorrow," said Dr. Manna.

During the session, on the issue of trained manpower, Professor Dr. Raghunath K. Shevagoakar, Vice-Chancellor, Bennett University & Ex. Director IIT Delhi said that the educational institutions will have to take the responsibility for developing the resources. "It will have to be University or any other Institution to develop manpower with right thinking and skills. If handled right, this will enable us to mould the future of this nation with high ethical values with assured sustainability," said Prof. Dr. Shevagoakar. According to him, ICT is going to play a very important role in achieving the high standards of professionalism in this sector.

"On our part, we have been driving digital transformation and redefining telecommunications on the back of our comprehensive portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing opportunities," said Mr. Samar Mittal, Vice President & Market Head, NSW, India, Nokia. He apprised the participants on the developments in the area of Internet of Things (IoT) Security and Automation and discussed various use cases.

During the 'MTS' session, Mr. Prasad Patibandla, Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst touched upon digital forensics trends, incident handling procedures on cyber-attacks and various forensic and investigation tolls and procedures for Law Enforcement Agencies.

According to Dr. Anup Ghirdhar, CEO, Sedulity Groups and Cyber Crime Investigator, there is an increase of over 90 per cent in internet traffic during COVID-19 lockdown period. "This has thrown open many challenges for experts," he added.

"Cyber security issues like hacking, malware attacks, corruption of data and software due to computer viruses, breaking of secured passwords, taking control of computers from remote locations have also grown in tandem and has become a key area of concern. These too need to be addressed effectively," added Dr. Babu Lal, Chairman Redefine Dimensions Convergence Pvt. Ltd. & former Executive Director, BHEL. He also emphasized that Cyber Security in the 21st Century is a Matter of Global Coordinated Response.

However, the most challenging issue during this period is cyber related crime. "To check the various unwanted cyber related activities. It has become mandatory that the various related aspects of cyber laws need to be propagated across the public domain," said Dr. Pawan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court & Expert on Cyber Law.

Digital currency like Bitcoin and Blockchain security are a matter of concern and hence more research is required in future said Mr. Anupam Tiwari, Joint Director (Computers & Communication), Government of India.

About IETE

Founded in 1953, the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) is a leading professional society devoted to the advancement of Science & Technology in Electronics, Telecommunications, Information Technology, Computer Science and other related disciplines. IETE 65 Centresspread all over India including one at Perth (Australia) and Kathmandu (Nepal) respectively.

To keep pace with technological development and achieve the mission of advancing the profession, it organizes conferences, conventions, symposia, seminars, workshops, publications and brainstorming sessions for continued knowledge upgradation of its members.

AI based Infosec Assesment Startup 'CloudSEK' Raises ₹14 Crores from Exfinity Venture and StartupXseed

Singapore and Bengaluru-based CloudSEK, an information security (Infosec) risk management SaaS-based startup, has raised ₹14 Crores (~ US$1.96 million) in its Pre-Series A investment led by Exfinity Venture Partners and StartupXseed.

CloudSEK, which provides intelligence needed to tackle online threats, will leverage the freshly raised funds to evolve its flagship product XVigil, a unified risk management platform. The company will also use the funds to expand its footprints in India and South East Asia. After establishing itself as a preferred cybersecurity solution in the financial, e-commerce and transportation sector, CloudSEK now plans to target the pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and retail industry.

Founded in 2015 by Rahul Sasi and Sourabh Issar (Left to Right in picture above), CloudSEK offers cybersecurity platform powered by machine learning and promises to build a risk-free digital security ecosystem.

The startup entails Rahul’s journey from being a college dropout to becoming a successful tech entrepreneur. Being criticized for dropping out of engineering college and predicted for a career failure, Rahul continued his journey as an ethical hacker and security expert through his successful career. Before co-founding CloudSEK, he has worked with Citrix Systems, one of the biggest names in the software industry.

Commenting on the post-funding plan Sourabh Issar, the CEO, CloudSEK, said; “Being a product-only organization, our revenues are primarily generated through license sales. This investment for us is a vote of confidence from some of the eminent architects of the Indian IT Industry. We plan to utilize the funds to develop the existing products and expand our presence in India as well as South East Asia."

X-Vigil, CloudSEK’s SaaS-based flagship product is an outcome of the company’s four years of diligent research and development efforts. Cloudmon, another product by CloudSEK, tracks network and application related security issues associated with the client. The start-up was seed funded in 2015 by M.E. Meeran Foundation, the investment arm of Kochi-based Eastern Group.

"The dark web is moving faster than Law Enforcement agencies. The losses due to cyber-related crime, worldwide, is estimated to be upwards of USD 600 Billion. Globally, Cyber Attacks are on the rise and about 500,000+ Cyber Attacks have already been reported in India in 2018. Many of these attacks are targeted towards BFSI networks, Government Departments and may potentially end up targeting power grids, oil and gas pipelines which have the potential to cripple any economy. With companies increasingly adopting cloud solutions, CloudSEK's unique non-intrusive solution can detect digital footprint leakages of any enterprise in real-time helping the CSOs to strengthen the Cyber-Defence," said Chinnu Senthilkumar, General Partner & CTO, Exfinity Venture Partners.

Speaking of its investment, Mr. Ravi Thakur, Partner, StartupXseed Ventures said, “Technology is redefining the way Risk Management is being practiced and CloudSEK has forayed into that space with applications in Cyber Security. Looking at their product, clientele and growth rate, they have struck the right chord to crack the business. Moreover, what fascinated us is their way of solving the problem which is very effective and scalable at large along with strong team background and execution capabilities.”

CloudSEK already includes leading banks, e-commerce and technology organizations in its clientele. Federal Bank, Go-Jek, Bank Bazaar, HDFC Bank and Grab Taxi are in CloudSEK’s client list, five of which are unicorns.

Talking about the association with CloudSEK, Shalini Warrier, CFO, Federal Bank, said, “Federal Bank and CloudSEK have had a relationship since July 2017 and it is a relationship that has grown over the last few months. Cybersecurity is a key risk for the financial services industry and CloudSEK has played an important role in mitigating some of the risks we experience in the fast-changing digital world. Through this association, we have been successful in unearthing potential points of compromise in our security posture and they have worked with us to address these concerns. Their threat intelligence has been very useful to us. We wish Rahul and CloudSEK the very best in their future endeavors.”

"It has been a great experience working with the team at CloudSEK, their focus on building a Machine Learning driven Digital Risk Management platform is commendable,” said Sameer Ratolikar, EVP & CISO of the largest stable Indian Private Sector Bank, while speaking about the relationship with CloudSEK.

CloudSEK has been helping organizations by providing them timely, specific and actionable intelligence, thereby preventing digital security infractions. The start-up promises to build a risk-free cyber security ecosystem in Asia. The exclusive gamut of cyber security tools offered by CloudSEK is all set to make India ready for what is being assumed to be the next phase of the digital revolution.

Exfinity Venture Partners is an early-stage frontier technology fund backing enterprise companies (B2B) in India and across the India-US business corridor. With established connections and ecosystem across India and USA, Exfinity focuses on pioneering startups that are ready to scale across the global stage.

About StartupXseed, it is a Seed-stage VC firm founded in 2015 by bureaucrat-turned-VC investor Mr. B.V. Naidu. It is backed by former Infosys board members Mr. V Balakrishnan and Mr. TV Mohandas Pai, along with Mr. Ramakrishnan (Ex CDO and M&A head – HCL), Mr. Siddhartha Mookerji (Founder – Software Paradigm International) and Mr. Ravi Thakur (Entrepreneur). It invests from Aaruha Technology Fund, whose focus is Deep Technology Start-ups creating products for B2B Businesses.