Cyber for HER Hackathon Witnesses Nationwide Participation of Young Women in Cybersecurity More than 150 women, aged between 18 and 23, engaged in cybersecurity challenges as part of the initiative

With cyberattacks on the rise in India, efforts to enhance cybersecurity awareness and workforce diversity are gaining momentum. The Cyber for HER hackathon, aimed at empowering young women in cybersecurity, recently concluded at the Scope Convention Centre in Delhi, drawing participation from 70 teams across nine states. More than 150 women, aged between 18 and 23, engaged in cybersecurity challenges as part of the initiative, which was supported by the British High Commission, New Delhi, and sponsored by Rubrik.

The event was organized by EY and the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) to encourage greater representation of women in the country's cybersecurity sector.

Vinayak Godse, CEO, DSCI, noted the participation of women from Tier II and Tier III cities, stating, "It was heartening to see candidates from all corners of the country compete in this event. Cyber for HER was conceptualized to encourage more young women into the cybersecurity industry and provide them an opportunity to explore careers in this field."

The competition unfolded in two phases. The initial round focused on developing non-technical cyber awareness materials on topics such as cyber hygiene, privacy awareness, and digital security, garnering over 1,300 registrations and 550 submissions. From these, 200 participants were shortlisted for the final phase, which featured a jeopardy-style Capture the Flag (CTF) competition. The final round tested skills in reverse engineering, mobile security, digital forensics, web application security, exploitation, and hardware security.

Team Fallen Order secured the first position, followed by Team Tech Titans and Team Arthasutra as the first and second runners-up, respectively. The top three teams were awarded cash prizes of INR 2,00,000, INR 1,50,000, and INR 70,000.

Speaking at the event, Dominic Gillan, First Secretary - Cyber, British High Commission, New Delhi, underscored the significance of diversity in cybersecurity. "Improving diversity in cybersecurity is a goal for both the UK and India. Diverse teams bring greater creativity, innovation, and solutions to cybersecurity challenges. The British High Commission is proud to support the Cyber for HER Hackathon as part of our India-UK cyber collaboration. Seeing over 150 young women from across India compete in Delhi was truly inspiring," he stated.