The 7th edition of cyber and data security summit 2023 was held recently that saw participation from cybersecurity leaders and subject matter experts from the judiciary, industry, and the corporate world and also senior police officers. The leaders came together to address the cybersecurity trends and threats, while also deliberating on how the coming year is going to be and how the leaders have to prioritise things for their respective organizations.

The event kick-started with the welcoming of the distinguished dignitaries and esteemed guests. Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, Editor-in-Chief, VARINDIA welcomed Dr. Gulshan Rai, Former Cyber Security Coordinator, Government of India; Dr. Pavan Duggal, Cyber Law Expert and Mr. Dinesh O Bareja - COO - Open Security Alliance with floral bouquets.

The event then proceeded with the lamp lighting ceremony in the presence of the august guests - Dr. Pavan Duggal, Cyber Law Expert; Mr. Dinesh O Bareja, COO - Open Security Alliance; Dr. Gulshan Rai, Former Cyber Security Coordinator, Government Of India; Mr. Parikshit Gangaher - Systems Engineering Manager – Fortinet; Dr. Harold D’costa, President –Cyber Security Corporation; Major General (Dr.) Pawan Anand, AVMS (Rtd.); Mr. Sanjay Kaushik, MD - Netrika Consulting; Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, Editor-in-Chief, VARINDIA and Ms. S Mohini Ratna, Editor-VARINDIA.

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, Editor-in-chief- VARINDIA presented his welcome speech by touching upon some important developments taking place in the country’s economy. Welcoming everyone, he said, “The march of digitalization continues even amidst disruption, and technology providers have a leading role to play. First of all we must complement all the technologists and technology evangelists for starting their initiatives towards ‘Make in India’, which has become the cornerstone of the country’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ ambition. The PLI Scheme is a powerful engine to enable that and so the success of the PLI scheme in IT and Telecom cannot be overestimated.”

The welcome address was followed by insightful presentations, panel discussion sessions, and a Fire-side chat session, where experts delved upon the cooperative approach enterprises need to adopt, and what the future of cybersecurity is like. CDS 2023 witnessed the inaugural address from Dr. Pavan Duggal, Cyber Law Expert. Industry expert Mr. Dinesh O Bareja - COO - Open Security Alliance spoke on the theme on how to Secure Digital India. The key-note address was delivered by Dr. Gulshan Rai, Former Cyber Security Coordinator, PMO Office, Government of India.

The guests also had the privilege to listen to industry experts like Ms. Khushbu Jain, Managing Partner- Ark Legal; Mr. Parikshit Gangaher, Systems Engineering Manager – Fortinet; Mr. Mohit Puri, Country Manager India/SAARC – Sonicwall; Mr. Dinesh Kumar, Product Manager – Technobind; Mr. Krunal Patel, M.D. (India)- Safebreach; Major General (Dr) Dilawar Singh, Chief Advisor-Indian Centre for Inter Disciplinary Studies in Science & Technology & Advisor – DRDO; and Mr. Ravish Shridhar, Regional Sales Manager – Varonis.

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, Editor-in-chief- VARINDIA invited Mr Sanjay Kaushik, Managing Director, Netrika Consulting for a fire-side chat.

The Ist Panel Discussion was themed ‘Viewpoint on Digital Evidence’ and was moderated by Dr. Harold Dcosta, President – Cyber Security Corporation. The panellists who joined the session were - Ms. Sandhya F Dokhe, Principal- Siddharth Law College; Mr. Srinivas Kotni, Founder- Lexport; Mr. Anuj Agarwal, Chairman- Centre for Research on Cyber Crime and Cyber Law; Dr. Ashok Yende, Managing Partner - Yende Legal Associates and Mr. Smith Gonsalves, Director & Principal consultant Cyber Smith SECURE.

The 2nd Panel Discussion was themed ‘Challenges in Cloud security’ and was moderated by Ms. S Mohini Ratna, Editor-VARINDIA. The panellists who joined the session were - Mr. Ravinder Arora, Global CISO and DPO – Infogain; Mr. Anuj Tewari, CISO- TMF Group; Ms. Seema Sharma, Global CISO- Servify; Major General (Dr.) Pawan Anand, AVMS (Retd.); and Mr. Abhishek Kumar, CEO & Founder, Cybereconn.

The 3rd Panel Discussion was themed ‘Growing Importance of Endpoint Security’ and was moderated by Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, Editor-in-chief-VARINDIA. The panellists who joined the session were - Mr. Vijay Sethi, Chairman, MentorKart; Mr. Dinesh O Bareja - COO - Open Security Alliance; Dr. Sushil Kumar Meher, CIO – AIIMS (Delhi); Dr. Harold Dcosta, President – Cyber Security Corporation; Mr. Navin Mehra, Regional Leader (Cyber Security) - Cisco India & SAARC and Mr. Kapil Mehrotra, CTO - Dhanuka Group.

In the evening session Lt. Gen Rajesh Pant, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd.), National Cybersecurity Coordinator, Prime Minister’s Office. Govt. of India offered the Keynote address and Mr. Rajaendra Kumar Pillai, Founder, President- AIIPL Tech addressed the delegates with his thoughts on the current state of cybersecurity in the country, while As part of the corporate presentations, Mr. Navin Mehra, Regional Leader (Cyber Security) - Cisco India & SAARC shared his company’s vision and roadmap.

The event later showcased an exciting and interesting live session with a Professional Mentalist Mr. Nirbhik Datta, Mentalist who played several mind games with the delegates.

At the end there were Awards & Recognitions for the companies who put in efforts to minimize cyber risk. The technology icons in the industry were honored at CDS 2023 were -

# Best Identity & Access Management (IAM) solution: OpenText

# Best company into Application Security Solution: Palo Alto Networks

# Best SD-Wan Solution provider: Fortinet Technologies India

# Best cloud security company: Cisco System India

# Best company into EndPoint Security: Crowdstrike India

# Best company into UTM: Sonicwall Technology Systems India

# Best company into providing EDR and XDR solutions: Sentinelone India

# Best company into Network security: TRELLIX

# Best company into IoT Security: Check Point Software Technologies

# Best company into DLP Security: Forcepoint India

# Best Company into DNS Security: Infoblox

# Emerging Company into Email Security (Make in India): Neuailes Global Technologies