IIT Madras launches great Cybersecurity Centre for research

IIT Madras launched a new cybersecurity centre to boost fundamental and applied research that drives innovations in the country.

It will work towards pioneering advancements in blockchain, security for AI models, cryptography, quantum security, and IoT security.

Inauguration

The ‘Centre for Cybersecurity, Trust and Reliability’ (CyStar) was inaugurated on 8 October 2024 in the presence of Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras.

Centre Coordinators Prof. Shweta Agrawal, Prof. Chester Rebeiro and Prof. John Augustine, faculty, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Madras and a host of eminent academicians and industry representatives from India and abroad were also present.

Mission

The mission of CyStar is to push the boundaries of cybersecurity through innovative research and education, say sources from IIT Madras.

Recognizing that cybersecurity demands a multi-disciplinary approach, the research team at CyStar is diverse, encompassing a wide range of expertise.

Director of IIT Madras

Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, with the growth of cyber threats, not just for financial gains but also targeted sector wise attacks on critical infrastructure, it is very important that we arrive at proactive cyber defence mechanisms to protect our Nation.

In this context, such efforts are extremely crucial, said director of IIT Madras.

Collaboration

The Centre will collaborate globally and locally with academia, industry and research institutions, equipping students, professionals and researchers with the expertise needed to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s complex security challenges, thereby contributing to a safer digital world.

Its’ focus would extend across sectors, addressing critical security challenges in industries like finance, healthcare, automotive and electronics, say sources from IIT Madras.

Partners

The key Research, Industry and Government partners of CyStar include the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Education, Vitesco Technologies, Kaspersky.

The other key research partners are IDBI Bank, LG India, Saptang Labs, Algorand, Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research and National Security Coordination Secretariat among others.

Key functions

Coordinator of CyStar Prof Shweta Agrawal spoke about the key functions of CyStar.

We are happy and excited to launch this center, which will bring together people with varied expertise to study the complex problem of cybersecurity, she said.

Our approach is multi-faceted. We aim to make contributions in domains ranging from fundamental research to real-world applications to fostering start-ups and everything in between, she said.

Coordinators

Coordinator at CyStar Prof. John Augustine said India is a federal country with a vast number of highly distributed social and business networks with diverse security needs.

CyStar’s vision is to empower individuals in this ecosystem to secure their lives and businesses through platforms that are designed with security, trust, and reliability in mind, he said.

Another Coordinator at CyStar Prof. Chester Rebeiro said CyStar at IIT Madras aims to address critical cyber security challenges in the country through fundamental and applied research, outreach programs, and by fostering industry-academia relationships.

Keynote speakers

Keynote speakers on the occasion included Prof. Shafi Goldwasser, Research Director, Simons Institute and Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Prof. Debdeep Mukhopadyay, Chair Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Kharagpur.

Prof. Christian Scheideler, Head Professor, Theory of Distributed Systems, Paderborn University and Dr. Damien Stehlé, Chief Scientist, Cryptolab Inc., were also among the keynote speakers.

Strategy

CyStar at IIT Madras will develop a comprehensive, multi-faceted strategy to address the emerging cybersecurity challenges driven by AI and the post-quantum era.

This approach will focus on safeguarding critical national infrastructure, offering a holistic defence against these advanced technological threats, say sources from IIT Madras.

Ecosystem

CyStar aspires to build a knowledge and innovation ecosystem where industry leaders, scholars and government institutions can collaborate with state-of-art technology to integrate and apply advancements in knowledge to real-time products or services in Cybersecurity.

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