Karnataka students commence 'March for Secure code'

Students in Karnataka commenced a “March for Secure Code” on Monday.

The event, which kicked off on March 1, is conducted by Karnataka’s Centre of Excellence in Cybersecurity (CySecK), in partnership with NASSCOM Future Skills Prime and aims to increase student engagement in application coding and cybersecurity.

Currently, more than 43% of data breaches are tied to web applications. “As India accelerates its adoption of digital technologies, awareness of secure coding practices amongst application developers is becoming more important than ever,” said the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in a statement. CySecK is housed at IISc which is also the anchor institute for the centre.

The “March for Secure Code” is a month-long programme consisting of an online, self-paced course titled “Application Security – Vulnerability Assessment.” The programme also encompasses a “Grand Challenge” from the skill development firm, SkillsDA. This will be a “Capture-the-flag event” at the end of the month with 3 rounds.

Over 13,000 students from 81 colleges across 18 districts of Karnataka have registered to participate in the event. CySecK has announced exciting cash prizes and awards for the winners of the Grand Challenge, and the top three students who complete the course first from each district in Karnataka. Colleges with maximum participation will also be recognised. Only the students who complete the course will be allowed to participate in the Grand Challenge.

The National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) will be providing internships for top 10 students of the Grand Challenge. Training partner SkillsDA has offered internship opportunities for the top performers from each of the 81 colleges as well.

Ajeet Bajpai, Director General NCIIPC, noted that there is great scope for students to contribute in the field of cybersecurity, as cybersecurity experts and freelancers.