India’s Cyber Swachhta Abhiyaan, a step to build safer Digital India by educating and empowering the youth

The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and the United Service Institution of India (USI) organized the Quad Cyber Challenge as part of the “Cyber Swachhta Abhiyaan” – India’s Cyber Hygiene Campaign. The Quad Cyber Challenge event was announced by the Quad Leaders’ to strengthen responsible cyber ecosystems, promote public resources, and raise cyber security awareness. The theme of this year’s Challenge is promoting cyber security education and building a strong workforce. In this event, eminent cyber security experts undertook awareness workshops for students and faculty members, not only to motivate them to adopt cyber hygiene habits, but also to opt for cyber security as a career option.

This event has been supported by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and had participation of Principals, Faculties and Students from ten Kendriya Vidyalaya Schools.

The speakers highlighted that Cyber Security is a priority area for our country and that the role of Education in Cyber Security is paramount and plays a pivotal role in combating cyber threats. Hence, Schools must include cyber security awareness modules in their curriculum not only for promoting cyber security education but also to encourage the students to take up Cyber Security as a career option.

The National Cyber Security Coordinator of India encouraged students to develop cyber hygiene and highlighted that the Cyber Swachhta Abhiyaan is a significant step towards building a cyber-secure India. By educating and empowering our youth, we can create a generation that is well-equipped to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly. The Quad Cyber Challenge is an international collaborative step to thematically take up the awareness campaigns in building cyber security and resilience in respective countries.

The eminent speakers in the event conducted awareness workshops for students and faculty members, not only to motivate them to adopt better practices in cyber domain, but also encourage them to choose cyber security domains in their future career paths, especially for women. The Experts talked about Cyber Law, Cybercrime & investigation aspects, Digital Forensics, Cyber Security career options and online safety initiatives for children.