Uttarakhand police and IIT Roorkee conduct the 2nd sequel of Devbhoomi Cyber Hackathon 2022

Roorkee: In a series of technological showcases by the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee), the institute collaborated with iHUB DivyaSampark and the Uttarakhand Police to organize a four-day ‘Devbhoomi Cyber Hackathon 2022’ at IIT Roorkee from September 3 to September 6, 2022. The grand finale of ‘Devbhoomi Cyber Hackathon 2022’ was also marked by an agreement for Cooperation in the area of Cyber Security between the Information Technology Development Agency (ITDA) (Department of Information and Science Technology), Government of Uttarakhand; Special Task Force (STF), Uttarakhand (Home Department, Uttarakhand Police), Government of Uttarakhand and IIT Roorkee, Uttarakhand.

The collaboration empathies on the Capacity Building & Knowledge Sharing, Research & Development in the field of Cyber Security, Cyber Defenses, and Threat Intelligence, guiding to the Cyber Security Center of Excellence for Research and Development, Technological Solutions, the establishment of the Cyber Security Center of Excellence (CCOE), Development of Policy Framework, Real-time practical experience, and Student Internships and Collaboration for raising awareness.

To participate in the ‘Devbhoomi Cyber Hackathon 2022’, a large number of contestants from all over India reached IIT Roorkee. Out of 810 teams with 1700 students registered for the event, only 40 teams reached the grand finale at IIT Roorkee. Guests from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), central agencies, and state police joined the event. This competition was designed to overcome the obstacles in the investigation of cybercrimes, deep analysis of cyber forensics, and robust protection of cyber assets of the state. The hackathon tested the teams under hot iron of intriguing problem statements reinforced by a 48-hour continuous hunt down.

The four-day event was inaugurated on September 3, 2022, at 12.30 pm in L2-103, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Hall of the institute, and the valedictory ceremony was held at the MAC auditorium of the institute on September 6, 2022. Sh. Amit Sinha, IPS, ADG, Uttarakhand was the Chief Guest of the Inaugural function. Sh. Ashok Kumar, IPS, DGP, and Uttarakhand chaired the Valedictory function. DGP, Uttarakhand along with Prof. Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee also felicitated the winners of the Hackathon.

The entire four-day event witnessed other prominent panels of guests, including Sh. Senthil Avoodai Krishna Raj.S, DIG, STF/P&M, Uttarakhand police; Sh. Barinder Singh, DIG, Uttarakhand police; Dr. V. Murugesan, ADG, Uttarakhand; Prof. Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee; Prof Manoranjan Parida, Deputy Director, IIT Roorkee; Prof. Akshay Dvivedi, Dean, SRIC, IIT Roorkee; Prof. Sateesh Kumar Peddoju, Computer Science Department, IIT Roorkee, and Sh. Ankush Mishra, DySP STF, Uttarakhand police.

IIT Roorkee is the knowledge partner and the collaborating partner for the event. The earlier edition of the Devbhoomi Cyber Hackathon 2.0 competition was organized at the national level and was appreciated by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Government of India, and various states. The full details of the competition are available on the official website https://www.iitr.ac.in/dch/.

The need for Hackathon for finding technological solutions has now and then been stressed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. SMART India Hackathon was one such event on the same vision where students across the country participated. Thus, Uttarakhand Police with utmost zeal and a commitment to meeting the goal of SMART policing conducted a Cyber Hackathon in the state of Uttarakhand. Therefore, becoming the 1st state in North India to do so. Continuing in the same vein, IIT Roorkee conducted this second sequel of the Devbhoomi Cyber Hackathon 2022 for Uttarakhand Police.

Talking about the cooperation, Sh. Senthil Avoodai Krishna Raj.S, DIG, STF/P&M, Uttarakhand police, said, “The main objective of the MoU among STF, ITDA, and IIT Roorkee is to enhance training activities, capacity building, Research and Development, and guidance for developing stringent models for cyber security.”

When addressing the gathering, Sh. Amit Sinha, IPS, ADG, Uttarakhand Police, said, “Uttarakhand Cyber Police has done commendable work in the last 1-2 years. And with the same zeal, we are now dedicated to finding innovative technological solutions that will shape smart policing. We have also established closer cooperation with IIT Roorkee for the exchange of information and capacity building pertaining to Cyber Security. So, the teams ought to focus on novel and feasible ideas that Uttarakhand police can implement for the betterment of society. My best wishes go out to all participants.”

Prof. Ajit K Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee said, “Devbhoomi Cyber Hackathon is a platform to use technology for solving real-life problems. IIT Roorkee is happy to partner with ITDA and Uttarakhand Police for mutually beneficial collaboration in the cyber space.”

In his address, Sh. Ashok Kumar, IPS, DGP, Uttarakhand, said, “Our initiative of SMART Policing in the state to claw down Cyber related crimes is one of the reasons we secured the top spot in terms of better law and order situation in the Sustainable Development Goals India index 2021 released by Niti Ayog. But with the increasing reliance on technology, cybersecurity has become an even bigger concern. And I am grateful to IIT Roorkee for their partnering with Uttarakhand police to organize the Hackathon and help us outdo, outthink, and outcode any possible threat. Additionally, in the field of cooperation for cyber security, IIT Roorkee and ITDA will join us to promote and work on developing indigenous software tools for cyber security under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government of India. I heartily congratulate all the participants and winners for showcasing their exceptional zeal and effort towards filling the gaps in cybersecurity,”