Bridging India's cybersecurity skill gap
India faces a severe shortfall of cybersecurity professionals, a challenge that could undermine both digital trust and national security.
A report by NASSCOM states thatIndia needs at least one million cybersecurity professionals, but currently has less than half that number. The demand is outpacing supply at an alarming rate, leaving organizations vulnerable to sophisticated cyber threats. A key issue is the lack of structured learning pathways for cybersecurity, particularly at the undergraduate and early career levels.
Traditional IT programs often fail to equip students with the defensive, analytical, and compliance-focused skill sets required for modern cybersecurity roles. The lack of skilled professionals is the number one barrier to effective cybersecurity implementation in Indian enterprises. Without a steady pipeline of well-trained security experts, businesses are forced to either outsource critical security functions or leave vulnerabilities unaddressed, increasing the risk of data breaches.
Industry leaders agree that skilling students and early-career professionals is the most sustainable way to bridge this gap. Industry leaders have also emphasized the need for educational institutions and industry collaborations to create specialized training programs in cybersecurity. Similarly,a report by the World Economic Forum suggests that integrating cybersecurity education into mainstream curriculum can significantly reduce skill shortages over time.
The solution lies in structured, hands-on learning programs that provide students with practical experience in areas like identity and access management (IAM), threat detection, compliance, and cloud security. Unlike traditional IT courses, cybersecurity requires a proactive, defense-oriented mindset—something that cannot be learned from textbooks alone. Interactive labs, industry certification programs, and real-world simulations must become a fundamental part of cybersecurity training.
Recognizing this need, future-ready organizations are stepping up to address the skill shortage. Several companies are partnering with universities to introduce cybersecurity-focused courses, internship opportunities, and mentorship programs. By providing access to industry-grade tools and case studies, these initiatives are helping students build the practical expertise needed for real-world challenges. They span from technical bootcamps to formal memorandums of understanding and are helping students gain early exposure to real-world security challenges and enterprise tools.
Such collaborations are instrumental in preparing students for in-demand roles and creating a talent pipeline that reflects current industry needs. Educational institutions that open their doors to workshops, guest lectures, and mentorship programs benefit from higher student engagement and stronger job placement outcomes.
Cybersecurity is not a one-time skill—it requires continuous upskilling to keep up with evolving threats. Organizations need to invest in lifelong learning for their security teams, encouraging participation in ongoing training, certifications, and security exercises. According to the IEEE study, "Bridging Cybersecurity Education and Industry Demands: Mapping and Prioritizing Knowledge Areas", there is a significant misalignment between current academic curricula and the evolving needs of the cybersecurity workforce.
Government bodies, academia, and enterprises must work together to create a sustainable cybersecurity workforce. Initiatives like theCyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative by the Indian government, which aims to increase cybersecurity awareness and training, need to be complemented by flexible, industry-backed skilling programs that cater to both students and working professionals.
The cybersecurity skill gap is not just an industry challenge—it is a national security issue. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, the need for skilled professionals is more urgent than ever. Educational institutions must integrate cybersecurity into their core curricula, businesses should invest in upskilling initiatives, and aspiring professionals must actively seek learning opportunities in this field.
New-age certification programs, collaborative workshops, and leadership mentorships are helping build the next generation of cyber defenders. While no single initiative can close the skill gap overnight, a concerted effort from industry, academia, and government can create a robust pipeline of cybersecurity talent. It is time to prioritize cybersecurity education—not just as an IT necessity, but as a national imperative.
Suraj Krishnaiah is Vice President, Enablement and Solutions at security software company Saviynt. The views expressed are the author's own
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
15 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
SEC says sought India law ministry's help on summons for Adani
Washington The Securities and Exchange Commission is in touch with India's law ministry to serve billionaire Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani with legal documents related to a civil suit alleging violations of American securities laws, the US regulator said in a letter filed in a New York City court. The Adani Group has denied the charges, terming them 'baseless' (Subhankar Chakraborty/HT PHOTO) In its status updated dated August 11 to Magistrate Judge James Cho of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the SEC said that Indian authorities have not yet served the Adanis, based in India, with the summons yet. The SEC filed charges in November 2024 against the two businessmen, claiming they had a role in alleged payments to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars to Indian officials for securing renewable energy contracts. The US markets regulator said it filed the charges as a 2021 offering by one of the companies allegedly involved, Adani Green, raised funds from US investors and the shares of another company, Azure Power, was previously traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The Adani Group has denied the charges, terming them 'baseless'. The group did not respond to a request for comment on the SEC's latest filing. The SEC informed the New York Court that it intends to continue efforts to work with Indian authorities and serve the Adanis via the Hague Service Convention, pointing out it could not summon a foreign national directly. The convention, which entered into force in 1965, creates standardized procedures that allow judicial and extrajudicial documents to be served abroad. India's law ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Mint
15 minutes ago
- Mint
For India's oil refiners, the Gulf is calling again
India's state-run oil refiners are looking to crank up oil purchases from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iraq amid a standoff with the US over buying Russian oil, two people aware of the matter said. India has traditionally relied on oil from West Asia, until Russia began offering steep discounts three years ago. Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the oil champions of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are among West Asia's top crude oil producers and suppliers. "Import of Russian oil will continue, but India is also looking at diversifying its imports, and higher supplies from West Asia are being looked at," one of the two people cited above said. Queries sent to the Union petroleum ministry, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd remained unanswered. Moscow calling As European countries shunned Russian oil in the wake of the Ukraine war, India stepped into the breach, scooping it up at a steep discount. The discount has sharply narrowed now, and India's Russian oil imports have fallen as well. Currently, Russia caters to 36% of India's total oil imports, compared to 2.5% before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In FY25, Russia was India's top supplier with oil worth $50.28 billion exported to India, followed by Iraq ($27.35 billion), Saudi Arabia ($20 billion) and the UAE ($13.86 billion). In the first two months of FY26, Russia supplied oil worth $9.16 billion, followed by Iraq ($5.36 billion), Saudi Arabia ($3.26 billion), UAE ($2.8 billion) and US ($2.7 billion. "Inquiries for West Asian oil have already increased of late," an industry executive said on condition of anonymity. 'Suited for W. Asia' Indian refiners are better equipped to handle Russian Urals and West Asian crude, the executive said, adding there is higher scope for more West Asian oil to flowing into India, compared to lighter variants such as West Texas Intermediate of the US. Apart from state-run refiners, Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy are also among India's leading crude oil importers. The person cited earlier said price may still be a concern for India. That is because West Asian suppliers do not generally offer discounts, and the final cost—which includes shipping, insurance and other costs—may be higher than the actual purchase price. Currently, the September contract of the benchmark Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange is trading at $66.64 per barrel. Another industry participant said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), which is led by Saudi Arabia along with the UAE and other West Asian countries, has a spare capacity of 5 million barrels per day and would be easily able to cater to the additional demand from India, the world's third-largest energy importer. New opportunity "It may be an opportunity for India to reopen its oil requirements to suppliers across the globe. India does not necessarily need to look at only one or two options. Multiple countries may willingly compete to re-establish their supplies as a critical and ongoing share of India's crude basket, and it could also help India in terms of supply terms and/or pricing—a potential win-win for all involved," said Gaurav Moda, partner and leader for energy at EY, Parthenon India. India and the US are at loggerheads over the import of Russian oil. US President Donald Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on India for buying Russian energy, taking the total duty to 50%. The additional tariffs are aimed at choking Russia's oil revenues and forcing it to end the war in Ukraine. The new rate will take effect on 27 August. India, however, has maintained that its imports are based on market factors along with the objective of ensuring energy security. In a statement on 6 August, the ministry of external affairs described the tariffs as 'unfair, unjustified and unreasonable". Sanctions, curbs On 2 August, Mint reported that India continues to buy oil from Russia notwithstanding the punishing penalty. In 2022 and 2023, amid deep discounts being offered by Russia, Iraq also increased its supplies to India on the back of discounted oil. India does not purchase oil from Iran and Venezuela, both of which face sanctions; however, there are no sanctions on Russian oil, and India continues to purchase it. However, the G7 nations have set a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian oil. The European Union last month lowered the cap to about $47 per barrel from September. China and India are the top buyers of Russian oil. Although the US and EU have raised concerns over India's oil purchases from Russia, India has maintained that its energy procurement would depend on its needs. India imports over 88% of its crude oil requirement, and has diversified its oil sources to nearly 40 countries in order to ensure energy security.
Mint
15 minutes ago
- Mint
Gensol employees face threat of double tax liability
Mumbai: Gensol Group companies deducted tax from employee salaries before going belly-up, but didn't deposit the tax deducted at source (TDS) with authorities for a year, four former executives who are aware of the matter said. That leaves about 2,200 former employees of the group in a situation where they might have to pay the taxes again, this time to the Income Tax department, as Indian law holds the employee liable for paying tax even where the employer is at fault, despite multiple court orders to the contrary. The group companies have not paid any salaries since March 2025, the former executives said on the condition of anonymity as they did not want to be publicly associated with the beleaguered group. Gensol Engineering and BluSmart Mobility went bankrupt amidst charges of promoters siphoning crores of rupees and misleading investors, and are separately undergoing corporate insolvency under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. 'They have not paid TDS since April 2024. I haven't filed my tax return yet. I don't know what to do," said one of the executives who quit months before the company went down. This executive added that employees have not received their Form 16 for the previous fiscal, which puts them in a spot over filing returns even as the 15 September deadline approaches. Form 16 is a certificate of TDS provided by the employer that helps employees reconcile tax deductions, and is an essential document for filing tax returns. A second former executive who is directly aware of the company's HR practices said that Gensol habitually deposited TDS lumpsum at the end of the year rather than making monthly deposits. 'They would always pay TDS late with penalties. Anmol (promoter Anmol Singh Jaggi) said that this was the company's usual practice," this person said. 'In a meeting with CXOs in March, he said he will pay TDS by 15 April. That never happened." The second executive added that there was no employee dashboard and 'the payrolls were made by hand". Queries sent to the promoters Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi on Monday remained unanswered as of press time Tuesday. Meanwhile, Keshav Khaneja, Gensol Engineering's interim resolution professional, said that he does not have access to employee salaries or TDS data as everyone has left the firm. He is trying to piece together the information on pending employee dues, he said. Law vs courts Legal experts say that under the Income Tax Act, 1961, the liability lies on the employee even if the employer fails to deposit TDS with the tax department. This is despite the Delhi, Karnataka and Gujarat High Courts ruling separately that the employee was not liable. The case brings flashbacks of the infamous bankruptcy of Kingfisher Airlines from over a decade ago when thousands of employees were left without pay and their TDS was similarly not deposited with the tax department. The employees subsequently received tax notices, prompting many to move court. Eventually, the Delhi, Karnataka and Gujarat High Courts separately ruled that employees were not liable and authorities must recover the dues from the airline. More recently, several thousand employees of beleaguered edtech platform Byju's also found themselves in a similar conundrum. The Bombay High Court provided relief last September with a ruling that employees were not liable for unpaid TDS when the employer is undergoing corporate insolvency. 'Unfortunately, this relief is flowing from judicial pronouncements and not from the statute itself," said Amit Singhania, founder of Areete Law Offices. 'Therefore, again the employees may have to knock the door of the Court, to get relief from tax demand arising from non-payment of TDS." The background The Gensol Group employed about 2,200 people across its various companies including flagship Gensol Engineering, ride-sharing platform BluSmart Mobility and several other unlisted subsidiaries including Gensol Electric Vehicles, Gensol EV Leasing, and Matrix Gas and Renewables. When the company went kaput overnight earlier this year, many jumped at the first offer that came their way, the former executives said, while most hung on to the hope of a resolution and the recovery of their unpaid dues. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) filed its interim order against Gensol Engineering Ltd and its promoters on 15 April. The regulator accused the promoters of siphoning crores of rupees from the company for personal expenses, and said that there was a complete breakdown of internal controls and corporate governance norms at the Mumbai-listed company. 'The promoters were running a listed public company as if it were a proprietary firm. The Company's funds were routed to related parties and used for unconnected expenses, as if the Company's funds were promoters' piggybank," Sebi wrote in its interim order. The diverted funds would ultimately have to be written off from the company's books, resulting in losses to the investors, Sebi said. Sebi's final order in the case is still pending.
