The hackathon was formally launched on August 15 by Prof. (Dr.) M. M. Tripathi, Director General, NIELIT and Vice Chancellor, NIELIT Deemed to be University. It will serve as the official parallel technical track of the 3rd National Conference on Cyber Security, Digital Forensics and Intelligence (NCCDFI 2026).
The competition is being organised in collaboration with the Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC Foundation) under the National Security Database (NSD), with CERT-In serving as the Knowledge Partner.
Registration Open Until September 10
Registration for CYBER KUSHTI 2026 opened on August 15 and will remain open until September 10, 2026.
Participation is free and open to students and independent researchers in teams of three.
Hackathon to Focus on Human Judgment
Unlike conventional cybersecurity competitions that primarily focus on vulnerability discovery and Capture The Flag (CTF) challenges, CYBER KUSHTI 2026 will test participants’ ability to evaluate, prioritise and defend cybersecurity decisions.
Each participating team will receive an identical but deliberately imperfect Security Assessment Package, containing AI-generated findings, static analysis outputs, dependency and secrets scans, architecture documentation, source code and application logs.
The package will include genuine, false and duplicated findings, while some actual vulnerabilities will deliberately be omitted. Teams will have to produce a corrected and prioritised security assessment and defend their decisions.
The competition will reward participants not only for identifying genuine security issues but also for correctly rejecting false findings.
‘Judgment Is Now the Skill’
Speaking at the launch, Prof. (Dr.) M. M. Tripathi said the nature of cybersecurity work is changing rapidly as machines are increasingly capable of generating security findings.
He emphasised that the critical human skill now lies in determining which findings are genuine, which are most important and what needs to be addressed first.
Since every participating team will receive the same tool-generated material, the format is designed to minimise the advantage of expensive cybersecurity tools. Participants will also be allowed to use AI tools of their choice.
Prof. Tripathi said the competition has deliberately been launched on Independence Day, emphasising the importance of independent human judgment in an era of increasingly capable machines.
Three Rounds of Competition
CYBER KUSHTI 2026 will be conducted in three progressive rounds:
- Round 1 – The Akhada: Online round on September 15, 2026, with 50 teams advancing to the next stage.
- Round 2 – The Dangal: Online round on September 24, 2026, from which 10 finalist teams will be selected.
- Final Round – The Kesari: The final will be held physically on October 9, 2026, at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. The 10 finalist teams will work under supervision before presenting and defending their assessments on the main stage of NCCDFI 2026.
During the final, an automated analysis of the same assessment material will be displayed alongside the teams’ presentations, allowing delegates to compare machine-generated analysis with expert human judgment.
‘Cyber Kesari 2026’ Title for Winner
The finalists will be evaluated by an eminent jury jointly constituted by NIELIT and ISAC, comprising senior cybersecurity practitioners and experts from government, industry and academia, including National Cyber Security Scholars recognised under the National Security Database (NSD).
The winning team will receive the title “Cyber Kesari 2026” and the traditional Gada.
The runners-up will be recognised with the titles “Rustam” and “Pahalwan.”
Participants in Round 1 will receive a Certificate of Participation and an individual scorecard, while those advancing beyond Round 1 will receive NSD recognition credits.
A special award will also be presented for the most instructive incorrect submission, recognising well-documented reasoning that offers educational value.
Competition to Be Conducted in a Controlled Environment
All CYBER KUSHTI 2026 activities will be conducted in controlled environments provided by the organisers.
Participants will neither be directed towards nor permitted to interact with any live system, third party or public infrastructure at any stage of the competition.
NCCDFI 2026
The National Conference on Cyber Security, Digital Forensics and Intelligence (NCCDFI) brings together stakeholders from government, law enforcement, the judiciary, industry, academia, research institutions and the student community.
The 3rd edition of NCCDFI will be organised by NIELIT at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi, on October 9-10, 2026.
About NIELIT
NIELIT is an autonomous scientific society under MeitY, Government of India, working in skill development and digital empowerment.
The institute has a network of 56 NIELIT centres, more than 700 accredited institutes and over 8,000 facilitation centres, through which it has trained and certified millions of students in emerging technologies in the Electronics and Information & Communication Technology (E&ICT) domain.
NIELIT has also been granted the status of Deemed to be University under the distinct category by the Ministry of Education, with its main campus at Ropar, Punjab, and constituent campuses in Aizawl, Agartala, Calicut, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Gorakhpur, Imphal, Itanagar, Ajmer, Kohima, Patna and Srinagar.
The university aims to transform higher education in the E&ICT domain through digital technologies.
About ISAC Foundation and NSD
The Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC Foundation) is a registered not-for-profit cybersecurity foundation operating as a Section 8 organisation in India, with a focus on cybersecurity, AI and professional ethics.
The National Security Database (NSD) is a professional recognition and certification initiative for information security practitioners.