MeitY’s CERT-In partners with BITS Pilani to launch cybersecurity course for professionals

BITS Pilani Group has partnered with CERT-In to launch a professional development program in cybersecurity aimed at upskilling professionals from government, public sector units, and industry.

The collaboration, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), focuses on strengthening India's cyber defense infrastructure and addressing the growing demand for trained cybersecurity professionals.

The eight-week program, beginning July 19, will be conducted by BITS Pilani through its Centre for Research Excellence in National Security (CRENS) at the Hyderabad campus.

It will be delivered in collaboration with technology partner Rapifuzz, under the mentorship of CERT-In. The course is open to professionals across sectors, including those without prior coding experience.

CERT-In, the national agency for cyber incident response under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), plays a central role in India’s cybersecurity ecosystem.

Upon completion of the program, participants will receive a Professional Development Certificate in Cybersecurity, co-branded by CERT-In and BITS Pilani.

This marks the first time CERT-In has entered into a formal MoU with a premier academic institution to deliver large-scale workforce development in cybersecurity.

Sanjay Bahl, Director General, CERT-In, said, "India's cyber resilience finds its true strength not only in using and developing indigenous cutting-edge technology, but also in developing a vibrant, highly skilled talent pool poised to meet the evolving challenges of the digital and quantum era.”

“CERT-In's contributions to incident response and cyber resilience extend beyond technology to encompass the nurturing of skilled human capital through a spectrum of impactful initiatives,” Bahl added.

Bahl continued, “CERT-In's collaboration with BITS-Pilani marks yet another pivotal stride in this journey, an endeavor designed to equip professionals with cutting-edge cybersecurity expertise while fostering a dynamic synergy between evolving industry demands and academic excellence."

V Ramgopal Rao, Group Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani, added, "At BITS Pilani, we view cybersecurity not only as a technological challenge but as a national priority. This program reflects the strength of our academia-industry-government triad, and we are proud to offer it under CERT-In's guidance."

The curriculum includes key modules such as cyber threats and vulnerabilities, network security (firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs), secure communication and cryptography, cybersecurity policies and legal frameworks, incident management, and advanced areas like cloud and mobile security and advanced persistent threats.