Hyderabad, September 05, 2024…Sub Summit on AI and Cybersecurity, a curtain raiser to Global AI Summit 2024, held on Wednesday at FTCCI in the city

It was organised by AI Global Summit, Emerging Technologies of Govt of Telangana, Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence, FTCCI, World Trade Centre, Shamshabad and PentaQube.

Harshavardhan, Superintendent of Police, Telangana Cyber Security Bureau, Hyderabad was the chief guest. Addressing the 150-plus gathering he said the concept of artificial intelligence is old, maybe a decade or even beyond but caught on high speed in the recent past. The proposed two-day AI Summit which will kick off tomorrow will help showcase Telangana state’s leadership in cyber security. AI has the potential to transform our capabilities. AI and Cyber Security Convergence will have a greater impact. AI’s importance in cybersecurity lies in its ability to provide advanced threat detection, and pattern prediction, automate responses, adapt to evolving threats, and handle large-scale data analysis, he said.

Cyber attackers are also using AI. They are also using AI to create more powerful Ransomware. AI can provide solutions at the same time also can pose a threat with upcoming problems. Cyber Security Bureau recognises the potential of AI. We want AI help with the 1930 helpline number, which is a dedicated number for reporting cybercrime complaints in India. We need AI-based solutions, he said.

Dr Sriram Birudavolu, CEO of the Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence giving his opening remarks said AI can be used in Adversarial as well as beneficial ways. This Sub Summit is being organised as part of the main AI Summit which will begin tomorrow.

We are a global cybersecurity hub based in Hyderabad. We work in collaboration with the Data Security Council of India and the Government of Telangana. Our mission is to establish a secure and trusted cyberspace and build best practices in the cybersecurity and privacy domain. We nurture a culture of innovation by incubating start-ups, conducting trainings/workshops/events . We are engaged in policy-making, he added.

Suresh Kumar Singhal, President of FTCCI said AI continues to evolve. We must explore AI to secure our digital assets from potential threats. AI offers both opportunities as well as challenges. The insights one gained through this Sub Summit I hope will go a long way in utilising AI to the maximum extent, he said.

Chaitanya Kunthe – Chief Executive Officer of PentaQube Cyber Technologies spoke about Cyber Insurance in the time of AI to mitigate the financial risk associated with cyber incidents. Cyber Insurance is designed to guard businesses from the potential effects of cyber-attacks. Everyone needs Cyber Insurance he said. He explained traditional insurance coverage versus AI Risks. He spoke about the challenges involved in Cyber Insurance, and how we can get the right cyber insurance and the right premium.

Followed by the inauguration a panel discussion was held on AI-Cyber Security Convergence. It was moderated by Dr Sriram Birudavolu. The panel discussion focused on AI Driven Cyber Security and Cyber Security to protect AI solutions.

AI and Cyber Security are hand in glove said Dr Lalit Mohan Sangavarapu, Chief Product Officer, QuickHeal. We deal with 7 million customers with our anti-virus products. We also deal with 30,000 enterprises, both private and public including ISRO. Cyber Security means to us is that we scan 4 billion malicious files every day by using AI.

AI and Cyber Security are integral parts of each other. The threats keep on emerging. So, what kind of proactive measures we take with the help of AI asked Bala Prasad Peddigari, CIO of Technology Software and Services Business Group, TCS.

How TCS sees is that it has multilayer cyber security. It has run an awareness campaign. We see it as everyone’s responsibility in the company. We deploy the right tools. We consider preventive security as very important and invest accordingly. We have a dedicated innovations lab to analyse new threats

AI predicts threats in advance, Cyber Security is a 10 trillion US $ threat to the globe, he said. Companies are not investing sufficiently. There is a dearth of trained experts on the subject said K. Mohan Raidu, CEO of Informatics India and Chairman of FTCCI ICT Committee.

A master class was organised by Umesh Thota, Founder/CEO of Authbase on AI & Cybersecurity–A Primer and a startup showcase was held where innovative solutions were showcased from emerging startups.