The hackathon, aptly named “Sainya Ranakshetram”, was organised by the Indian Army with the support of HQ Army Training Command (ARTRAC). The second phase of the hackathon was organised from October 2022 to January 2023. It aims to seek solutions to jump-start and telescope the development of time and operational cyber challenges for innovative solutions in the field of cyber security. The first phase of Sainya Ranakshetram occurred from October 01, 2021, to December 31, 2021.
The event was organised to provide a platform to identify indigenous talent and enhance the standard of training in Cyber Deterrence, Electro Magnetic Spectrum Operations, Security Software Coding and Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning. Participation was permitted in an individual/ team manner and was open to all citizens of India.
The Cyber Threat Seminar cum Workshop was held to meet this end state. It has facilitated engagement with the intrinsic talent at levels of academia, individuals and organisations. It will lead to the identification of suitable talent in the field of Cyber Security. It was held under four sub-events which included different activities:
- Secure Software Coding: It aims at engaging with academia in securing software programs and identifying talent capable of undertaking cyber security requirements in software codes. A Cyber Security enthusiast, Mr Aravindha Hariharan M from Coimbatore, has won the prize in this category.
- ESMO: Customised Indian Army-Specific Stack for Wi-Fi 6- This event sought a solution to implement an Indian Army-specific version of a secure Wi-Fi stack. This is to increase the levels of security. The winner of this category is Colonel Nishant Rathee, Commandant, Army HQ Computer Centre. Mr Suryasaradhi Balarkan, currently working with L&T, is the runner-up. The 3rd prize is secured by Ms Tanisha Joshi, presently pursuing a PhD.
- Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning: NLP Processing and Decoding of Radio Intercepts: This event aimed at creating an A1 stack for addressing the decryption and translation of multi-lingual radio transmissions. The first prize in this category is won by Master Mithil Salunkhe, a 15-year-old class 10 student of Maharashtra, Mr Prashant Kumar Singh, who is presently pursuing B Sc (Data Science) from IIT Madras has won the second prize, and Cdr Sushant Sarswat wins the third prize, a Naval Officer presently posted in HQ Eastern Naval Command.
- Cyber Deterrence: Capture the Flag (CTF)- This event was organised as a seven-stage cyber security exploitation challenge to enhance the existing Cyber Security setup. Mr Shaksham Jaiswal, currently working as a freelancer, is the winner of this challenge. Mr Prince Kumar Patel, who is presently doing BE (IT) at Army Institute of Technology (AIT), Pune, has won the 2nd prize and the 3rd prize is won by Mr Hardeep Singh, a BCA from Maharaja Ganga Singh University in Bikaner.
