NIIT Foundation and Cisco Launch ‘Cyber Suraksha Plus’ to Boost India’s Cybersecurity Awareness and Skills Training

The NIIT Foundation and Cisco have launched Cyber Suraksha Plus, a major collaborative initiative to expand India’s cybersecurity awareness and create structured career pathways in the field.

The launch follows a sudden spike in cybercrime throughout India. As per the India Cyber Threat Report 2025 by DSCI, cases of cybercrime on national portals such as the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Management System (CFCFRMS) escalated to 22.68 lakh in 2024, from 15.96 lakh in 2023 and 10.29 lakh in 2022.

As per the report, the healthcare sector was the most targeted (21.8%), followed by hospitality (19.6%) and banking (17.4%). This reflected the increasing attacks on organizations handling personal and financial data. Senior citizens, students, and small business owners are the most vulnerable groups who often become targets of phishing and cyber frauds.

With India’s internet users surpassing 1 billion as of June 2025, the urgency for increased awareness of digital security has become imperative.

To cater to this, the NIIT Foundation and Cisco initiated the Cyber Suraksha program in 2022, which has already impacted more than 10 lakh learners spread across 27 states and five union territories, with almost 40% women participation. It has also extended to vulnerable sections such as senior citizens, disabled persons, and frontline workers.

Cyber Suraksha Plus is an expansion of this success to career-focused cybersecurity training in fields such as system security, ransomware protection, AI-powered security, and cloud security. The initiative has a vision to train 27 lakh students by 2028 with emphasis on multilingual and inclusive access.

Harish Krishnan, Managing Director and Chief Policy Officer, Cisco Systems India & ASEAN, said: “Cybersecurity is the cornerstone of digital trust. Collaborative programs like Cyber Suraksha Plus are essential to building capacity and preparing India’s young workforce with globally relevant cybersecurity skills.”

Sapna Moudgil, CEO of NIIT Foundation, added: “Cyber Suraksha Plus is designed to make digital safety a social equalizer. It empowers both youth and vulnerable communities—helping them gain confidence and skills in the digital age.”

Through this initiative, NIIT Foundation and Cisco reaffirm their shared vision of building a “Viksit evam Cyber Surakshit Bharat” — a digitally empowered and cyber-secure India.