IIIT Hyderabad and NPCI Sign MoU to Strengthen Cybersecurity in Digital Payments

The International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT-Hyderabad) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on October 28 to collaborate on strengthening India’s digital payments ecosystem.

The Cyber Manthan Center (CMC) will lead the initiative at IIIT Hyderabad, where it will work on cybersecurity, digital forensics, and trusted infrastructure. Professor Sandeep K Shukla, who is also the director, will lead IIIT’s engagement with CMC.

The MoU provides a framework for joint research and development to address emerging cybersecurity challenges in digital payments. This academia-industry engagement in cybersecurity will contribute to capacity building by enabling specialised training and research engagement to develop a skilled workforce equipped to address evolving security challenges, contributing to a more secure, resilient and trusted digital payments ecosystem in India.

Dilip Asbe, Managing Director and CEO, NPCI, said, “Our collaboration with IIIT Hyderabad brings together industry experience and academic expertise to advance cybersecurity research to develop practical solutions and capabilities to handle emergent risks.”

“Our collaboration with NPCI will provide a platform to explore cybersecurity challenges specific to digital payments and the application of emerging technologies to enhance payment security,” Prof. Sandeep K Shukla, Director, IIIT Hyderabad, said, simultaneously highlighting how capacity building is just as important to help relevant parties acquire and grow their specialised skill set to “secure the next generation of digital payment systems”.