MIT World Peace University (MIT-WPU) successfully inaugurated Ciphathon 2026, a 24-hour National-Level Cybersecurity Hackathon and Capture The Flag (CTF) competition, held in a offline mode on March 27–28, 2026. The event, themed "Encrypt, Innovate, Exploit," brought together prominent leaders from academia and industry to inspire the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. Ciphathon 2026 witnessed remarkable participation from 208 students representing over 15 states across India, including Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. The cybersecurity hackathon broadly covered key domains, including Blockchain & Web3 Security, Secure Web and API Design, AI in Cybersecurity, Cybercrime Awareness and Digital Safety Tools, Privacy-First Applications, as well as SOC Automation and Incident Response.

The inaugural session commenced with a welcome address by Dr. Sukhada Bhingarkar, Associate Dean – Student Development, who extended a warm welcome to distinguished guests and participants. Dr. Kishor Kolhe, Convener of the event, provided an overview of the hackathon, followed by opening remarks from Dr. Siddharth Chakrabarti, Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Technology. The Vice Chancellor, Dr. R. M. Chitnis, felicitated the guests and addressed the gathering, emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity in today's digital era.

The event was formally inaugurated by Chief Guest Dr. Deepak Shikarpur, a renowned IT expert, who highlighted the growing importance of cybersecurity as a recession-resilient career. He redefined IT as Indian Talent + Innovative Technology and encouraged students to go beyond traditional curricula. Emphasizing continuous learning, he shared the formula "Degree ++ Skill Development = Career" and introduced his innovative Digital Twin platform for career guidance.

The Guests of Honor also shared valuable insights. Mr. Ashish Pradhan, CTO and R&D Head at Seqrite, stressed the importance of identifying emerging vulnerabilities in the age of artificial intelligence. He cited real-world examples such as hospital data breaches and encouraged students to adopt a gamified approach to understanding cyber threats. Dr. B. P. Gautham, Chief Scientist at TCS Research, emphasized the need to understand both human and attacker behavior to build effective cybersecurity defenses.

A thought-provoking panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Deepak Prashar, Associate Dean, DCET, featured experts from leading organizations including C-DAC, Seqrite, RIVEDIX, SysTools, and DeepCytes Cyber Labs. The panelists discussed key strategies such as adopting Zero Trust security models, proactive breach detection, ransomware mitigation, and compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection(DPDP) Act, 2023. They also highlighted the crucial role of CERT-In under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in handling national-level cyber incidents.

The event received strong support from industry partners and sponsors, including CyberXDelta, Quick Heal Technologies, EC-Council, ISACA, DeepCytes, AlgoZenith, CodeChef, and others, reinforcing the collaborative spirit between academia and industry.

Ciphathon 2026 stands as a testament to MIT-WPU's commitment to fostering innovation, strengthening industry–academia collaboration, and equipping students with practical skills to tackle real-world cybersecurity challenges.