AI, Digital Sovereignty Critical To India’s National Security, Experts Warn At KCSS 2026

Kerala Cyber Resilience Foundation announced as leaders call for stronger cyber resilience, sovereign capabilities and cybersecurity talent.

Kochi (Kerala) [India], September 9: India must urgently strengthen its digital and AI sovereignty, cyber resilience and cybersecurity talent pool as technology-driven threats increasingly emerge as national security challenges, senior leaders from government, national security, law enforcement and industry said at the second edition of Kerala Cyber Suraksha Summit (KCSS) 2026, organised by global technology systems integrator and cybersecurity solutions provider *F9 Infotech*.

Inaugurating the summit as Chief Guest, Hibi Eden, Member of Parliament, stressed the growing importance of cybersecurity awareness and preparedness as technology becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life, governance, education and the economy.

Eden welcomed F9 Infotech’s initiative to take cybersecurity education beyond industry and technology circles and make it accessible to students and educational institutions across Kerala.

As part of this larger vision, the formation of the Kerala Cyber Resilience Foundation was announced at KCSS 2026. The proposed Foundation is envisioned as a platform to strengthen cybersecurity awareness, preparedness, skills and resilience across Kerala.

One of its first major initiatives will be the rollout of cybersecurity training, awareness programmes and certification free of cost to government educational institutions across Kerala, facilitated by F9 Infotech. The initiative seeks to take cybersecurity awareness to young people at an early stage and help develop a larger pipeline of cyber-aware and cybersecurity-skilled talent in the state.

Delivering the inaugural keynote, Manoj Abraham, IPS, DGP and Director, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Kerala, warned that cybercrime was assuming industrial-scale dimensions and could no longer be tackled by security agencies alone.

“Cyberattacks can now cripple nations and organisations, disable critical infrastructure and disrupt military operations without a single shot being fired,” he said.

Abraham said ransomware victims worldwide had risen 389 per cent year-on-year, while reported financial losses from cyber fraud in India during 2025 alone amounted to ₹19,813 crore.

“We are at a juncture where we need more defenders to take on cyber attackers. Worldwide, there are 4.8 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs,” he said, adding that Kerala’s strong talent pool positioned the state to help address the global cybersecurity skills shortage.

Air Commodore Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Kirti Chakra awardee and one of the astronauts selected for India’s Gaganyaan mission, underlined the importance of digital and AI sovereignty as strategic national imperatives as artificial intelligence, cyber warfare and emerging technologies reshape the global security landscape.

Jayakumar Mohanachandran, Founder of Kerala Cyber Suraksha Summit and Co-founder & CEO of F9 Infotech, said cybersecurity must move beyond boardrooms and technology teams to become a wider societal priority.

“In the last three years, more than ₹56,000 crore has been reported in cyber-fraud complaints across India. At the same time, India’s cyber-fraud response systems have helped save more than ₹11,000 crore across 32 lakh complaints. The question is no longer simply how we stop the next cyberattack, but how we build a digital future that people can trust,” Mohanachandran said.

He said KCSS was conceived not simply as an industry conference, but as a platform bringing together government, industry, technology leaders, cybersecurity professionals, academia and young talent to help build a more cyber-resilient society.

*Vinayak Godse, CEO, Data Security Council of India (DSCI)*, commended F9 Infotech for creating a platform bringing together government, national security, law enforcement, industry, academia and technology companies, noting that cybersecurity conversations must extend beyond law enforcement to business, innovation and governance.

The second edition of KCSS brought together more than 1,000 delegates and 45-plus speakers from government, national security, law enforcement, global technology companies, industry, academia and the cybersecurity ecosystem. The summit was supported by DSCI, TiE Kerala, the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other industry and technology communities.

Rajesh Radhakrishnan, Co-founder and CTO, F9 Infotech, said KCSS received strong support from global technology leaders including Cisco, AWS, Google and Microsoft, reflecting the growing need for collaborative cybersecurity platforms and stronger industry-wide cyber resilience.

C. Balagopal, Chairman, KSIDC; Dr Saji Gopinath, Vice Chancellor, Digital University Kerala; and Rajesh Vikraman, Chief Information Security Officer, F9 Infotech, were among the senior leaders attending the summit.

With expertise spanning enterprise cybersecurity, cyber resilience, cloud security, digital infrastructure, data protection and security operations, F9 Infotech is expanding its role beyond technology implementation to building cybersecurity awareness, talent and resilience through initiatives such as KCSS and the proposed Kerala Cyber Resilience Foundation.

KCSS 2026 reinforced a central message: in the age of AI, cybersecurity is fundamental to national security, economic resilience and public trust.

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