The News: Common Services Centres (CSC), under the Ministry of Electronics & IT, and Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, have partnered to launch Cyber Rakshak, a cybersecurity training initiative to equip women in rural and remote areas with new technology skills and help them emerge as Cyber Security Ambassadors. Read more from Kyndryl’s website.
Kyndryl and Common Services Centres Launch Cyber Rakshak, a Cybersecurity Training Program for Women
Analyst Take: Common Services Centres (CSC), under the Ministry of Electronics & IT, and Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, have partnered to launch Cyber Rakshak, a cybersecurity training initiative, to equip women in rural and remote areas with new technology skills and help them emerge as Cyber Security Ambassadors. Indian internet users in rural and remote areas are particularly vulnerable to cybersecurity threats, particularly small business owners, without adequate cybersecurity knowledge.
The Goals of the Cyber Rakshak Program
The three-year Cyber Rakshak program will train more than 100,000 women in rural and remote areas, driving cybersecurity education efforts and growing skill sets across Indian communities. The initiative aims to empower future leaders while extending economic opportunity to women in the world’s fastest-growing economy.
The cybersecurity training will be conducted across 500 districts in India through the last mile network of CSC, a flagship program under the Digital India Initiative which provides assisted access to government and public utility services in rural and semi-urban areas.
Cyber Rakshak participants will gain fundamental cyber knowledge, enhance competencies in existing job roles and learn about security threats that may impact their livelihoods through coursework, co-developed by Kyndryl and CSC. A central feature of the Cyber Rakshak program will be to train candidates to become Cybersecurity Ambassadors. Upon Cyber Rakshak completion, participants will achieve a joint certification from Kyndryl and the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) and can serve as guides to local Internet users as they navigate an increasingly complex threat landscape.
This is significant, as internet users in rural areas across India are naturally increasing (as they are everywhere around the world), and there’s a dearth of cybersecurity knowledge. This program is intended to address that, training and supporting local female ambassadors in rural communities, and providing much-needed diversity and opportunities for career training and high-value career opportunities, along with promoting financial inclusion for women.
Cybersecurity threats intensify on a daily basis, the world over, making cybersecurity training critical for internet users, particularly businesses. Small businesses in rural areas are particularly vulnerable to irrecoverable damage from data breaches if they don’t have adequate cybersecurity knowledge. Cyber Rakshak graduates will be able to provide cybersecurity training to the rural communities in India, helping to mitigate cybersecurity risks, but equally as exciting, this initiative also promises to be a big step forward for Indian women and provide significant financial and career opportunities.
Disclosure: Futurum Research is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum Research as a whole.
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Image Credit: Kyndryl
Author Information
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years' experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging development, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly's coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”
