In a remarkable showcase of skill and dedication, a group of students from SVKM’s NMIMS Indore Campus' School of Technology Management & Engineering (STME), led by the visionary Sam Varghese, a distinguished third-year MBA Tech student, has accomplished an impressive feat. They have earned a position among the top 5 winners at the prestigious Kavach 2023 Cyber Security Hackathon, a nationally significant event organized by the Government of India in September 2023.

This remarkable achievement serves as proof of the unwavering dedication and advanced expertise displayed by the students of SVKM’s NMIMS Indore Campus. In the midst of fierce competition, where participation spanned from over 20,000 to 30,000 teams across the nation, the STME team showcased exceptional proficiency in the complex realm of advanced CCTV analytics.

The hackathon, initiated by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell, AICTE, in collaboration with the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) (MHA) and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), had the objective of conceiving and crafting innovative solutions utilizing live CCTV feeds to autonomously detect incidents related to street crime, violence, burglary, theft, infiltration, and unauthorized access. The NMIMS Indore STME team, consisting of Sam Varghese, Chaitanya Kusumakar, Avni Bhardwaj, Arohi Jain, Sudhanshu Rastogi, and Sanskriti Sharma, successfully devised a real-time machine learning model for analyzing CCTV footage. It could identify accidents and illicit activities, promptly alerting the nearest authorities.

The problem statement presented to the participants by the Bureau of Police Research and Development highlighted that CCTV surveillance across the country still relied on manual tracking of live feeds to identify suspicious activities. In response to this challenge and to automate the system, the students incorporated Anomaly Detection algorithms. This innovative concept was initially introduced by researchers at Stanford University. In their project execution, the students combined Unsupervised Machine Learning with Supervised Machine Learning to harness the strengths of both approaches. To ensure project success, the team extensively reviewed research papers and conducted frequent brainstorming sessions.

Sam Varghese is of the opinion that if the government were to implement all the submissions from the Grand Finale round, it would significantly empower the police forces in combatting potential cyber-crimes in this era of advanced AI technology. Sharing his enthusiasm for the internship opportunity extended by the Cyber Cell of Maharashtra Police, he said, “We’re glad to be able to contribute directly to the growth and development of the Cyber Cell. We plan to integrate our project into their existing systems and suggest better ways and means to track crimes and catch criminals.”

Dr. Anshuman Jaswal, while expressing his pride in the students' milestone, stated, “I congratulate all the students for this big achievement in the Kavach Cyber Security Hackathon. At NMIMS, we promote a holistic and collaborative environment among students."

About STME-Indore

The School of Technology Management & Engineering (STME), Indore, is an integral part of SVKM's NMIMS, recognized as a Tier-1 University under the Autonomous Universities category by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in India. NMIMS Indore offers a comprehensive blend of learning, enjoyment, culture, literature, and numerous life-enriching activities. The vibrant atmosphere here is brimming with abundant learning prospects. Our journey in this campus is built upon the solid foundation of professional guidance and access to state-of-the-art learning resources. STME's commitment to consistent academic excellence, research-driven approach, esteemed faculty members from top national and international institutions, and robust industry connections have firmly established it as one of the country's premier centers for education and research.