HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Oct 6: Airtel Business has secured a multi-year contract from the Indian Railway Security Operations Centre (IRSOC) to design, build, implement, and operate a comprehensive cybersecurity ecosystem to safeguard the Indian Railways’ digital infrastructure.
The project will establish a 24x7x365 multi-layered protection system that will serve as a resilient defence mechanism for the Railways’ extensive IT network, ensuring uninterrupted, secure, and seamless digital operations.
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Over one billion Indians are expected to benefit through enhanced data security in services such as ticket booking, digital payments, and train tracking.
Indian Railways, one of the world’s largest transport systems, operates over 13,000 trains daily, serves more than 20 million commuters, and facilitates millions of digital transactions each day while transporting 1.5 billion tonnes of freight annually.
Given the scale of operations, safeguarding sensitive data including customer details, payment information, and operational and freight databases has become crucial amid growing cyber threats.
Airtel Business will provide centralised security controls and multi-layer protection to ensure the safety of Indian Railways’ extensive data and digital assets, covering 160,000 employees across 26 locations.
The initiative will be powered by AI-embedded, Make in India cybersecurity technologies that will deliver a sovereign and fully compliant security architecture tailored for critical national infrastructure.
Airtel Business CEO and Director Sharat Sinha said that in times of escalating cyber risks threatening operational continuity and passenger safety, advanced defence mechanisms play a critical role.
He said Airtel Business was honoured to be chosen by IRSOC as its trusted partner to fortify the security of one of India’s most complex digital infrastructures.
He added that the robust security layer being implemented would enhance security efficiency in ticketing and data management, shield all digital operations from evolving cyber threats, and ensure safe and seamless digital services for millions of daily railway users.
Executive Director (Information & Planning) of the Railway Board, Dilip Kumar, said that with the increasing reliance on digital systems for operations, cyber security had become of utmost importance.
He said the establishment of IRSOC would help in continuous monitoring of railway assets, quick response to threats, and collaboration with national cyber agencies to ensure uninterrupted services for passengers.
The Airtel Secure system will provide Indian Railways with unified compliance and visibility through a comprehensive dashboard that enables real-time monitoring across more than 26 locations.
It will feature AI-driven Endpoint Detection and Response to ensure continuous monitoring of devices, real-time patch and vulnerability management covering over 190,000 critical assets, and next-generation AI-powered systems that detect and neutralise threats in less than 20 seconds.
It will also include threat intelligence and dark web surveillance to identify risks proactively and strong network and access controls such as firewalls, routers, and credential safeguards to secure mission-critical systems.
With this initiative, Indian Railways takes a major step towards achieving a resilient, AI-driven, and sovereign cybersecurity framework, strengthening the backbone of one of the nation’s most vital public service networks.
