SQ1 Security brings AI and cybersecurity perspectives to ETGovernment National PSU Summit 2026

Suresh Krishnan on data, AI, and cybersecurity

Suresh Krishnan, Co-Founder and CTO of SQ1, shared his perspective on where India's data, AI, and cybersecurity landscape is headed. He pointed to a core challenge facing the country: building stronger cybersecurity infrastructure while accelerating AI adoption through more sovereign, India-ready AI models. As organizations generate growing volumes of data, he argued the focus needs to shift from simply collecting it to protecting it, interpreting it, and using it to make better decisions. He also pointed to the widening opportunity for cybersecurity solutions across PSUs as India moves toward its Viksit Bharat vision, with secure data and strong digital infrastructure central to that next phase of growth.

Satish Narayanan on building resilient enterprises in the age of AI

Satish Narayanan, CEO and Co-Founder of SQ1, joined a panel discussion titled "CyberSurakshit PSUs: Building Resilient Enterprises in the Age of AI and Data," alongside Anil Sagar, Director at CERT-In; Alok Shankar Pandey, GGM IT and CISO at Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited; Akshaya Kumar Patel, CISO at NTPC Ltd.; and Sanjay Kumar, CISO at Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA). The panel was moderated by Shipra Malhotra, Enterprise Tech Editor at ETCIO, The Economic Times.

The discussion centred on how AI is reshaping the threat landscape: accelerating vulnerability exploitation, sharpening phishing attacks, and introducing new risks around shadow AI and critical infrastructure security. Panelists pointed to continuous monitoring, AI-enabled security operations, stronger cyber hygiene, user awareness, and a coordinated national approach as key to building resilience.

Satish also spoke separately on the evolving cybersecurity landscape in the AI era. He noted that even as PSUs increase cybersecurity investment and mature their security posture, cyber threats keep evolving just as fast. He flagged siloed security practices, weak coordination across defence mechanisms, and technology gaps as challenges still holding organizations back. AI-powered threats, he argued, ultimately need to be met with AI-driven security, with protection embedded into every stage of AI adoption rather than bolted on afterward.

Prabhu K. on cyber frameworks and secure digital transformation

Prabhu K., Vice President – Security & Engineering at SQ1 Security, also spoke at the summit, drawing on his experience in cybersecurity engineering, threat management, and enterprise security architecture. He shared perspectives on building resilient cyber frameworks, protecting critical infrastructure, and enabling secure digital transformation across the public sector, underscoring the same theme running through the summit: PSUs need coordinated, forward-looking security architecture, not fragmented, reactive fixes.

Why the summit mattered to SQ1

PSUs sit at the centre of India's digital transformation, and the choices they make on security today will shape how resilient the country's critical infrastructure is tomorrow. Being part of a conversation involving CERT-In, major PSUs, and national infrastructure leaders gave SQ1 a chance to contribute directly to that thinking, at a moment when the gap between AI adoption and AI-ready security is exactly the problem worth solving.

About SQ1 Security

SQ1 Security believes India's next phase of digital growth depends on security keeping pace with AI adoption, not trailing behind it. Its AI-native platforms, Stakflo and Scani5, help organizations move from siloed, reactive security practices to continuous, coordinated defence, giving public and private sector teams alike the visibility to protect their data and stay resilient as AI reshapes the threat landscape.