SQ1 Security powers cybersecurity engagement at Shaastra 2026, IIT Madras

For five days in January, IIT Madras turned into one of the busiest tech festivals in Asia, and SQ1 Security was right in the middle of it as the Official Cybersecurity Partner for Shaastra 2026. SQ1 also backed Robowars, one of the festival's most-watched events, as a sponsor. Now in its 27th edition, Shaastra is entirely student-run, ISO 9001:2015-certified, and one of the largest technical festivals in Asia, with over 750 students pulling it all together. This year's edition ran from January 2 to 6, pulling in an expected 80,000-plus visitors across 80 events and 130 stalls, all wrapped in this year's theme, "Artifacts of Arcade," which turned the festival into something closer to a game than a conference.

Spinning the wheel, one conversation at a time

SQ1's booth became a regular stop on campus, and it wasn't hard to see why. The "Spin the Wheel" game gave students an easy, fun reason to stop by, and once they did, conversations happened. Questions got asked. Goodies got won. Over five days, the SQ1 team met hundreds of students, some just curious, some genuinely interested in what cybersecurity work looks like day to day.

Why Shaastra mattered to SQ1 Security

Shaastra brings together thousands of students, researchers, and young technologists from across the country, and for SQ1 Security, showing up wasn't about visibility. It was about spending five days around students who are still figuring out what they want to build and hopefully leaving a few of them a little more curious about cybersecurity than they were before.

About SQ1 Security

SQ1 Security is a cybersecurity and compliance specialist, delivering end to end, AI-native products and services backed by industry-focused expertise. Committed to helping organizations automate compliance, manage vulnerabilities, and stay audit ready, SQ1 works with clients across the globe to simplify complex security challenges through platforms like Stakflo and Scani5, alongside expert services built for how modern teams actually work. Beyond its products, SQ1 believes the next generation of engineers and security minds deserves a head start and looks for moments like Shaastra to spark that curiosity early.