Hyderabad, 1 September, 2025: The ISACA Hyderabad Chapter celebrated a remarkable milestone as it marked 25 years of empowering governance, cybersecurity, and privacy professionals during its 25th Annual Conference, themed “TRUST AICS – 2025: Where AI Integrates Governance, Cybersecurity, and Privacy”.
The conference was inaugurated by Ms. Shikha Goel, IPS, DG & Director, Telangana Cyber Security Bureau and Telangana Forensic Science Laboratory, alongside ISACA Hyderabad board members and dignitaries. With over 400 registrations – the highest in the chapter’s history – the event built on the momentum of 2024’s successful edition and reaffirmed the chapter’s position as a leading professional community in the region.
Speaking about the conference Ms. Shikha said, “I want to congratulate ISACA Hyderabad on their 25 years celebrations. Trust is at the very heart of technology, governance, cybersecurity, and privacy. The same AI that empowers us is also being weaponized by criminals through deepfakes, scams, and frauds. Without trust, technology collapses into fear, governance loses legitimacy, and privacy becomes a delusion. Everyday at the Cyber Security Bureau we receive so many calls reporting fresh cyber crimes. Technology which is meant to make our life easier is now being exploited as a tool for fraud. AI today is rampant being used by all major sectors. The urgency of the hour is safeguarding and accountability in AI Systems and AI Usage. Professional bodies like ISACA are extremely essential if we want to use AI rightly and ethically. Ensuring Accountability, Encouraging Collaboration, Enhancing Capacity are the key factors to integrate AI with governance and privacy issues. As we move ahead, the real challenge is to build safeguards, accountability, and collaboration so that AI becomes a shield for society, not a threat. True safety will depend on the trust we nurture between citizens, government, institutions, and technology.”
Welcoming delegates, Mr. GCS Sarma, President of ISACA Hyderabad Chapter, reflected on the organization’s 25-year journey, emphasizing its pivotal role in advancing professional knowledge, trust, and collaboration. The conference featured a distinguished lineup of speakers who shared their expertise on the evolving digital landscape. Mr. Arindam Mukherjee, President–Sales, Cloud4C India, and Mr. Sandeep Shukla, Professor & Director Designate, Cyber Security Center, IIIT Hyderabad, delivered powerful keynote sessions, while Ms. Mythreyee Ganapathy, Product Leader at Google, energized participants with her talk on “The Future of Digital: Agentic AI.” The event was also graced by Mr. Niraj Kapasi, Founding Member of ISACA Hyderabad Chapter, as a special guest.
A landmark highlight of the event was the collaboration between professional chapters. Leaders from CIO Klub, IAPP, ISC2, DPO Club, PMI Pearl City, IMA, IIA, and ACFE came together for the first time on a common platform to explore building stronger security communities in Telangana. A roundtable led by CtrlS with CISOs and the CIO Klub Members further explored trends at the intersection of AI, privacy, and cybersecurity.
The day also featured thought-provoking panel discussions. Experts examined “The Influence of AI in Investigation, Privacy, and Audit” and analyzed “The Role and Impact of AI on Global Capability Centres (GCCs),” providing actionable insights to the audience. Volunteers were honoured for their dedication, and the event concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Mr. Raj Pawar M., Chapter Secretary.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. GCS Sarma remarked, “As we celebrate 25 years, ISACA Hyderabad continues its mission of advancing knowledge, trust, and collaboration in governance, cybersecurity, and privacy. With AI reshaping the digital future, our chapter stands committed to empowering professionals and organizations to adapt with confidence.” With this milestone celebration, ISACA Hyderabad Chapter has reaffirmed its role as a catalyst for innovation and collaboration, continuing to build a strong professional community for the digital era.
Technical sessions brought valuable insights to delegates, including Mr. G.T. Venkateswara Rao, Managing Director, Posidex Technologies, who discussed advanced data protection through cryptographic computing, and Dr. P.R. Lakshmi Eswari, Scientist G & Centre Head, C-DAC Hyderabad, who spoke on secure software development for resilience. Industry experts Mr. Krishna Shastry Pendyala and Mr. Rohit Ponnapalli, CISO of Cloud4C, shared practical perspectives, while an engaging fireside chat on quantum computing with Mr. Sachin Kumar of QpiAI in conversation with Mr. Raghu Iyer offered a futuristic outlook.
Present also at the conference were Vice-President: Vamsi Krishna, Secretary: Raj Pawar, Treasurer: Venkatram, Membership Director: Rajnish Dasari, Academic Relations Director: Dr.Sowjanya, Assistant Treasurer: Usha Kavi Gayathri, Certifications Director: Sujay G, SIG Director: Pavan Kumar M and SheLeadsTech Director: Ardha Varalakshmi.
The success of the conference was supported by a strong sponsor ecosystem. CtrlS, Cloud4C, and Fortinet were the Title Sponsors, joined by Mayon Infotech as Gold Sponsor, and Silver Sponsors including Posidex, InfoCratus, Assurtiv, Bakertilly ASA India, Nopal Cyber, ISOQAR, and C-DAC. Emmadi Silver Jewelry and Kinderlandpartnered as Visibility Partners, while ACFE and CIO Klub served as Knowledge Partners. Special recognition was given to Mr. Sarath Kumar, President of ACFE, for his significant contribution to the conference’s success.
