• Airtel will design, build, implement and operate a greenfield, multi-layered, cybersecurity 24x7x365 protection ecosystem that will serve as a resilient defense barrier to safeguard the Indian Railways’ IT backbone, while ensuring uninterrupted, secure and seamless digital operation
  • Over 1 billion Indians will benefit from this enhanced data security for seamless ticket booking, payments, train tracking and much more

Mumbai : Airtel Business has secured a multi-year contract from Indian Railway Security Operations Centre (IRSOC) to deliver comprehensive, industry-leading security services to safeguard the digital backbone of India’s railway network.

The country’s railway services are a vital national asset that operate over 13,000 trains daily, serve more than 20 million commuters and enable millions of digital transactions each day, while transporting over 1.5 billion tons of freight annually. Safeguarding this immense flow of critical data including sensitive customer identities, payment details, as well as key operational databases for ticketing, train tracking, freight and signalling, is crucial in today’s era of intensifying cyber threats.

With advanced and centralised security controls, Airtel Business will build multi-layer protection to secure the expansive database of the railways. Ensuring a resilient and compliant secure backend, Airtel Business will also safeguard the end-to-end digital operations of the country’s railway services, which include 160,000 employees distributed across 26 locations.

The technology stack will include market leader technologies along with cutting-edge Make in India cybersecurity products, and deliver a sovereign, fully compliant and AI-embedded security ecosystem tailored for critical infrastructure protection.

Sharat Sinha, CEO & Director, Airtel Business, said “At Airtel Business, we understand that in today’s times of escalating cyber risks, that threaten operational continuity, data integrity and passenger safety, advanced defense mechanisms play a critical role. We are honoured to be chosen by IRSOC as their trusted partner to fortify the security of India’s most complex and large-scale digital infrastructure with vast railway networks and databases. Our robust security layer will advance security efficiency in ticketing and data management, shield all railway digital operations from evolving cyber threats while delivering safe and seamless digital services to millions of daily railway commuters.”

Dilip Kumar, EDIP, Railway Board, said “Due to the increased reliance on digital information and communication technologies for operations, maintenance, production and procurement of assets, cyber security is of the utmost importance. The establishment of IRSOC will help in providing a centralised Security Operations Centre to continuously monitor IR assets, detect and respond to cyber security threats efficiently, gather threat intelligence and ensure proper collaboration with National Cyber Security Agencies. Further, streamlining the operation and maintenance of information technology-related assets will improve service delivery and safeguard the interests of passengers by providing uninterrupted services.”

With Airtel Secure, Indian Railway will benefit from a centralised security architecture that delivers:

  • Unified compliance and visibility: Developed a comprehensive compliance dashboard that delivers centralised visibility and real-time monitoring across 26+ locations and all integrated security tools.
  • Advanced endpoint protection: An AI-driven, Endpoint Detection and Response advanced cybersecurity solution ensuring that all endpoints are continuously monitored and secured.
  • Robust patch & vulnerability management: A single window view and real-time monitoring of 190,000+ critical infrastructure assets/devices and inventories across 26 locations and sub-locations.
  • Next-gen monitoring: AI-driven SIEM, SOAR and UEBA systems that leverage machine learning and behavioural analytics to continuously monitor, predict and neutralise threats in real time — achieving an industry-leading mean-time-to-detect (MTTD) of less than 20 seconds Threat intelligence & dark web monitoring: Proactively monitor and detect risks before they impact business operations
  • •Strong network & access controls: Firewalls, routers, MPLS networks and credential safeguards to secure mission-critical applications