L&T Technology Services, IIT Kanpur to conduct joint cybersecurity research

L&T Technology Services (LTTS), an engineering software company that is part of engineering conglomerate Larsen and Toubro, has signed a multi-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur to collaborate on research in industrial and infrastructure cybersecurity.

According to Vadodara-based LTTS, the organisations will jointly set up a centre of excellence (CoE) in the IIT-Kanpur campus dedicated to cybersecurity programmes. The centre will conduct research in the area of honeypot, a network-attached system set up to entrap cyberattacks, and study hacking attempts, among other initiatives, a statement said.

The MoU will also give LTTS access to IIT-Kanpur’s testbed for critical infrastructure, the information technology (IT) firm said. The CoE’s other research areas will include intrusion detection systems, malware analysis, blockchain, vulnerability assessment and penetration testing and provide cybersecurity awareness and training programmes, it added.

“Our expertise across security analysis, vulnerability assessments, design security architecture and security requirements has been further strengthened by our partnership with IIT-Kanpur. This will open a new chapter in defence and industrial cybersecurity and pave the way for the creation of safe, secure and smart solutions for India’s industrial sector," Keshab Panda, CEO and managing director of LTTS, said.   

The CoE will be part of IIT-Kanpur’s C3i Centre, a government-funded cybersecurity research centre, which was developed to work on solutions and technologies to protect the country’s strategic and critical utility infrastructure.

“LTTS’ deep-rooted and proven technological expertise, combined with the cybersecurity research expertise of C3i Centre will help counter such cyberattacks. LTTS boasts of a well-rounded portfolio comprising automotive cybersecurity consulting, threat modelling, continuous threat monitoring and security updates patching, among others," Sandeep K Shukla, joint coordinator of the C3i Centre, said.

C3i Centre has been working on vulnerability assessment and penetration testing, building and utilising industrial-scale cybersecurity test-bed for operation technology, honeypots, malware analysis and intrusion detection research, said Shukla, who also heads the computer science and engineering department at IIT-Kanpur.

Last month, the engineering services company partnered with Swedish mobile living products and solutions provider Dometic to support the latter’s mechanical, embedded and connectivity solutions and set up a dedicated global engineering centre in Chennai. 

In the same month, LTTS launched a framework for the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises.