NSD Global empanels cybersecurity and AI professionals against a rigorous, internationally recognised standard, so institutions, governments and employers know exactly who they can rely on.
Empanelment places a professional on the NSD registry at a defined grade of competence, earned through examination, practical and psychometric assessment, and adherence to a binding code of ethics. It is durable, renewable, and independently verifiable by anyone in seconds.
Prove your capability through NSD examinations and range assessment, and join the registry at Netizen, First Responder, Cadet or Falcon grade.
Explore technical empanelment →Executive programs for senior professionals: the NSD Scholar Program (NCSSP), DPDP, Security Product Management and Governance.
Explore programs →Foundation for baseline competence, Technical for hands-on practitioners, and Management for those who run cyber programs. Each grade attests something specific.
The flagship techno-managerial executive program. Six months: three months live online, three months capstone research. Confers the NSD Scholar grade.
Program details & register → OpenAn executive program on the Digital Personal Data Protection framework and global data-protection practice, for DPOs, counsel and security leaders.
Program details & register → OpenExamination plus practical range assessment for working security professionals across core domains. Online proctored and range-campus slots.
Eligibility & booking →Certifications are issued under ISAC's QCI-NCIIPC accreditation as a certification body for critical sectors. The standing behind the credential is institutional, not commercial.
Empanelment is bound to a published code of ethics. It can lapse and it can be revoked, which is precisely why an employer can trust what the registry says today.
Practical assessment on the Phygital Cyber Range across 750+ scenarios, plus off-grid resilience training and live industry immersion. Judgment under pressure, observed.
Empanelled members run local chapters: meetups, drills, mentoring and regional response. Chapter governance is earned, not bought.
Across India, the Gulf and South-East Asia, each with elected office bearers.
Find your chapter →Scholars who complete the in-person immersion earn the right to form chapters and stand for election.
How chapters work →Cohort 08 adds a three-month capstone research track alongside the live online sessions.
Office bearers elected at the regional convening; first drills scheduled for August.
Clarified obligations on disclosure, conflict of interest and the revocation process.
Cohort 08 applications close 25 August. Six months, cohort-based, ends in a published capstone.
Employers: every empanelled professional can now be verified from a single link. No login, no forms.
Chapter drill in Hyderabad this weekend. 40 members, live incident scenario on the range.
Apply for empanelment, or talk to us about verifying and hiring empanelled professionals.
You apply, verify your identity and eligibility, demonstrate competence through examination and practical assessment, accept the Code of Ethics, and are then listed on the registry at your assessed grade, verifiable by anyone, at any time.
Create your profile and select track and target grade.
Identity and eligibility validated; references at higher grades.
Sit the examination and, at higher grades, practical range assessment.
Accept the NSD Code of Ethics and professional undertakings.
Listed on the registry, issued a verifiable digital credential.
Baseline cyber competence for anyone establishing safe practice and first response.
| Grade | Who it is for | Assessment | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyber Aware Netizen | Anyone establishing baseline cyber competence | Online proctored exam | [fee] |
| First Responder | Practitioners handling detection & incident response | Online proctored exam | $99 |
For hands-on practitioners. Each grade has defined competencies and its own examination.
| Grade | Who it is for | Assessment | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadet | Working security professionals across core domains | Exam + practical range tasks | $300 |
| Falcon | Advanced and specialist operators | Exam + advanced range assessment | $900 |
| Grade | How it is earned |
|---|---|
| Guardian | Recognised for sustained senior contribution to the profession and the NSD community. |
| Scholar | Complete the NSD Scholar Program (NCSSP). Confers full registry membership and benefits. |
Empanelment is a living standard. Members uphold the Code of Ethics and maintain currency through continued professional activity. A credential can lapse, and it can be revoked following an ethics finding. The revocation policy is published in full.
Read the Code of EthicsBeyond technical empanelment, NSD offers executive programs for professionals who lead, building the strategic, managerial and regulatory judgment senior roles demand.
The flagship techno-managerial executive program. Six months: three months of live online sessions, three months of capstone research, culminating in the NSD Scholar grade. Delivered with IIM Bangalore.
Explore & register →A focused executive program on the Digital Personal Data Protection framework and global data-protection practice, for DPOs, counsel and security leaders.
Explore & register →An executive program bridging security, engineering and product strategy, for those who build, secure and lead products in a threat-heavy world.
Explore & register →Governance, risk and board-level oversight for executives who set direction and must demonstrate accountability. Translates technical risk into board language.
Explore & register →One flat annual subscription gives every enrolled student at your institution full-year access to the online bootcamp calendar, instructor-led training and empanelment examinations. Sold to institutions, not individuals.
Explore Campus Alliance →NSD sets the standard and examines; accredited partners deliver preparatory training. Keeping the two separate is what protects the registry's independence.
| Course | Partner | Mode | Dates | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Responder Prep | [Partner] | Online | 04–15 Aug | Virtual | Enrol |
| Cadet Bootcamp | [Partner] | In-person | 22–26 Aug | Hyderabad Range | 6 seats |
| Falcon Masterclass | [Partner] | Hybrid | 07–11 Oct | Delhi Range | Waitlist |
One calendar for everything NSD runs: examinations, chapter drills, industry immersions, the annual convening and the Scholar convocation.
Five days, Hyderabad campus · Practical assessment environment · 6 seats remaining
Online, live · Six-month program · Optional opening immersion announced separately
Members only · Half day · Live scenario on the range
Three nights, near Bangalore · Optional, non-graded · Unlocks chapter governance rights
IIM Bangalore campus · Certificate ceremony · Chapter elections
Chapters are where empanelment becomes a community: meetups, drills, mentoring and regional response, run by elected members. Governance is earned through the in-person immersion, not purchased.
NSD Global maintains an international registry of cybersecurity professionals, graded by verified competence and bound by a professional code of ethics.
Trust in a practitioner is established objectively, by examination against a published standard, rather than asserted.
Established in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, with support from the National Technical Research Organization (NTRO), Government of India, under the Prime Ministers Office, to build a trusted cadre of cyber defenders.
Launched in 2011 at the International Malware Conference (MalCon) by the then Minister of State for IT, Shri Sachin Pilot, NSD was recognised as a national initiative to identify, assess, and empanel skilled information-security professionals.
CERT-In, under MeitY, subsequently came formally on board the platform under the leadership of its then Director General, Dr. Gulshan Rai, further strengthening NSD’s institutional mandate and national relevance.
Over the years, NSD has partnered with 100+ leading industry organisations, top IITs, IIMs, and institutions of national eminence to deliver advanced cybersecurity programmes for practitioners, CISOs, and senior management, earning strong recognition and high rankings globally.
Empanelment, programs, verification, partnerships or media.
We will route you to the right team.
Foundation knowledge, verified.
Cadet recognises demonstrated foundation knowledge across cybersecurity and AI in any technical domain, by examination, or by the certifications you already hold.
Free by recognition · or USD 300 by examination · Valid 3 years
Cadet attests a sound working command of core cybersecurity and AI concepts across a technical domain, enough to be relied on in a security role and to understand the consequences of the systems you touch.
NSD does not ask you to prove twice what you have already proved. If you hold a recognised certification at this level, submit it and be assessed for empanelment without sitting anything further.
There are two routes. Both lead to the same grade and the same registry listing.
Hold CEH, a SANS certification, or another certification on the accepted list? Submit it and be assessed for empanelment at Cadet. No examination, no application fee.
Certifications submitted for recognition must be within 365 days validity from date of issue. [CONFIRM WORDING, see placeholders.]
Sit the Cadet examination directly with NSD, online proctored, or through a preparatory programme delivered by a partner in the NSD training network.
The following are currently accepted for empanelment at Cadet under Route A.
| Issuer | Certification | Accepted |
|---|---|---|
| EC-Council | CEH, Certified Ethical Hacker | Yes |
| SANS / GIAC | [CONFIRM, which GIAC certifications and at what level]To be confirmed | Yes |
The list is reviewed and republished periodically. If you hold a certification that is not listed and believe it should be, tell us. [LINK: suggest a certification]
Empanelment at every NSD grade is valid for three years, including grades granted at no cost. Renewal is free. Your standing lapses only if you do not renew, and is withdrawn only following a finding under the Code of Ethics.
Every NSD grade requires agreement to Clean Exit, Professional Ethics at Workplace, the NSD Code of Ethics. It is what makes an NSD grade a statement about conduct as well as capability, and it is why a credential can be withdrawn.
Empanelment and membership are different things. Your grade is yours for three years and costs nothing to renew. NSD Network membership is optional, USD 50 a year, and adds access to the member network, discounted passes to NSD events, the job and internship board, and senior-role search.
Because NSD is a registry, not a competing course provider. A certification tells an employer what you passed and when. NSD tells them that you are, today, a professional in good standing bound by a code of ethics, and lets them confirm it in one click.
Yes. There is no application fee and no examination fee under Route A.
[CONFIRM, answer depends on the resolution of the 365-day rule.]To be confirmed
Yes. The grades build on one another in scope but Cadet does not require First Responder.
Falcon, the highest technical grade you can earn, by lab examination, or by recognition of OSCP or approved published research.
Established in 2009
