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.
Proven under the hood.
Falcon is NSD's highest earned technical grade. It is settled in a lab, not a lecture hall, by clearing the NSD practical examination, or by evidence of capability already demonstrated in public.
Lab examination USD 900 · or free by recognition · Includes psychometric assessment
Falcon is assessed through a 24-hour practical lab examination. Candidates may use AI during the examination. The assessment is designed accordingly: it tests reasoning and judgement, not recall or tool deprivation. Candidates are expected to recognise when AI-generated findings are wrong or misleading, identify false positives, validate conclusions independently, and use their judgement to build effective virtual patches and other defensible mitigations.
A psychometric assessment is mandatory at this level, reflecting the importance NSD places on judgement, decision-making, and performance under pressure alongside technical capability.
Falcon is the highest NSD grade for which a candidate may sit an examination.
Three routes. All lead to the same grade.
A hands-on, timed, observed practical assessment on the NSD Phygital Cyber Range. You are given an environment and a set of objectives, and you are judged on what you actually achieve.
Hold a current Offensive Security Certified Professional certification and be assessed for Falcon without re-sitting a practical examination.
Have you presented a technical paper or talk at a notable cybersecurity event, Nullcon, c0c0n, Black Hat, DEF CON, MalCon or an equivalent? Submit it for review. Where the NSD review committee approves the work, Falcon is conferred at no cost. The committee's judgment takes the place of the examination.
The committee assesses the work, not the venue. A talk at a well-known conference does not qualify on its own; the question is whether the research demonstrates the capability Falcon attests.
Qualifying events currently include: Nullcon, c0c0n, Black Hat, DEF CON, MalCon [CONFIRM, full list and how equivalence is judged]To be confirmed.
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.
This grade includes a psychometric assessment at no cost. It is not a test of knowledge. It is part of how NSD assesses judgment and professional disposition at senior grades.
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.
Yes. Falcon is the highest technical grade awarded by NSD. There is no technical grade above Falcon.
Because the assessment has already happened, in public, in front of peers, and again in front of the NSD committee. Where the work stands up, there is nothing further to charge for.
No. The committee assesses the substance of the work, not the reputation of the venue.
The psychometric assessment evaluates a candidate’s personality, ability to perform under stress, integrity, teamwork, and aptitude for deep-technology roles. It is designed to complement the technical assessment by examining the behavioural and professional qualities expected at senior NSD grades.
Yes.
Established in 2009
