Established in 2009
24 Jul 2026 · Announcement
NSD Scholar Program moves to a six-month format
Cohort 08 adds a three-month capstone research track alongside the live online sessions.
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.
The highest grade on the NSD management track.
Scholar is conferred on completion of the National Cyber Security Scholar Programme, NSD's flagship executive programme, delivered with IIM Bangalore. It is the most senior credential NSD awards, and the furthest anyone can advance by their own application.
Next cohort: [Cohort 08, start date]To be confirmed · Six months · Includes psychometric assessment
Scholar attests that the holder can lead a cyber programme rather than operate within one, governance, economics, resilience and judgment, with sufficient technical depth to be credible with the people doing the work.
It is the most senior grade NSD awards and the only one that requires a sustained programme of study and an original piece of research. There is no recognition route to Scholar and there never will be.
One route, with no exceptions.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Apply to the NSD Scholar Programme and meet the eligibility criteria |
| 2 | Complete three months of live online sessions, maintaining at least 75% attendance |
| 3 | Complete a three-month capstone research project and submit the paper |
| 4 | Complete the psychometric assessment (free) and accept the Code of Ethics |
| 5 | You are conferred the Scholar grade and entered on the NSD registry |
A bridge course is available for candidates who want to strengthen their technical foundation before the programme begins. [LINK: NCBIS]
| Format | Live online, cohort-based |
|---|---|
| Duration | Six months, three months of sessions, three months of capstone |
| Live sessions | 24 sessions, approximately 48 contact hours |
| Composition | 12 leadership masterclasses, 4 executive cyber-crisis simulations, 4 IIM Bangalore leadership masterclasses, 4 industry-expert sessions |
| Capstone | An original research paper, supported and published by NSD |
| Optional immersion | An off-grid module and campus residency, and a convocation ceremony |
| Certification | [CONFIRM, CERT-In and ISAC today; IIM Bangalore co-certification proposed]To be confirmed |
Full curriculum, faculty and cohort dates are on the programme page. [LINK: /programs/scholar]
Every graduate of the online programme is a full Scholar. The optional off-grid immersion and campus residency confer no higher title and no higher grade. They unlock local-chapter governance rights, the ability to form a chapter, stand for election and hold office. Membership scales. Governance is earned.
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.
No. Scholar is the one grade with no recognition route. The programme and the capstone are the grade.
They are the summits of two different tracks. Falcon is the highest technical grade you can earn; Scholar is the highest management grade and the most senior credential NSD awards.
No. Lancer is a conferred honour on the technical track. Scholar is the highest grade anyone can earn by their own application.
No. Certification rests entirely on the live online sessions, attendance and the capstone. The immersion is optional and confers no additional grade.
A minimum of 75% attendance across the live sessions is required.
