Hyderabad, 9^th December 2019: INFOCOM, one of the largest congregations of technology professionals, buyers-sellers, corporate leaders, academics, visionaries, and policymakers is into its 18th edition with a three-day business-technology-leadership conclave at ITC Sonar, Kolkata. The conference entered its third and final day with INFOCOM State Forum 2019 where various participating states took turns in showcasing the prowess of the respective states. Day 3 also saw the return of INFOCOM Hackstars Forum 2019. The closing plenary sessions provided a star-studded climax to the 2019 edition of INFOCOM with maverick actress Tabu taking the stage. The final day of INFOCOM 2019 proceeded in two tracks- Track A & Track B.

Track A of Day 3 started with a panel discussion on ‘Challenges for Entrepreneurs in 2020’ which was chaired and moderated by Mr. Kalyan Kar, Co-Founder & MD, inQube and had panelists such as Mr. Subho Samanta, Founder, Dirac Business Solutions, Mr. Ranodeep Saha, Co-Founder, Rare Planet Handicrafts, Mr. Varun Biyani, Co-Founder and CTO, SuperProcure, Ms. Manjir Chatterjee, Folk India and Mr. Navin Ladha, CEO & Founder, Rance Lab.

This was succeeded by a State Showcase on ‘Unleashing the Potential of Bihar’ by Mr. Rahul Singh, IAS, Secretary – IT, Government of Bihar. This was succeeded by a Tourism showcase on ‘Breathtaking Bengal’ addressed by Ms. Nandini Chakravorty, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal.

This was followed by a Government- Private Panel discussion on ‘Collaborative working to build the Future Society’ chaired and moderated by Mr. Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group. The panelists included noted speakers like Mr. Sunil Kalra, Head – State –E-Governance Mission Team, Department of IT, Government of Bihar, Mr. Sarvesh Singhal, CEO, JAP IT, Mr. Salil Das, Director – IT, Government of Tripura, Mr. Sanjoy Chatterjee, Director of the Board and CTO, Ideation Technology Solutions and Mr. Nirupam Chaudhuri, Regional Director – East, NASSCOM.

 Post the networking lunch Track A, started off with the Opening of Tourism Showcase with the theme ‘Visions for India Tourism 2025’.

This first Tourism Showcase was on ‘Mystic MEGHALAYA’ addressed by Shri Tathagata Roy, H.E. The Governor of Meghalaya and Mr. Cyril V Darlong Diengdoh, IAS, Director of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya followed by a Tourism Showcase on Jammu & Kashmir by Mr. Sarfaraz Deputy Director, Tourism Directorate, Government of Jammu and Kashmir.

This was followed by a keynote session on ‘Customer Experience for Business Sustainability’ by Mr. Prasenjit Roy, Senior Executive Vice President - Marketing, NTT – Netmagic.

Mr. Subrata Mukherjee, Hon'ble Minister in Charge, Departments of Panchayat, Non-Conventional & Renewal Energy Sources, Government of West Bengal delivered an address on Rural Rejuvenation In Bengal

Track B of the CIO & Security Forum commenced with a panel discussion on ‘Pitfalls and Wins on the path to Zero Trust’ which was chaired and moderator Mr. Partha Sengupta, Senior Vice President – IT Services, ITC Infotech India. The panel comprised of distinguished guests like Mr. Navaneethan M, Senior VP, CISO and Head – IT, PayU Payments Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Sriram Lakshmanan, Vice President – Cyber Security Assurance, Genpact, Ms. Maya R Nair, CISO, Lentra AI Pvt. Ltd. and Mr. Nitin Gaur, Director - Information Security & Compliance, Omega Healthcare Management Services.

This was succeeded by a panel discussion on ‘Innovation in Securities from Preventing to Detecting’ chaired and moderated by Mr. Hemant Arora, Partner – Cyber Security, PwC with renowned speakers like Mr. Parna Ghosh, Group CIO, UNO Minda Group, Mr. Umesh Mehta, CIO, Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd, Mr. Joydeep Dutta, Executive Director & Group CTO, CDSL and Mr. Imran Khan, Head of Business Development and Digital Media, Daily Samakal, Bangladesh.

A keynote address on ‘Tackling the Rise and Spread of Crime’ by Mr. Anuj Sharma, IPS, Hon’ble Commissioner of Police, Kolkata followed.

This was followed by a panel discussion on the topic ‘Abusing the Internet of Things’, chaired and moderated by Mr. Sandeep Sengupta, Founder and Director – ISOAH Data Securities. The panel included Mr. Hilal Khan, Vice President & Operating Head - IT, Honda Cars India Ltd, Mr. Puneesh Lamba, Group CIO, C K Birla Group, Mr. Bala Ramanan, Senior Director – Risk & Compliance, Microland, Mr. Jitendra Singh, CIO, JK Cement Limited and Mr. Saradindu Paul, Vice President & Group CIO, Electrosteel Castings Ltd.

Post lunch break, in Track B the INFOCOM Hackstars 2019 commenced with a panel discussion on the topic of ‘Preserving Your Digital Identity – Threats and Measures. Mr. Harish Agarwal, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP was the chairperson and moderator of the session that witnessed eminent panelists like Mr. Bharat B Anand, Chief of Technology, National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India, Mr. A Shiju Rawther, EVP – Technology, IIFL Finance Ltd, Md. Tajdin Hassan,  Head – Marketing, The Daily Star, Bangladesh, Mr. Sanjay Prasad, CIO, RP-SG CESC Power Group and Mr. Sandeep Sengupta, Founder and Director – ISOAH Data Securities share their thoughts during the session.

A gaming session on Hack the Hackers followed. A Real Time Game where audience participated in a practical demo showcasing how common people are vulnerable to traps laid by hackers.

This was followed by a keynote session on Mitigating the two biggest risks in cybersecurity - Humans and Emails! by Mr. Sanchit Guliani, AVP – Marketing & Partnerships, Infosec Ventures.

Track B for Day 3 of INFOCOM 2019 concluded with a workshop, Xtreme Hacking - Live Demo by ISOAH on IoT Hacking. Model Projects by Cyber Club of Schools of Calcutta, Live Demos by GenY Hackers, where young talents showcased their projects before industry experts.

The Closing Plenary Sessions for INFOCOM 2019 begun with a Spotlight Session on ‘The Human Factor - Cybersecurity is Made Out of People’. The Keynote Speaker for this session was Renowned and Award-Winning Investigative Journalist and Leading Expert on Cyber Crime, Mr. Misha Glenny. Misha Glenny's 2008 book McMafia illuminates the byzantine outlines of global organized crime. Whether it's pot smugglers in British Columbia, oil/weapons/people traffickers in Eastern Europe, Japanese yakuza or Nigerian scammers, to research this magisterial work Glenny penetrated the convoluted, globalized and franchised modern underworld -- often at considerable personal risk. There was an interactive session held with Mr. Glenny at the end of the session by Mr. K P Unnikrishnan, Vice President - Marketing, Asia Pacific & Japan, Palo Alto Networks.

Next was another Spotlight Session that featured maverick actress Tabu in conversation with Filmmaker, Author, Producer, and Biographer Mr. Ram Kamal Mukherjee. ‘Breaking Stereotypes’ was the topic of discussion for the evening, which saw the actress shed light on various aspects of profession, including how veteran actors are adapting to new media and OTT platforms.

This was followed by the Valedictory Session on ‘What next for Bengal?’ where keynote speaker Dr. Amit Mitra, Hon’ble Minister for Information Technology & Electronics, Finance, Industry, Commerce & Enterprises and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises & Textiles Departments, Government of West Bengal shared what Bengal has to offer next.