About this event
eRaksha Hackathon 2026
Organizers: eDC IIT Delhi & CyberPeace Foundation
Edition: 5th Edition – National-level innovation & prototype development hackathon
Duration: 36-hour on-campus hackathon
Finale Venue: IIT Delhi (Grand Finale), Bharat Mandapam (Awards)
Prize Pool: ₹3,00,000
Overview
The eRaksha Hackathon 2026 is a national-level cyber and AI innovation challenge focused on defence-AI, cybersecurity, and digital safety.[attached_file:1][web:119] It is an official pre-summit event of BECon’26 and the India AI Impact Summit 2026, aiming to build deployable solutions that strengthen national security and digital trust.
Participants work on agentic, autonomous, and resilient systems across AI/ML, threat detection, secure systems, edge intelligence, and digital trust, guided by industry mentors and evaluated at a national level.
Competition Format & Timeline
Format: Innovation-driven, 36-hour on-campus prototype development hackathon.
Key Phases & Dates
- Registration Period:
22–31 December 2025 (individual or teams of up to 3)
- Shortlisting:
1–10 January 2026 — Top 20 teams (max 60 participants) shortlisted based on abstract / PPT/PDF idea submission.
- Grand Finale (IIT Delhi):
16–18 January 2026 — 36-hour on-campus hackathon at IIT Delhi (inauguration at IIT Delhi Auditorium)
- Award Ceremony:
10 February 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, during the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
Participants submit an abstract PPT/PDF outlining the problem, methodology, tech stack, and relevant experience as part of registration.
Core Problem Statements (Tracks)
1. Agentic AI for Securing Home IoT Devices Using Deception & Autonomous Defence
Design an agentic AI–powered plug-and-play home IoT security system that:
- Automatically discovers and profiles all home devices (TVs, cameras, bulbs, appliances, wearables).
- Builds baseline behavioural models and risk profiles.
- Detects outdated firmware, weak configurations, open ports, and likely exploitation targets.
- Uses deception technologies (honeypots / honeytokens).
- Provides real-time threat detection, response, and edge firewall-like monitoring.
> Outcome: A unified, real-time risk dashboard for home IoT devices and an autonomous agent to defend them.
2. Agentic AI for Deepfake Detection & Authenticity Verification
Develop an agentic AI system that autonomously identifies, analyses, and responds to deepfake audio/video across open-source, operational, and tactical environments.
Key expectations:
- On-device field agent for:
- Smartphones
- Body-cams
- Handheld tactical devices
- Offline, low-power edge inference with real-time results.
- Detection across multiple media formats (video, audio, images).
- Robust UI for cybersecurity professionals, moderators, and law enforcement.
- Detailed alerts with confidence scores and manipulation breakdown.
> Outcome: A reliable, fast, autonomous deepfake detection agent that learns from new threats and supports security agencies, platforms, and operatives.
Judging Criteria (Grand Finale)
Projects are evaluated on multiple weighted dimensions (typically 20% each):
- Innovation & Creativity:
Originality, disruption of traditional approaches, and alignment with the problem statement and theme.
- Technical Implementation & Feasibility:
Use of advanced AI/ML, real-time analysis, mitigation strategies, scalability, efficiency, and ethical/legal considerations.
- Technical Depth & Illustration:
Architecture clarity, diagrams/flows, code quality, choice of frameworks, and depth of explanation in documentation and demo.
- Impact on Security:
Practical effectiveness in enhancing surveillance, cyber defence, and digital safety in real-world contexts.
- Presentation & Clarity:
Quality of PPT/demo, clarity of narrative, structure, and persuasiveness of the final presentation.
Why Participate?
- Work on high-impact, defence-aligned AI and cybersecurity problems.
- Receive mentorship from leading experts in AI, cybersecurity, and threat intelligence.
- Compete for a ₹3 lakh prize pool and national recognition, with awards given by senior dignitaries at Bharat Mandapam.
- Get featured in the CyberChallenge Hall of Fame alongside top cybersecurity innovators.
eRaksha Hackathon 2026 is ideal if you want to build serious, deployable defence-AI prototypes around IoT security and deepfake detection with national-level visibility and impact.