The Payment Security Summit & Awards India 2025 took place in Mumbai on February 4. The event becomes important at a time when India has been named as the second most cyber attacked country in the world incurring losses of Rs 3 lakh crore due to cyber crime and recording 18 lakh plus incidents in a year alone. The event brought together over 350+ senior leaders from cybersecurity IT compliance BFSI Retail/Ecommerce Insurance Travel & Tourism and more to discuss payment security. Talking to us exclusively on the sidelines of the summit Lt Gen Dr Rajesh Pant (Chairman of the Cyber Security Association of India) emphasized on how India can wage a war and win against cyber crime. Acknowledging the fact that smart phones and smart devices have become common in tier two and three cities Dr Pant highlighted the lack of awareness as one of the main causes and agreed that the Government needs to step in aggressively. “Remember some years back we had a polio campaign which starred Amitabh Bachchan. Every Sunday ‘do boond Polio ki’ and that’s how we eradicated polio. We need that level and scale to create cyber security awareness across the country. He also felt that the awareness should start at the school level “as kids are increasinging using phones tabs laptops for recreation and also educational purposes.” But kids and adults or the young generation are not the only ones being targeted. “Pensioners are on the radar as well. And across the country in tier 2 and tier 3 cities not just our metros. So the whole society is at risk. No one is immune. If you have a smartphone or smart device you are a target” he said. Dr Pant who has also been the National Cyber Security Coordinator at the PMO felt that films can also have an impact in spreading awareness and urged governments and the entertainment industry to join hands to create content. “Films series can be a great way to make people aware. I am watching a series on Netflix called Zero Day. In the very first episode there’s a cyber attack in a whole country. Awareness through movies and other such content is great but a 360 degree campaign is needed to make old people and kids aware.” Dr Pant also spoke about the rampant Digital arrest and how the cybercriminal are now instilling fear into the minds of their victims attacking them with cyber psychology. He called for aggressive awareness campaigns and even stricter punishment for such acts to tackle the issue. The event was attended by the whos who from the payment security and cybercrime domain and the day was lined up with insightful panel discussions keynote sessions and workshops. The Chief Guest Shri Konda Vishweshwar Reddy MP (Chevelle Telangana) Engineer and Innovator spoke at length about the urgency to tackle cyber fraud and protecting financial security in Indias ever evolving digital landscape.