The Data Security Council of India has launched the Cyber Awareness Design Challenge to leverage the creative potential of design students from leading institutions, graphic designers and content creators across India to develop innovative, impactful, and culturally resonant cyber awareness content.
The themes for the challenge include Social Media Safety, Digital Payment Safety, App and Account Security, Email Security, and AI Generated Cyber Scams. The initiative invites participation from design and tech students, communication and media students, freelancers, graphic designers, and content creators or influencers.
Participants can choose from four creative categories—Most Appealing Short Video, Most Creative Comic Strip, Most Insightful Poster Series, and Most Engaging Reel. Each category specifies its own content format, dimensions, and minimum submission requirements to ensure consistency and quality across entries.
The challenge carries total prize money worth INR 2,00,000, with INR 50,000 allocated to each category. The top three winners per category will receive cash prizes of ₹25,000 for the Winner, ₹15,000 for the First Runner-Up, and ₹10,000 for the Second Runner-Up. In addition, winners will receive certificates and complimentary access to AISS 2025, DSCI’s flagship event. Eligible entries apart from the winners that may be used in DSCI’s future awareness campaigns will also receive a Certificate of Achievement and due credit.
The contest is open to Indian citizens aged 18 years and above who possess a social media account to upload their content. All submissions must be original, relevant, and aligned with cyber safety and awareness themes.
The use of AI-assisted tools is permitted if clearly disclosed, but plagiarism or unoriginal AI-generated work will lead to disqualification. Entries must not include offensive or unlawful content, and any detection of impersonation or unfair practices will result in removal from the contest.
To participate, applicants need to design or create awareness content for their chosen category, post it on at least one social media platform using the hashtag #DSCICyberDesignChallenge, and tag the official DSCI handle in the caption.
Entries must then be submitted through the designated nomination form link. While participants can apply for multiple categories, each entry must be shared as a separate post with its own submission form.
All content must be uploaded on one of the five major social media platforms, with the required hashtag and tagging of DSCI. The post should focus solely on awareness messaging without explicit mention of the challenge in the caption.
Entries will be evaluated by an expert jury comprising professionals from cybersecurity, design, and communication domains. The evaluation will consider creativity and innovation, content quality and relevance, design quality, impact and engagement, and feasibility.
The jury’s decision will be final, and selected entries may be refined in consultation with creators for DSCI’s official awareness campaigns.
The deadline for submissions is 15th November 2025.
