Terrier Cyber Quest 2025: A National Challenge to Boost India's Defence Technology

As part of its bold Decade of Transformation, the Indian Army has unveiled the Terrier Cyber Quest 2025- the first of its kind, a national-level challenge aimed at tackling some of the most urgent defence and cybersecurity issues impacting the country. 

This event was hosted in New Delhi and organized in partnership with IIT Madras, the Indian Army Research Cell (IARC), and CyberPeace and features presentations on the future of cybersecurity in India where they seek novel ideas to enhance their digital frontiers.

Objectives of Terrier Cyber Quest 2025

The challenge pursues a two-fold purpose:

• Indigenous Innovation: Accelerate quantum machine learning and cybersecurity research and development, which is essential to the integrity of India’s defence domain.

• Talent Development: Build capacity to develop digital warriors, where individuals have the ability to think critically and develop faster prototypes that can be translated into practicable solutions in the defence technology.

• Competition Tracks

Terrier Cyber Quest 2025 is organized in two hi-tech competition tracks:

Track One – Bug Hunting Challenge

It is a live, high-intensity hackathon in which participants take part in a live 36-hour bug hunt, on the BOSS Linux platform. This is aimed at discovering and reporting operating system vulnerabilities in a simulated Indian Army setting, thus assisting to increase the resilience of vital defence systems.

Track Two – Datathon

An advanced data science competition that involves the entrants to develop advanced technological defence solutions. The 2025 emphasis is made on predictive threat intelligence and anomaly detection with huge datasets to enable counter and avert cyber attacks.

Advanced Problem Statements

Terrier Cyber Quest 2025 challenges innovators with problem statements at the crossroads of AI, quantum computing, and cybersecurity such as:

• Drone Flight Anomaly Detection: Designing systems for detecting abnormal drone behavior, crucial for surveillance and defense on the battlefield.

• Quantum-Enhanced Malware & Ransomware Detection: Designing new algorithms and tools that can detect complex cyber threats in real time using quantum machine learning.

• Deepfake Detection: Track Two winners create complete working solutions based on AI/ML to address the challenge of deepfake technology—a rising threat to cybersecurity and defence communication.

Grand Finale and Honors

Finalists go through critical infrastructure attack-defence simulations and deepfake detection using AI challenges under a 36-hour competitive marathon. The winners will be awarded by the Chief of the Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi, and their solutions could have a direct influence on determining India's defence technology direction.

The special recognition scheme of the event is to credit not only individual excellence but also contributions that meaningfully enhance India's digital and national security.

Indian Army Terrier Cyber Quest 2025 is not just a contest—it is a call to action for defence technology innovation on a national scale. In encouraging innovative problem-solving in AI, ML, quantum computing, and cybersecurity, the competition seeks to create a future-proof defence corps with the skills and capabilities required to protect against tomorrow's digital threats. India's emerging tech talent is ready to become the country's frontline cyber defenders in its fast-emerging cyber ecosystem