Kolkata, October 26, 2026: State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest bank, has inaugurated CyRIS, a Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence, aimed at strengthening India’s digital financial resilience and enhancing the banking sector’s preparedness against emerging cyber threats.
The Centre was inaugurated by Sanjay Lohiya, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, in the presence of Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, Chairman, SBI, along with senior government and bank officials.
CyRIS brings together cyber policy, cybersecurity training, innovation, research, threat intelligence and cyber defence capabilities under a unified strategic platform. The initiative is designed to help SBI anticipate emerging threats, strengthen incident response and contribute to a safer digital financial ecosystem.
Three Strategic Pillars: THINK, INNOVATE and DEFEND
The Centre will operate through three key pillars, each addressing a critical aspect of cybersecurity preparedness.
- THINK – Shape the Cyber Future: Focuses on cyber policy, cybersecurity education and citizen-centric initiatives to strengthen awareness, talent development and policy frameworks.
- INNOVATE – Create What’s Next: Promotes innovation, research and benchmarking to develop new cybersecurity solutions and assess cyber maturity against evolving global practices.
- DEFEND – Protect What Matters: Strengthens cyber defence, threat intelligence and resilience to support early threat detection, faster response and improved preparedness.
CyRIS will concentrate on emerging digital safety and technology areas, including threat intelligence, digital forensics, malware analysis, ethical hacking, fraud analytics, artificial intelligence security and quantum-safe technologies.
The Centre will also encourage collaboration among government and regulatory bodies, financial institutions, fintech companies, academic institutions and technology partners to address cyber threats that increasingly extend across organisational boundaries.
SBI Emphasises Proactive Cyber Defence
Speaking at the inauguration, SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said cybersecurity was fundamental to customer trust and the resilience of the digital financial ecosystem. He added that CyRIS would strengthen the bank’s ability to anticipate emerging threats and stay ahead of the evolving cyber landscape.
Sanjay Lohiya, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, highlighted the importance of strengthening cyber resilience alongside India’s growing digital financial ecosystem. He described CyRIS as a timely initiative to enhance capabilities, collaboration and preparedness across the sector.
Strengthening Cybersecurity Across Banking Operations
SBI continues to strengthen its cybersecurity framework through multiple layers of security controls, regular audits, vulnerability assessments and incident-response mechanisms. The bank is also enhancing threat detection and response capabilities while conducting cybersecurity drills and employee training programmes.
According to the bank, nearly 1.81 lakh employees completed mandatory cybersecurity e-learning during FY 2025–26. These efforts are complemented by customer awareness initiatives focused on digital safety and fraud prevention.
With the launch of CyRIS, SBI aims to further develop its cybersecurity capabilities, encourage research and collaboration, and strengthen preparedness against evolving digital risks across India’s financial services ecosystem.
