Airtel Business Secures Multi-Year Contract to Power Indian Railway’s Security Operations Centre (IRSOC)

Indian Railways, one of the world’s largest transport networks, operates more than 13,000 trains every day, serves over 20 million passengers, and processes millions of digital transactions daily, while also transporting over 1.5 billion tons of freight annually. Protecting such critical data—including passenger identities, payment information, and key operational systems for freight, ticketing, and signaling—is vital in an era of rising cyber threats.

With centralised and advanced security controls, Airtel Business will implement multi-layer protection across the railway’s expansive databases and ensure a resilient, compliant, and secure digital ecosystem. This project will cover end-to-end digital operations across 26 locations and protect the work of 160,000 employees. The security stack will integrate globally trusted solutions alongside Made in India cybersecurity innovations, delivering a sovereign, AI-embedded security infrastructure tailored for critical national assets.

Sharat Sinha, CEO & Director, Airtel Business, said In today’s environment of growing cyber risks that threaten operational continuity, data integrity, and passenger safety, strong defense mechanisms are indispensable. We are proud to be chosen by IRSOC as their trusted partner to secure India’s most complex and extensive digital infrastructure. Our comprehensive security layers will enhance efficiency in ticketing and data management, protect all digital operations against evolving threats, and ensure safe, seamless services for millions of passengers every day.”

Dilip Kumar, EDIP – Railway Board, added With Indian Railways’ increasing reliance on digital technologies for operations, maintenance, and procurement, cybersecurity is paramount. The establishment of IRSOC will provide a centralised monitoring hub to detect and respond to threats effectively, share intelligence with national cybersecurity agencies, and streamline IT asset management. This will not only improve service delivery but also safeguard passenger interests by ensuring uninterrupted services.”

Through Airtel Secure, Indian Railways will benefit from a centralised security architecture that delivers:

• Unified compliance & visibility: A comprehensive compliance dashboard for centralised visibility and real-time monitoring across 26+ locations and integrated tools.

• AI-driven endpoint protection: Advanced Endpoint Detection and Response solutions to continuously monitor and secure endpoints.

• Robust patch & vulnerability management: Real-time oversight of 190,000+ critical infrastructure assets across all locations.

• Next-generation monitoring: AI-powered SIEM, SOAR, and UEBA systems leveraging machine learning and behavioural analytics to predict and neutralise threats in real time, achieving a mean-time-to-detect (MTTD) of under 20 seconds.

• Threat intelligence & dark web monitoring: Proactive detection of risks before they impact railway operations.

• Strong network & access controls: Firewalls, MPLS networks, and credential safeguards to secure mission-critical applications.

With this collaboration, Indian Railways is set to establish one of the country’s most advanced cybersecurity ecosystems, protecting its digital backbone and enhancing secure service delivery for millions of citizens.