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The Hack4Safety: Cyber Security Hackathon, a national-level innovation challenge jointly organized by the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela and the Odisha Police, concluded on 9th November 2025 as part of Innovision 2025. The three-day event, held from 7th to 9th November, brought together young innovators, developers, and cybersecurity enthusiasts from across India to design technology-based solutions that can strengthen digital safety and enhance the efficiency of law enforcement systems.
Hack4Safety served as a platform to harness students’ creativity and technical expertise to address real-world problems related to cybercrime, victim support, and digital policing. Participants were challenged to design prototypes and software tools for the Crime Branch, Odisha Police, based on seven defined problem statements, including Cyber Fraud Victim Support, Missing Persons Tracking, Conviction Data Management, and Case Diary Digitization.
Out of over 2,000 registrations nationwide, 30 finalist teams were shortlisted to compete in the 24-hour finale round held at NIT Rourkela. The event carried a total prize pool of ₹2,00,000.
The team ‘3-Renegades’ emerged as the winner, securing the ₹1,00,000 top prize for their Cyber Helpline Chatbot solution. Team ‘Hashmappers’ won the runner-up position with their Case Diary Digitization and Analytics System, receiving ₹50,000.
Track prizes of ₹10,000 each were awarded to teams:
- Byte_brigade: Missing Person and Unidentified Dead Body Tracking System
- Def_sync: Court Attendance and Witness Tracking System
- Intellects: Conviction Data Management System
- CodeCrackers: Cyber Fraud Victim Support and Tracking System
- CatGpt: Good Work Done by Police Dashboard
The prize distribution ceremony was held in the presence of Shri Nitesh Wadhwani, Superintendent of Police, Rourkela, Prof. Niranjan Panda, Dean (Student Welfare), and Prof. Rajeev K. Panda, President, Student Activity Centre (SAC), who felicitated the winners and appreciated the participants’ efforts.
Earlier, the hackathon was inaugurated by Dr. Sarthak Sarangi, Inspector General of Police (CID-Crime Branch, Cuttack, Odisha), who emphasized that initiatives like Hack4Safety empower students to apply technology for public good and contribute to building a secure digital ecosystem.
The event concluded on an encouraging note, highlighting the potential of student-led innovation in strengthening cyber security initiatives through collaborative problem-solving.