From a man of words to a man of tech, Saikat Datta’s career graph has undergone an exciting transformational journey in keeping with the times. Starting out as a journalist, he is now cofounder of DeepStrat, a think tank which focuses on a broad spectrum of issues from national security to foreign policy. He is also a strategic advisor at NullCon (India’s biggest cybersecurity conference) as well as at The Dialogue, a think tank working at the intersection of technology, public policy and society.

Saikat specialized in counterterrorism and cybersecurity projects as vice-president & head of de-risking strategies, of Reliance Global Corporate Security. He was also a consultant to the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre—a body created under India’s Information Technology Act—as the designated national agency for all cyberthreats to critical information infrastructure.

As a journalist, he has been the South Asia editor for Asia Times, consulting editor with Scroll, resident editor of DNA, national security editor of Hindustan Times, assistant editor with Outlook magazine and a security and strategic affairs correspondent with The Indian Express.

Saikat is the coauthor of India’s Special Forces, a book which discusses the employment and utility of India’s special operations. As an editor and an investigative journalist, his work was awarded the International Press Institute Award, the Jagan Phadnis Memorial Award and the National RTI Award.