The Hackers Meetup — April Event
April 28th, 2025, morning broke with cybersecurity experts, students, and tech enthusiasts congregating at the Ahmedabad office of GlobalVox for a special edition of The Hackers Meetup. The special edition was organized by the Comexpo Cyber Security Foundation around the top three themes of Cyber Law (with special emphasis on the BNS), Digital Forensics, and Dark Web Investigations. The venue itself became a platform for learning, a discussion forum, and a location for live demonstrations, and it offered a useful space for knowledge sharing in the field of cybersecurity. The conference featured four keynote speakers who spoke to a niche segment of cybersecurity. The conference began with a 10-minute talk by Zohra Qureshi titled “Security Shorts: Top 10 Cyber Crimes,” which was followed by in-depth presentations by Soham Raval, Dhrutika Barad, and Shashank Mishra.
Security Shorts by Zohra Qureshi — Top 10 Cyber Crimes
The meeting started with a clear and enlightening presentation from Zohra Qureshi, presenting the top ten most influential cyberattacks that are currently ongoing, affecting users, organizations, and even governments worldwide. The presentation was kept short and simple, particularly for those who are relatively new to the cybersecurity field. Zohra emphasized standard but essential attack types such as: Phishing, Ransomware, Identity Theft, Social Engineering and more. All of these threats were described concisely with examples and real-world ramifications. The goal was to inform the audience about the character of these attacks, how they are carried out, and what simple preventive steps people and organizations can take to counter them. It was an attention-grabbing introduction to the event and provided a good lead-in to the technical deep dives that followed.
Soham Raval — Revealing Digital Truth with Forensics
The second lecture was conducted by Soham Raval, who gave an extensive lecture regarding how digital forensics is used to discover evidence of cybercrime. The lecture lasted for approximately an hour and was full of information on how forensic examiners proceed with gathering, analyzing, and presenting evidence in the digital world. He spoke about the subject of digital forensics, the different forms of forensics (i.e., network forensics, mobile forensics, and disk forensics), and provided information on how criminals attempt to conceal their tracks and make it hard for investigators to find them. One of the most significant tools Soham demonstrated was Autopsy, an extensively utilized open-source digital forensic tool. Soham also discussed two extremely fascinating GitHub based tools: WA-HACK and WA-KDBE, which could possibly be used for some forensic work. Though not demonstrated live, the tools were recommended to be tried out. Soham emphasized the necessity of precision, patience, and ethical responsibility in digital forensics, and left the audience with a better notion of what it takes to be able to effectively conduct a complete cybercrime investigation.
Dhrutika Barad — Cyber Laws in the BNS Era
She was succeeded by Dhrutika Barad, who took the discussion from cyberattacks to legal frameworks. Her talk was on Cyber Law in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the new criminal code passed recently that has abolished parts of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), like its extension to cybercrime regulation. Dhrutika covered how the IT Act of 2000 was amended in 2008 to form the current legal frameworks under BNS. The audience went through the significant changes and additions, i.e., the ones concerning digital rights, privacy, and data protection. To add some interest to the session, she accompanied her explanation with some well documented Indian case laws. One of the most publicized examples illustrated was that of Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India, a landmark ruling which held Section 66A of the IT Act to be unconstitutional, which was widely criticized for restricting freedom of speech on the internet. Her presentation was particularly relevant to students and young cybersecurity engineers since it connected the technical and investigative nature of cybercrime to the legal nature and judicial reactions. Cyber law in a nation like India, where legal developments are changing at a fast pace, is something that everyone in the online world needs to know.
Shashank Mishra — Dark Web Research using AI
The final presenter of the day was Shashank Mishra, who had traveled in from Mumbai to give a considered presentation on the use of Artificial Intelligence in dark web investigations. This was possibly the most data-centric and future-facing part of the conference. Shashank discussed how AI is being used in investigative software to track, trace, and even forecast dark web activity. He discussed how much data big companies own — everything from dinner order habits to health forecasts — and how it can be used for nefarious purposes or anonymously sold on dark web forums. He illustrated how AI programs can identify patterns and uncover obscured relationships among anonymous users, illegal transactions, and data breaches. Without naming specific corporations, the message was unequivocal: your data is a weapon in the wrong hands. His presentation highlighted the growing need for ethical data handling and smart tools that can adapt to address shifting cybercrime strategies.
A Blockchain-Based Gamified Auction Demo by GlobalVox
In addition to the speaker sessions, the attendees were also given an inside look at an intriguing product developed by GlobalVox, the host of the event. A senior GlobalVox member gave a live demonstration of a blockchain gamified auction website. The product offers eight different algorithms to execute an auction in a secure, decentralized, and competitive process, integrating blockchain and gaming-like features to deliver a new type of digital market experience. The presentation was not extremely technical but showed how blockchain can extend beyond cryptocurrency and be used in interactive, real-time business systems.
Conclusion
This version of The Hackers Meetup presented a well-balanced view of the current cybersecurity situation, bridging the gaps between awareness, research, legislation, and innovation. From Zohra’s opening presentation of the top 10 cybercrimes to Soham’s forensic breakdown of methodologies, from Dhrutika’s legal walkthrough of BNS to Shashank’s AI based analysis of the dark web, the event presented actionable insights across domains. The conference was also a networking arena where students, professionals, and organizations were brought together under one roof. The interactive environment, live tool demonstrations, and interactive discussions made it a good learning experience for all attendees.
