Bank of Maharashtra launches cybersecurity hackathon

Bank of Maharashtra has launched FinSpark'26, a national cybersecurity hackathon for students and dropouts in India focused on banking security challenges.

The hackathon invites participants to develop ideas and prototypes for two problem statements related to cyber risk and fraud in digital banking. Entries may be submitted by individuals or teams of up to four, with a prize pool of more than Rs. 10 lakh.

Built around the theme of securing the future of banking, FinSpark'26 seeks solutions to issues banks increasingly face as digital transactions grow. The contest focuses on practical applications in fraud prevention, cyber resilience and customer protection.

Problem areas

One challenge focuses on privileged access misuse and insider threat detection. The other explores how artificial intelligence can link cybersecurity telemetry with transactional behaviour to identify anomalies, suspicious activity and potential fraud patterns.

In the first category, participants are asked to consider how a bank might detect misuse of privileged accounts, identify insider threats, analyse behavioural patterns and support risk-based access controls. In the second, they must examine how cyber signals and transaction data can be connected to improve detection of irregular activity.

The competition is open to students and dropouts across India interested in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data analysis, fraud prevention and digital banking. Participants must choose one problem statement, prepare a structured idea or prototype, and submit it for evaluation.

Submissions will be judged on business relevance, security considerations, originality, user experience, scalability, and ease of development and maintenance. The top 20 teams will be shortlisted for a grand finale in Pune, where they will present their work to domain experts.

Wider push

The hackathon reflects a broader effort by financial institutions to seek external ideas for technical and security challenges as cyber threats grow more complex. Banks are increasingly turning to students, start-ups and independent developers through hackathons and innovation programmes to test new approaches to fraud monitoring, access control and risk detection.

For Bank of Maharashtra, the focus on insider risk and combining cyber and transaction data highlights two persistent concerns in banking security. Insider misuse is difficult to detect because legitimate access can be used in unauthorised ways, while disconnected security and transaction systems can make fast-moving fraud harder to identify.

The initiative is intended to serve as both a learning platform and a competition. Participants are expected to gain exposure to real banking security issues and receive mentoring as they refine their submissions through the selection process.

Explaining the rationale for the programme, the bank said: "Cybersecurity is one of the most important pillars of modern banking. Through FinSpark'26, Bank of Maharashtra aims to encourage young innovators to think deeply about real banking security challenges and build solutions that can contribute to a safer and more resilient digital banking ecosystem. This initiative reflects our commitment to innovation, technology adoption and nurturing future-ready talent."

The emphasis on real-world problem statements suggests the bank wants entries that can be translated into practical applications rather than theoretical exercises. The evaluation criteria also show that maintainability and ease of development will matter alongside originality, indicating that implementable ideas will carry weight in the judging process.

India's banking sector faces growing pressure to strengthen cyber defences as more customers shift to digital channels and payment platforms. In that context, programmes such as FinSpark'26 give banks a way to test fresh thinking on threats ranging from internal misuse to suspicious transaction behaviour.

The prize pool stands at more than Rs. 10 lakh, and the final round will bring together 20 shortlisted teams in Pune to present their banking security solutions before experts.