Ashish K Upadhyay, CISA, CISSP, has stepped into a pivotal role as Assistant General Manager (Cybersecurity & Forensics) at the Government of Uttarakhand, additionally serving as Head of CERT-UK and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the Dehradun Smart City project. In this new capacity, Upadhyay will spearhead the state’s cyber resilience strategy, oversee critical infrastructure protection, and lead forensic readiness initiatives to reinforce the region’s digital backbone.
Backed by more than a decade of cross-sector cybersecurity experience across government, academia and private enterprises, Upadhyay joins the Uttarakhand government after an impactful tenure as Scientist (R&D) – Cybersecurity at IIT Kanpur. His earlier assignments include strategic cybersecurity roles at Tata Consultancy Services, Ministry of External Affairs, Jaguar Land Rover UK, BT Group, and Sony India Software Centre, where he led several path-breaking risk mitigation and defence initiatives.
An alumnus of IIT Kanpur with a master’s degree in Cyber Security, Ashish is globally credentialed with certifications including CISA, CRISC and CISSP. His distinguished career has been marked by hands-on experience in Zero Trust Architecture, cyber capability maturity modelling, cryptography, and incident response – expertise that will be instrumental as he strengthens Uttarakhand’s digital governance and smart city systems.
In his new leadership role, Upadhyay will focus on accelerating cybersecurity maturity, enhancing real-time threat monitoring, and driving proactive cyber defence mechanisms across the state’s growing digital infrastructure. His appointment underlines the Government of Uttarakhand’s commitment to developing a future-ready, secure, and resilient cyber ecosystem.