\In an AI-driven world, cyber trust is confidence in outcomes, not just protection & the CISO’s role is to ensure that autonomy, innovation & accountability scale together, so what we build can be trusted not just in India, but by the world.”

In the Agentic Era, cyber trust goes beyond protecting systems. It represents confidence in outcomes. As autonomous AI systems make decisions without human intervention, trust becomes the belief that these systems will operate within clearly defined intent, values and constraints, even when no one is watching. Trust is no longer static or binary. It is continuously assessed. When autonomous systems can explain why they acted, adapt as risk increases, and be constrained or shut down when required, autonomy becomes a strategic strength rather than a liability.

Over the next three to five years, enterprises will confront quieter and more intelligent agent driven threats. Instead of loud disruptions, adversaries will operate at machine speed, learning from defenses in real time and blending seamlessly into legitimate activity. A growing concern will be compromised or misaligned internal agents. These are systems that were trusted and deployed at scale but later behave in unintended ways. The most difficult threats to detect will resemble routine business operations until the impact becomes visible.

As enterprises transition to AI first operating models and hyper automation, the CISO’s role is evolving from security operator to strategic custodian of trust and autonomy. The focus is no longer limited to protection. It now includes defining how much decision making authority machines should hold and under what conditions. Modern CISOs translate technical risk into business consequence and ethical intent into enforceable controls. By working closely with boards, regulators and product teams, they ensure that innovation scales responsibly while aligning speed, safety and accountability.

Strong governance acts as a force multiplier. By embedding clear intent, accountability and continuous oversight into AI systems, CISOs enable confident innovation. The aspiration is to make cybersecurity foundational to India’s digital transformation and to build systems grounded in resilience, transparency and global trust.

The Journey Into Industry

Bhavik Dedhia is the Chief Information Security Officer at ECL Finance Ltd, bringing extensive experience in cybersecurity, regulatory compliance and enterprise risk management. He specializes in Information Security and Security Operations Center leadership, with deep expertise in threat detection, incident response and vulnerability management across applications, networks and cloud environments. 

Bhavik has led end to end security architecture initiatives while aligning controls with industry standards and regulatory mandates. With strong project management capabilities, he drives cross functional collaboration to deliver resilient security outcomes. Committed to building a strong security culture, he aligns cybersecurity strategy with business objectives to ensure sustainable, enterprise wide protection.