Privacy Policy

The platform is operated by:

NEXUSCIPHERGUARD INDIA (OPC) PRIVATE LIMITED

Registered Office:
Bayavu Hill, Kohima, Nagaland 797001, India

Email: info@nexuscipherguard.in
Phone: +91 8132872135

For the purposes of applicable Indian data protection law, NEXUSCIPHERGUARD INDIA acts as the Data Fiduciary in relation to personal data processed by us through this platform, except where another organisation independently determines the purposes and means of processing its own data.

Where a hackathon is jointly organised with a university, educational institution, corporate organisation, government body, sponsor, community, or other partner, that organisation may separately process certain personal data in accordance with its own privacy policy and applicable law.

This Privacy Policy applies to personal data processed by us in connection with:

• The hackathon platform and associated websites;
• Hackathon registration and applications;
• Participant, team and organiser accounts;
• Hackathon submissions and project information;
• Judging, evaluation and selection;
• Event administration and participation;
• Communication with applicants, participants, mentors, judges and organisers;
• Partnership, sponsorship and collaboration enquiries;
• Workshops, programmes and related activities;
• Photography, videography and event documentation, where applicable; and
• Other services or activities that expressly refer to this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to third-party websites, applications, payment services, social media platforms or other services that may be linked from our platform. Their processing of personal data is governed by their respective privacy policies.

“Personal data” means information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual, to the extent recognised as such under applicable law.

Depending on how you interact with us, the personal data we process may include the following.

3.1 Registration and Account Information

This may include:

• Full name;
• Email address;
• Mobile or telephone number;
• Account credentials;
• Password information in appropriately secured and hashed form;
• Profile photograph, where provided;
• Account creation and authentication information; and
• Other information necessary to operate your account.

We do not intentionally store your password in plain-text form.

3.2 Participant and Application Information

When you apply for or participate in a hackathon, we may collect:

• Name;
• Age or date of birth, where required;
• Gender, where voluntarily provided and relevant to the event;
• Educational institution;
• Course, programme or field of study;
• Academic or professional information;
• City, state and country;
• Team information;
• Team member information;
• Project information;
• Application responses;
• Skills and areas of interest;
• Portfolio, GitHub, LinkedIn or other professional links voluntarily submitted;
• Eligibility information; and
• Other information reasonably required to administer the relevant hackathon.

3.3 Documents and Verification Information

Where necessary for eligibility, verification, selection, prizes, institutional requirements or event administration, we may request documents such as:

• Student identification cards;
• Institutional identification;
• Government-issued identification;
• Resume or curriculum vitae;
• Certificates;
• Proof of eligibility;
• Consent documentation;
• Parental or guardian consent; or
• Other supporting documents specifically requested for the relevant event.

We will seek to limit document collection to information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

You should not upload documents containing unnecessary personal or sensitive information.

3.4 Team and Project Information

Hackathon participants may submit:

• Team names;
• Team member details;
• Project titles;
• Project descriptions;
• Source code or repositories;
• Presentations;
• Demonstrations;
• Documentation;
• Screenshots;
• Videos;
• URLs;
• Technical architecture information; and
• Other materials forming part of a hackathon submission.

Project materials may contain information belonging to the participant or third parties. Participants are responsible for ensuring that they have the necessary rights and permissions before submitting such materials.

3.5 Communications

If you contact us, we may collect:

• Your name;
• Email address;
• Telephone number;
• Organisation or institution;
• Message or enquiry;
• Attachments; and
• Other information you voluntarily provide.

This includes communications relating to partnerships, sponsorships, event participation, support and general enquiries.

3.6 Technical and Usage Information

When you use our platform, certain technical information may be processed automatically, including:

• IP address;
• Browser and device information;
• Operating system;
• Approximate location derived from technical information;
• Date and time of access;
• Pages or sections accessed;
• Referring and exit pages;
• Authentication and session information;
• Error and diagnostic information; and
• Security-related logs.

We use such information primarily for security, reliability, troubleshooting, analytics where enabled, and prevention or investigation of misuse.

3.7 Consent and Preference Records

We may maintain records showing:

• Whether and when consent was obtained;
• The purpose for which consent was obtained;
• Withdrawal of consent;
• Privacy requests;
• Communication preferences; and
• Other records necessary to demonstrate or administer compliance with applicable law.

We may collect personal data:

• Directly from you when you create an account;
• When you submit a hackathon application;
• When you register for an event;
• When you submit a project;
• When you communicate with us;
• When you upload documents;
• When you participate in judging, mentoring or related activities;
• Automatically through your use of the platform;
• From your team members where necessary for team administration;
• From a parent or legal guardian where applicable;
• From an organising institution or partner where the relevant event requires it; or
• From other lawful sources where permitted by applicable law.

Where personal data is provided about another individual, you should have the authority or lawful basis to provide that information.

We process personal data only for legitimate and specified purposes.

Depending on the circumstances, these purposes may include:

5.1 Account Administration

To:

• Create and maintain accounts;
• Authenticate users;
• Manage profiles;
• Provide access to platform functionality; and
• Maintain account security.

5.2 Hackathon Administration

To:

• Receive and process applications;
• Determine eligibility;
• Form and manage teams;
• Communicate event information;
• Coordinate participants;
• Facilitate mentors and judges;
• Conduct evaluations;
• Manage schedules;
• Administer prizes and awards;
• Maintain event records; and
• Conduct the hackathon effectively.

5.3 Communications

To communicate with you regarding:

• Application status;
• Registration;
• Selection;
• Event schedules;
• Changes to event arrangements;
• Important administrative notices;
• Technical issues;
• Security matters;
• Your enquiries; and
• Other communications directly related to services or events you have requested.

Certain service-related communications may be necessary for participation and may therefore continue even where you have opted out of optional promotional communications.

5.4 Security and Fraud Prevention

To:

• Detect and prevent unauthorised access;
• Protect the platform;
• Investigate suspicious activity;
• Prevent abuse, fraud or manipulation;
• Maintain audit trails;
• Protect participants and organisers; and
• Respond to security incidents.

5.5 Legal and Regulatory Compliance

To comply with:

• Applicable laws;
• Lawful governmental requests;
• Court orders;
• Regulatory requirements;
• Tax, accounting or financial obligations;
• Dispute resolution requirements; and
• Other legally binding obligations.

5.6 Platform Improvement

Where permitted by applicable law and appropriate consent requirements, we may use technical and usage information to:

• Understand platform performance;
• Diagnose errors;
• Improve usability;
• Improve security;
• Analyse aggregate usage patterns; and
• Develop or improve our services.

Where consent is required under applicable law, we will seek consent in a manner that is clear, informed and capable of being demonstrated.

Where consent is the basis for processing, you may withdraw that consent through the mechanism made available by us or by contacting us using the details provided in this Privacy Policy.

Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Withdrawal may also affect our ability to provide certain services or permit participation where the relevant processing is necessary for the service or event.

Where another lawful basis for processing applies, withdrawal of consent will not necessarily require us to stop that processing.

Certain information is necessary for us to provide particular services or administer a hackathon.

For example, information may be necessary to:

• Verify eligibility;
• Identify participants;
• Communicate with participants;
• Form teams;
• Evaluate applications;
• Administer prizes;
• Meet institutional requirements; or
• Maintain platform security.

Where information is mandatory, we will endeavour to identify it at the point of collection.

If you choose not to provide information that is necessary for a particular purpose, we may be unable to provide the corresponding service or permit participation in the relevant activity.

Information requested for optional purposes will be identified where reasonably practicable.

NEXUSCIPHERGUARD INDIA may organise hackathons together with:

• Universities;
• Colleges;
• Educational institutions;
• Government bodies;
• Corporate organisations;
• Sponsors;
• Technology partners;
• Community organisations; and
• Other event partners.

Where necessary to conduct a particular event, relevant participant information may be shared with such partners.

Examples include information required for:

• Participant verification;
• Venue access;
• Registration;
• Event administration;
• Team management;
• Judging;
• Mentoring;
• Certification;
• Prize administration;
• Institutional reporting; and
• Event-related communications.

We will seek to limit such sharing to information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

Event-specific notices may provide additional information about particular partners and data-sharing arrangements.

Where a hackathon requires judging or mentoring, relevant participant and project information may be made available to authorised:

• Judges;
• Mentors;
• Reviewers;
• Technical experts;
• Organisers; and
• Evaluation committees.

The information shared may include application information, team information and project materials necessary for evaluation.

Participants should avoid including unnecessary personal information, credentials, secrets, passwords, private keys, confidential third-party information or other information that is not required for their submission.

We may use third-party service providers to operate and secure our platform and services.

These may include providers of:

• Cloud hosting;
• Database services;
• Authentication;
• Email delivery;
• Communications;
• File storage;
• Security monitoring;
• Analytics;
• Website infrastructure;
• Customer support;
• Error monitoring; and
• Other technical services.

Such providers may process personal data on our behalf where necessary to provide their services.

We expect relevant service providers to maintain appropriate safeguards and process personal data only for authorised purposes and in accordance with applicable contractual and legal requirements.

We do not sell personal data to third parties.

We do not sell your personal data.

We do not intend to use participant personal data for targeted advertising unrelated to the hackathon or service for which the information was collected.

If we introduce advertising, marketing analytics or similar technologies in the future, we will implement appropriate disclosures, consent mechanisms and controls where required by applicable law.

Our platform may use cookies and similar technologies.

Essential Cookies

Essential cookies may be required for:

• Login;
• Authentication;
• Session management;
• Security;
• Basic functionality; and
• Other essential platform operations.

These cookies may operate without optional analytics or advertising consent where permitted by applicable law.

Optional Analytics

If analytics technologies are introduced, we will provide appropriate notice and obtain consent where required.

Third-Party Technologies

Some third-party services integrated into the platform may independently use cookies or similar technologies. Their practices are governed by their respective privacy policies.

You may also control cookies through your browser settings, although disabling certain cookies may affect platform functionality.

For the purposes of applicable Indian data protection law, a child is an individual below eighteen years of age.

Our hackathons may, depending on the specific event, be open to participants below eighteen.

Where we process the personal data of a child, we will implement the requirements applicable to children's personal data, including obtaining verifiable parental or lawful guardian consent where required.

We will not knowingly undertake processing of children's personal data in a manner prohibited by applicable law.

We will not knowingly undertake behavioural monitoring of children or targeted advertising directed at children where prohibited by applicable law.

Where a hackathon has an age restriction of eighteen years or above, individuals below that age will not be eligible to register for that particular event.

Event-specific rules may impose additional age, parental consent or eligibility requirements.

If you believe that we have processed a child's personal data improperly or without the required consent, please contact us promptly.

Hackathons may involve photography, videography, interviews, livestreaming, recordings and other event documentation.

Where photographs, videos or recordings are collected or used for event documentation, publicity, reporting, promotional material or related purposes, we will provide appropriate notice and seek consent where required by applicable law.

Where appropriate, participants may be informed separately about media participation or given an opportunity to opt out.

Event-specific terms may contain additional information concerning photography, video recording, livestreaming and publication.

Participants should also avoid recording or publicly disclosing another participant's private information without appropriate permission.

Certain information may be displayed publicly as part of a hackathon, depending on the event structure.

This may include:

• Team name;
• Project name;
• Project description;
• Participant name;
• Institution;
• Award or ranking;
• Public project links; and
• Other information expressly identified as public.

Where personal information is intended to be publicly displayed and consent is required, we will provide an appropriate notice or consent mechanism.

Participants should not include confidential personal information in publicly accessible project descriptions, repositories, presentations or demonstrations.

Hackathon submissions may contain intellectual property, confidential information, proprietary code, trade secrets or other sensitive material.

Participants are responsible for determining what they submit and for ensuring that they have the necessary rights to submit the material.

We strongly recommend that participants do not include:

• Passwords;
• API keys;
• Authentication tokens;
• Private cryptographic keys;
• Credentials;
• Unnecessary personal information;
• Confidential third-party information; or
• Production secrets.

The processing of project submissions is also governed by the applicable hackathon rules and Terms and Conditions.

This Privacy Policy does not transfer ownership of intellectual property merely because a project or submission is provided to us.

We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data against:

• Unauthorised access;
• Unauthorised disclosure;
• Accidental loss;
• Destruction;
• Alteration;
• Misuse; and
• Other unauthorised processing.

Depending on the system and data involved, security measures may include:

• Access controls;
• Authentication controls;
• Password hashing;
• Encryption where appropriate;
• Secure communications;
• Database security controls;
• Logging and monitoring;
• Role-based access;
• Secure software development practices;
• Backup and recovery procedures;
• Security testing; and
• Incident response procedures.

No internet-based service can guarantee absolute security. Accordingly, while we take reasonable precautions, we cannot guarantee that personal data will never be subject to unauthorised access or security incidents.

Participants are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their account credentials and must notify us if they suspect unauthorised access to their account.

If we become aware of a personal data breach, we will take appropriate steps to:

1. Identify and contain the incident;
2. Assess its nature and potential impact;
3. Take reasonable measures to mitigate harm;
4. Preserve relevant evidence and records;
5. Investigate the cause;
6. Implement corrective measures; and
7. Provide notifications to affected individuals, authorities or other parties where required by applicable law.

Notifications will be made in accordance with the requirements and timelines applicable to us at the relevant time.

We retain personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or for longer where required or permitted by applicable law.

Our retention approach may include the following:

Account Information

Account information may be retained while an account remains active. Following account closure or a verified deletion request, information will generally be deleted or anonymised within a reasonable period, subject to legal, security, dispute-resolution or other legitimate retention requirements.

Hackathon Applications

Application records may generally be retained for up to 24 months following completion of the relevant hackathon cycle, unless a longer period is reasonably required for:

• Legal claims;
• Disputes;
• Fraud prevention;
• Institutional requirements;
• Financial or accounting records;
• Regulatory obligations; or
• Other legitimate purposes permitted by law.

Identity and Eligibility Documents

Identity or eligibility documents will generally be retained only for the period reasonably required for verification, event administration, prize administration or compliance purposes and, where no continuing requirement exists, will be deleted or securely disposed of.

Where practicable, we will aim to delete such documents within 90 days after completion of the relevant verification or event process, unless longer retention is required or permitted by law.

Project and Award Records

Information relating to selected projects, winners, awards and event outcomes may be retained for longer periods for legitimate historical, archival, verification, publicity or organisational purposes.

Security and Audit Records

Certain technical logs and security records may be retained for a period reasonably necessary to investigate incidents, maintain platform security, establish audit trails and comply with applicable requirements.

Where personal data is no longer required, we will seek to delete, anonymise or otherwise dispose of it securely.

Our service providers or technology infrastructure may process or store personal data in locations outside the state or country in which you reside.

Where personal data is transferred, stored or processed outside India, we will do so in accordance with applicable Indian law and any restrictions or requirements applicable to such transfers.

We may also process personal data through global technology providers whose infrastructure operates across multiple jurisdictions.

Subject to applicable law and any conditions or limitations prescribed by law, you may have rights including the right to:

• Obtain information about the personal data being processed by us;
• Request correction or updating of inaccurate or incomplete personal data;
• Request erasure of personal data where permitted;
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• Exercise other rights available to you under applicable law; and
• Nominate another individual to exercise your rights in the circumstances permitted by applicable law.

You may also have the right to raise a grievance concerning our processing of your personal data.

The availability, scope and procedure for exercising these rights may change as applicable provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and related rules come into force.

To submit a privacy request, please contact:

Email: info@nexuscipherguard.in
Subject: Privacy Request

Please include sufficient information to allow us to:

• Identify your account or interaction with us;
• Understand the nature of your request; and
• Verify your identity where reasonably necessary to protect your personal data.

We may request additional information where necessary to prevent unauthorised access to another person's personal data.

We will process valid requests within the time period prescribed by applicable law.

If a request cannot be fulfilled, we will provide an appropriate explanation where required.

If you have a concern or grievance regarding our processing of personal data, you should first contact us.

Grievance Contact

NEXUSCIPHERGUARD INDIA (OPC) PRIVATE LIMITED
Bayavu Hill, Kohima, Nagaland 797001, India

Email: info@nexuscipherguard.in
Phone: +91 8132872135

We will review and address grievances in accordance with applicable law and our internal grievance-handling procedures.

Where applicable law provides a right to approach the Data Protection Board of India or another competent authority after following the prescribed grievance mechanism, you may exercise that right in accordance with the applicable procedure.

Our website may contain links to websites, repositories, registration systems, payment services, social media platforms, partner websites or other third-party services.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of those third parties.

You should review the privacy policy of any third-party service before providing personal data to it.

The hackathon platform may be accessible to participants from outside India.

If you access the platform from another jurisdiction, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in India and/or other jurisdictions where our authorised service providers operate, subject to applicable law.

Nothing in this section limits any rights you may have under mandatory laws applicable to you.

You are responsible for providing accurate and complete information when registering, applying or participating.

You should promptly update information where it becomes inaccurate or outdated.

Providing false, misleading or fraudulent information may result in:

• Rejection of an application;
• Removal from a hackathon;
• Disqualification;
• Suspension or termination of an account; or
• Other action permitted under the applicable event rules and law.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

• Changes in our services;
• Changes in our data-processing practices;
• Changes in technology;
• Changes in applicable law;
• Regulatory guidance; or
• Operational requirements.

When we make material changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date and, where required, provide an appropriate notice.

Your continued use of the platform after the revised policy becomes effective will be subject to the updated policy to the extent permitted by applicable law.

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of India.

Subject to applicable law, matters relating to this Privacy Policy shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the competent courts and authorities having jurisdiction over NEXUSCIPHERGUARD INDIA's registered office.

Nothing in this clause limits any statutory rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, our processing of personal data, or a privacy request, please contact us.

NEXUSCIPHERGUARD INDIA (OPC) PRIVATE LIMITED

Bayavu Hill
Kohima, Nagaland 797001
India

Email: info@nexuscipherguard.in
Phone: +91 8132872135
Website: https://hackathon.nexuscipherguard.in/

By using the platform, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Where applicable law requires consent for a particular processing activity, acknowledgement of this Privacy Policy alone will not be treated as consent. Separate consent will be obtained where required.

Last Updated: 30 August 2026