Dr. Josyula Ramachandra Rao

(BT/EE/1984)

Dr. Josyula Ramachandra Rao, widely known as J.R. Rao, is an IBM Fellow and Chief Technology Officer for Security Research at IBM. His career has been defined by meeting the security challenges of each major platform shift, from mainframe to cloud, to AI and now to quantum. His current work sits at the intersection of securing AI, quantum computing and semiconductors. He built and leads IBM's security research organization of more than 200 scientists whose work spans cybersecurity, AI security, cloud and systems security, cryptography, confidential computing, quantum-safe migration and the security of quantum-centric supercomputing. Working with enterprises, government agencies, academic partners and IBM business units, he has successfully created and transitioned industry-leading security innovation into foundational industry standards and enterprise products. Throughout, his focus has been substantially enhancing security while minimizing the operational complexity of engineering and deploying resilient systems.
Dr. Rao's early work on power-analysis and electromagnetic attacks helped establish how cryptographic implementations are evaluated and protected against side-channel attacks, including his influential work on template attacks which won the CHES Test of Time Award. He was among the first prominent industrial researchers to articulate the dual vision of AI security: that AI must defend enterprise systems, and that AI systems must themselves be secured. He pioneered enterprise-scale security built on continuous machine learning and big-data analytics, developing empirical and analytical methods to detect and counter threats at scale. His recent work helps define security for autonomous AI agents, including secure-by-design architectures, agent identity, AI incident response and shared-responsibility models. He has also worked on the transition to quantum-resistant cryptography. He engages with governments, industry and international policy and technology forums on emerging cybersecurity and quantum security challenges.
Dr. Rao's standing has been recognised through his appointment as an IBM Fellow, IBM's highest technical distinction, and his election as an IACR Fellow in 2025. He has twice been elected to co-lead the Coalition for Secure AI (CoSAI), an OASIS Open project, where he helps shape industry approaches to securing AI. In 2026, he took part in discussions on AI security at the RSA Conference on securing the AI lifecycle and addressing new security challenges arising from autonomous AI agents. His work has appeared in leading venues in cryptography, security and distributed systems and has more than 9,700 citations on Google Scholar. It has influenced both academic research and practical security engineering. He also holds numerous United States and European patents.
Through more than three decades of research and technical leadership, Dr. Rao has helped shape the evolution of cybersecurity from foundational cryptographic protection to the security of cloud, AI and quantum-enabled systems. His ability to connect fundamental security research with large-scale technological deployment has made him a distinguished figure in the global cybersecurity community.
Honouring his distinguished contributions to Cybersecurity, Applied Cryptography, AI Security and Quantum Security, and his outstanding contributions to anticipating and meeting the security challenges of each new computing platform, from cloud to AI to quantum, by advancing security innovation, standards and technologies at a global scale, IIT Kanpur confers upon Dr. Josyula Ramachandra Rao, the Distinguished Alumni Award 2026 under the category of Professional Excellence.