Mr. Chaitanya Rahalkar, Georgia Institute of Technology, United States
Chaitanya Rahalkar is an accomplished cybersecurity professional and entrepreneur, renowned for his expertise in security engineering and advanced system architecture. He holds a Master of Science in Cybersecurity from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Savitribai Phule Pune University. As the CEO and Founder of OmniChat AI, he has architected cutting-edge multimodal AI platforms that integrate text, audio, image, and video processing. His professional journey includes pivotal roles at prestigious organizations such as Block Inc. (formerly Square), Meta (formerly Facebook), and Praetorian Security. Chaitanya has contributed to major security projects, including penetration tests, vulnerability assessments, and the development of cloud-native security systems. His academic research has been published in notable journals, with works focusing on secure systems, blockchain, and privacy-preserving technologies. Chaitanya is passionate about advancing cybersecurity solutions to address emerging digital threats.
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Summary of Suitability for the Award
Chaitanya Rahalkar stands out as an exemplary candidate for the Research for Excellence in Innovation award, thanks to his profound contributions to both cybersecurity and the broader tech industry. With an academic background in cybersecurity, including a Master’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology, he has developed expertise in numerous technical fields such as cloud services, web frameworks, security engineering tools, and advanced cybersecurity methodologies. His innovative work is evident through both his academic research and professional endeavors, where he has made significant strides in enhancing security, optimizing cloud infrastructure, and developing cutting-edge technologies.
In his role as CEO and Founder of OmniChat AI, Chaitanya spearheaded the development of a multimodal LLM API platform, successfully integrating text, image, video, and audio processing. This platform simplifies developer implementation, a breakthrough in multimodal AI application development. His leadership resulted in strategic partnerships with 20+ companies and a notable increase in monthly recurring revenue.
Education
Chaitanya Rahalkar earned a Master of Science in Cybersecurity from the prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, where he maintained a perfect GPA of 4.0/4.0. During his time at Georgia Tech, he specialized in network security, cryptography, and secure computer systems, while also serving as a teaching assistant for courses like Applied Cryptography. Prior to that, he completed a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Engineering from Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, with an exceptional GPA of 9.6/10. His academic foundation has equipped him with a deep understanding of security engineering, blockchain technologies, and cryptographic methods. His educational pursuits reflect a strong commitment to both theoretical knowledge and practical application in the cybersecurity domain. These qualifications, paired with his research contributions, have made him a respected figure in the cybersecurity field.
Professional Experience
Chaitanya Rahalkar has a diverse and impactful professional background in cybersecurity and software engineering. As the CEO and Founder of OmniChat AI, he designed a multimodal LLM API platform, integrating AI for text, image, video, and audio processing, which dramatically simplifies implementation for developers. His role at Block Inc. (formerly Square) as a Software Security Engineer involved building cloud-native security systems and optimizing security pipelines at the enterprise level. At Praetorian Security, Chaitanya led over 100 security audits and penetration tests for clients like Nordstrom, Amazon, and Salesforce. His efforts helped identify over 200 security vulnerabilities and enhanced security protocols across various platforms. Chaitanya also contributed to Meta (formerly Facebook), where he developed fuzzing harnesses and identified vulnerabilities within the WhatsApp Payment Engine. His expertise has made him a key player in ensuring robust security across platforms and systems.
Awards and Recognition
Chaitanya Rahalkar has received significant recognition for his contributions to the cybersecurity field. He is an AWS SAA Certified Cloud Practitioner and an OSCP candidate, both of which reflect his deep understanding of cloud security and offensive security practices. His academic work has been published in prominent journals, showcasing his thought leadership in cybersecurity, privacy preservation, and blockchain technologies. Notably, his research on “Content Moderation Schemes in End-to-End Encrypted Systems” and “Privacy-Preserving Techniques in Bitcoin” has garnered attention in the cybersecurity community. Chaitanya’s innovative approach to security engineering has earned him a reputation for pioneering security solutions in both academia and industry. His work has helped shape security strategies for major organizations, and his contributions to the field continue to influence the development of secure systems and ethical hacking practices.
Chaitanya Rahalkar possesses advanced research skills in cybersecurity, with a particular focus on system security, vulnerability assessments, and cryptographic techniques. His experience spans various research domains, including blockchain security, privacy-preserving technologies, and penetration testing. During his research tenure at the Center for Police Research (India), Chaitanya developed a proof of concept for an automated WiFi security analyzer, contributing to ethical hacking efforts for law enforcement. At Pune Institute of Computer Technology, he studied side-channel attacks targeting virtualized operating systems and contributed to the development of a meta-classifier-based model for attack detection. His published work, including papers on blockchain and cryptography, reflects his proficiency in cutting-edge research methodologies. Chaitanya’s ability to bridge theoretical knowledge with practical application enables him to tackle complex cybersecurity challenges and deliver impactful solutions that enhance the security landscape.
Publication Top Notes
- Content addressed P2P file system for the web with blockchain-based meta-data integrity
Authors: C. Rahalkar, D. Gujar
Citation: International Conference on Advances in Computing, Communication and …
Year: 2019
- Poster: Using generative adversarial networks for secure pseudorandom number generation
Authors: R. Oak, C. Rahalkar, D. Gujar
Citation: Proceedings of the 2019 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications …
Year: 2019
- A Secure Password Manager
Authors: C. Rahalkar, D. Gujar
Citation: International Journal of Computer Applications 178 (44), 5-9
Year: 2019
- A Diamond Model Analysis on Twitter’s Biggest Hack
Authors: C. Rahalkar
Citation: arXiv preprint arXiv:2306.15878
Year: 2023
- Automated Fuzzing Harness Generation for Library APIs and Binary Protocol Parsers
Authors: C. Rahalkar
Citation: arXiv preprint arXiv:2306.15596
Year: 2023
- SoK: Content Moderation Schemes in End-to-End Encrypted Systems
Authors: C. Rahalkar, A. Virgaonkar
Citation: arXiv preprint arXiv:2208.11147
Year: 2022
- Designing a Secure Device-to-Device File Transfer Mechanism
Authors: C. Rahalkar, A. Virgaonkar
Citation: arXiv preprint arXiv:2411.13827
Year: 2024
- Analyzing Trends in Tor
Authors: C. Rahalkar, A. Virgaonkar, K. Varadan
Citation: arXiv preprint arXiv:2208.11149
Year: 2022
- Summarizing and Analyzing the Privacy-Preserving Techniques in Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies
Authors: C. Rahalkar, A. Virgaonkar
Citation: arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.07634
Year: 2021
- End-To-End Lung Cancer Diagnosis On Computed Tomography Scans Using 3D CNN And Explainable AI
Authors: C. Rahalkar, A. Virgaonkar, D. Gujar, S. Patkar
Citation: International Journal of Computer Applications 176 (15), 1-6
Year: 2020