Exclusive Interview- Inside Team CyberDome, A Conversation with Sumit Dey Sarkar and SK Nafleen

With GST accreditation, Udyam registration, and ISO certifications now attached to its name, Team CyberDome is steadily evolving into one of India’s emerging student-led AI and cybersecurity initiatives.

From intelligent firewall systems to healthcare platforms and advanced metadata extraction tools currently under development, the organization reflects a blend of technical ambition and youthful energy.

In this exclusive interaction, Sumit Dey Sarkar and SK Nafleen discuss startup life, cybersecurity, healthcare innovation, pressure, teamwork, and the human side of building something meaningful together.

Q1. Team CyberDome recently achieved GST accreditation, Udyam registration, and ISO certifications. What did that moment feel like?

Sumit:

It felt like validation.

For a long time, CyberDome existed as ideas, prototypes, discussions, and long work sessions. Once the certifications and registrations came through, it felt more official and structured. It gave us confidence that we were moving in the right direction.

Q2. Cybersecurity tools often feel complicated for normal users. How are you trying to change that through your firewall project?

Nafleen:

We want security to feel accessible.

A lot of systems overload users with technical terms and confusing dashboards. Our goal is to create something powerful in the background but much cleaner and easier to understand from the user side.

Q3. What inspired CyberDome’s healthcare website project?

Sumit:*We noticed that many healthcare platforms still feel outdated and difficult to navigate.

People already feel stressed while dealing with healthcare issues, so technology should reduce confusion, not increase it. We wanted to focus on smoother design, better responsiveness, and secure infrastructure together.

Q4. What does a typical CyberDome working session actually look like?

Nafleen:

A mix of productivity and chaos. laughs

Someone is discussing cybersecurity logs, someone else is fixing UI issues, another person is handling documentation, and Sumit is probably opening fifteen tabs at once because he just had another idea.

Q5. Sumit, what’s one thing Nafleen brings into the team that people outside may not notice?

Sumit:

Stability.

When projects become stressful or deadlines start colliding, she’s usually the person helping everyone stay organized and calm.

Q6. Nafleen, what’s one habit of Sumit’s that has become “CyberDome coded”?

Nafleen:

Random late-night brainstorming.

Sometimes at 1 AM he suddenly messages, “I think we should redesign this entire feature,” and somehow everyone knows the night is no longer ending early. laughs

Q7. Student-led startups are often underestimated. Have you experienced that?

Sumit:

Definitely.

People sometimes assume students only create temporary or experimental projects. But once they see professional registrations, certifications, working systems, and consistency, perceptions begin to change.

Q8. Was there ever a moment where things felt overwhelming?

Nafleen:

Many times.

Balancing academics, meetings, development work, deadlines, and public visibility together can become exhausting. But I think difficult phases also teach the most.

Q9. CyberDome is currently developing a metadata extraction tool. What excites you about this project?

Sumit:

Its real-world applications.

Metadata contains a surprising amount of useful information for cybersecurity, investigations, and digital analysis. We’re exploring ways to make extraction and analysis more intelligent and efficient.

Q10. Outside of projects, who is more likely to reply late to messages?

Nafleen:

Sumit. Easily.

Sometimes he reads a message mentally and forgets he didn’t actually reply. Then hours later he sends a full paragraph like nothing happened. laughs

Sumit:

That accusation is unfortunately accurate.

Q11. What has been the most memorable part of this journey so far?

Sumit:

Probably the late-night work sessions.

Not because they were glamorous, but because that’s where most real conversations and ideas happened. Some of our best discussions started while debugging random issues.

Q12. Nafleen, what’s something people misunderstand about startup culture?

Nafleen:

People think it’s always exciting and fast-paced.

In reality, a lot of startup work is repetitive problem-solving, documentation, fixing mistakes, and managing pressure quietly behind the scenes.

Q13. Between the two of you, who is more patient during stressful situations?

Nafleen:

I think I am.

Sumit:

That’s true. I become very focused during stressful moments, while she’s usually the one reminding everyone to slow down and think clearly.

Q14. What keeps CyberDome moving forward despite the pressure?

Sumit:

The belief that we’re building something meaningful.

Even small progress feels motivating when you know the work could eventually help people or solve practical problems.

Q15. If CyberDome had to be described in one sentence, what would it be?

*Nafleen:*

“A student-built ecosystem powered by curiosity, pressure, teamwork, and way too much caffeine.” laughs

Q16. Final question: where do you see Team CyberDome in the future?

Sumit:

We want CyberDome to keep evolving into a serious technology and cybersecurity ecosystem.

Right now we’re focused on building strong foundations through projects like the firewall system, healthcare platform, and metadata extraction tool. The long-term vision is to create technology that is innovative but also genuinely useful in real-world environments.

Closing Note

From cybersecurity firewalls to healthcare technology and advanced metadata analysis systems, Team CyberDome represents a new wave of student-led innovation emerging from India’s growing AI and cybersecurity ecosystem.

Behind the certifications, projects, and technical systems is a team learning, adapting, and building together one challenge at a time.