MTV has announced Youth Icon 2008 Award Winners .World renowned Cyber Security expert , a 23 years old lad from Mumbai has been declared "MTV Youth Icon 2008” today. He is one of the eight winners (the others are Rahul Mishra, Sarath Babu, MC Marykom, Mangesh Hadawale, Blaaze, Nitish Mishra & Ishita Khanna) off the total 30 nominees. These 30 were shortlisted out of 8000 entries received from across India. And seven are finally declared as winners. Ankit Fadia is one of them. The poll was conducted through an online and SMS voting process. These seven winners are the youngsters who’ve followed their hearts and have made a difference to the world we live in. These are the youth who made a difference to others. They may not be a super achievers, but, made a difference, says the MTV website.
The award is a platform created expressly for the youth to identify their new-age role-models. The award celebrates the heroes of the young India. The past winners of the MTV Youth Icon awards include Anil Ambani, Rahul Dravid, Shah Rukh Khan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Orkut.com etc. This years Pepsi and MTV Youth Icons are young people who have made a difference.
Commenting on being chosen for the award Ankit Fadia said, “I am truly delighted on winning the award. Through this award I hope to connect with the youth of India and inspire them to be more aware and alert about Cyber Security. Today’s youth are the future of this Country and they can play an instrumental role in ensuring a safe tomorrow. Cyber Security will increasingly play a greater role in avoiding any terror threats in the future and the youth of this Country can ensure that, just by being alert and informed.”
A child genius, he's a cyber security Guru at the age when most people have graduated says MTV on its website . Ankit Fadia started hacking at the age of 12 when he was gifted a new computer by his parents. He soon became an expert with it and started his own site giving tutorials. This was an instant success and got as many as 40,000 registered members. His first hack was at the age of 13 on the Chip India magazines website. For 2 days anyone who went on the website saw his photo. On the 3rd day he sent Chip an e-mail telling them their problems and how to fix them for fear of being thrown in jail by them. Instead the magazine offered him a job.
