Cyber Commandos to Deal With Cybercrime

Syllabus: GS3/Cybersecurity

Context

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the first Foundation Day program of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and launched key initiatives for prevention of cyber crime.

About

• During the event, four platforms of the I4C were launched;
  • Cyber fraud mitigation center (CFMC);
  • Samanvaya Platform, for cybercrime data repository, sharing, mapping, and analytics, as well as a coordination tool for law enforcement agencies. 
  • The cyber commandos programme: The government has planned to train and prepare 5,000 cyber commandos over the next five years to enhance cybersecurity.
  • Suspect registry: It is an initiative to strengthen fraud risk management by creating a registry of identifiers based on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal in collaboration with banks and financial intermediaries.

What is Cybercrime?

• Cyber crime is the use of digital technologies such as computers and the internet to commit criminal activities.
• These cases are financial fraud (credit card fraud, online transaction fraud), crime against women and children with regard to sexually explicit material, and deep fake content etc.
• According to the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution, cybercrimes are within the purview of State subjects.
• According to the ‘Crime in India’ report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there has been a 24.4 percent increase in Cyber Crime Cases across India.

Reasons for increase in Cybercrime

• Rapid Digitalization: With a growing number of individuals and businesses relying on the Internet and digital technologies there are more opportunities for cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities. 
• Large Internet User Base: India has 95 crore Internet users. With a large population using the internet, there are more potential targets for cybercriminals, making it a lucrative market for cyberattacks.
• Inadequate Cybersecurity Infrastructure: In India the cybersecurity infrastructure is still developing. Many organizations, especially smaller businesses, may not have robust cybersecurity measures in place, making them easy targets for cybercriminals.
• Insider Threats: Insider threats, where employees or individuals with access to sensitive information misuse it for malicious purposes, are a significant concern in India, particularly in the corporate sector.
• Payment Systems Vulnerability: With the rise of digital payments and online transactions, there is an increased risk of financial crimes such as phishing, credit card fraud, and online scams.
  • In 2024, India saw UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions worth about Rs 20,64,000 crore which is 46 percent of the global digital transactions.
• Low digital literacy: Lower awareness among the general public and digital gaps amongst nations create an unsustainable environment in the cyber domain.

Effects of Cybercrime

• Financial Losses: Cybercrime leads to substantial financial losses for individuals and organizations through theft of funds, fraudulent activities, or the cost of restoring compromised systems.
• National Security Concerns: Cyberattacks with a geopolitical motive pose national security threats. The attacks target government agencies, critical infrastructure, or defense systems, compromising a nation’s security.
• Data Breaches: The unauthorized access and theft of sensitive data compromises the confidentiality of personal and financial information, causing reputational damage and potential legal consequences.
• Disruption of Services: Cyberattacks disrupt essential services and critical infrastructure, impacting businesses, governments, and individuals. 
• Loss of Intellectual Property: Businesses suffer from the theft of intellectual property, trade secrets, and proprietary information which undermine competitiveness and innovation, leading to economic repercussions.

Government steps for Cybersecurity

• Information Technology Act, 2000: Section 43, 66, 70, and 74 of the IT Act, 2000 deal with hacking and cyber crimes.
• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issues alerts and advisories regarding latest cyber threats/vulnerabilities and countermeasures to protect computers and networks on a regular basis. 
• National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) has been set up to generate necessary situational awareness of existing and potential cyber security threats and enable timely information sharing for proactive, preventive and protective actions by individual entities.
• Cyber Swachhta Kendra (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) has been launched for detection of malicious programs and provides free tools to remove the same.
• Bharat National Cyber Security Exercise 2023: Bharat NCX will help strategic leaders to better understand cyber threats, assess readiness, and develop skills for cyber crisis management and cooperation.

Conclusion

• The increasing use of technology is also causing many threats. That is why cybersecurity is no longer limited to the digital world but has also become an important aspect of national security.
• Most cyber crimes are trans-national in nature with extra-territorial jurisdiction. Therefore, ‘data localisation’ is required, so that enforcement agencies are able to get timely access to the data of suspected Indian citizens. 

Source: TH