‘Central govt adopts multi-pronged framework to strengthen its fight against cybercrime’
NEW DELHI: The Central government has strengthened its fight against cybercrime by adopting a multi-pronged framework that would strengthen the country’s response to new digital threats.
Making the remarks in response to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha reply, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar emphasised the proactive measures taken by the government to tackle cyber offences from financial fraud to crimes against women and children.
The junior minister of the Narendra Modi cabinet stated that the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, or I4C, is the nerve centre that handles cybercrimes through a robust reporting, investigation, and resolution mechanism. Through its National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, citizens can report incidents, with a focus on crimes against women and children. The Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting System, introduced in 2021, has been crucial in freezing syphoned funds, saving Rs 3,431 crore across 9.94 lakh complaints. A toll-free helpline, 1930, further facilitates immediate reporting of financial cybercrimes.
Instructive legislation that supports the cybercrime framework of India consists of the Information Technology Act, 2000; the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; and the POCSO Act, 2012. According to the NCRB, in the year 2022, it recorded 17,470 cyber fraud cases against people that consisted of 6,491 cyber fraud cases related to OTP frauds and 2,910 cases related to online banking.
To counter the technical complexity of cybercrimes, the government has invested heavily in forensic capabilities. The National Cyber Forensic Laboratory (Investigation) in New Delhi and another facility in Hyderabad provide cutting-edge forensic assistance to law enforcement agencies. In addition, training initiatives like the CyTrain portal have equipped over 98,000 officers with specialised skills, while cyber hygiene training has reached government officials and youth organisations nationwide.
Awareness-raising campaigns in the general public are another backbone of its efforts. The government conducted public awareness messages through mobile SMS and social media and used channels like radio and newspapers and has further amplified this outreach work to digital displays at public transport and influencer collaborations.
The government has blocked international spoofed calls mimicking Indian numbers, which has been a common modus operandi in scams, including impersonation and fake arrests, because of the cross-border nature of cyber threats. Since the advent of these measures, over 6.69 lakh SIM cards and 1.32 lakh IMEIs have been blocked for fraudulent activities.
Under the Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) scheme, Rs 131.6 crore is sanctioned to create forensic-cum-training laboratories, train over 24,600 personnel in the area of awareness and investigation techniques, etc. Along with this, states and Union Territories have been provided with improved coordination with better joint teams. The main hubs for such crime, including the districts of Jamtara in Jharkhand and Hyderabad, have been empowered with Joint Cyber Coordination Teams.
