India Saw 457 Percent Rise In Cybercrime In 5 Years: ASSOCHAM-NEC

India has witnessed a 457 percent rise in cybercrime incidents under the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 from the year of 2011 to 2016, a recent ASSOCHAM-NEC joint study said.

Between 2012-17, the number of internet users grew at a CAGR of 44 percent which has led India to be placed 3rd in terms of a number of internet users in the world after USA and China. Symantec Corp ranked India among top 5 countries to be affected by cybercrime, noted the study titled ‘Digital Policing- Smart Policing for Public Safety,’ conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) jointly with NEC.

To establish a robust three tired structure comprising of Central Cyber Cell, District Cyber Cells and Police Station Cyber Teams across the entire jurisdiction of National Capital Territory to deal with cyber-crimes and to handle the growing menace of cyber frauds and online harassment, highlighted the study.

Using the latest technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Facial Recognition, IoT etc., to identify and catch suspects/criminals, has gained much awareness among various law enforcement agencies. However, the implementation of these technologies is not on a national level but on a state level, which makes it very important for the central government to fund and support state-level law enforcement agencies to utilize technologies to upgrade their policing methods, noted the joint study.

The government of India & multiple law enforcement agencies has taken lead in curbing growing cybercrime. In addition to establishing cyber labs and training the officers, additional development in terms of detecting and resolving cybercrime has to be added in the current arsenal of the law enforcers.

Implementing new policing technologies will enable access to personal information, assisting in the delivery of personalized and better public services. It will help in fighting crime, protecting public security, reducing the burden on businesses and citizens and tackling social exclusion through early intervention, noted the study.

 Crime has been transforming itself to match the technological development happening across the globe. Since the invention of computers and the internet, crime has evolved from its physical version to a digital one. Introduction of IT Act in India in 2000, amended in 2008, was the turning point where Government of India stated focusing on the digital side of crimes i.e. Cyber Crime.

To prevent cyber crimes through the development of a cyber threat resilient ecosystem in the state and to defend against cyber attacks by synergizing with other departments and nodal agencies of the State. Link up with multiple national and international cybersecurity & the law enforcement agencies to fight against the borderless nature of the cyber crimes.

Indian Police have been constantly fighting cybercrime and has taken up multiple initiatives (Cybercrime labs, response centers, cyber forensic labs etc.) to do the same.

To counter it, State government and State police are constantly developing new anti-cybercrime measures with the help of central government and private organizations. Other than these initiatives, training, and development of Police officers in the field of identifying and solving cyber crimes have been made imperative to keep police updated about latest criminal activities and the methods required to tackle it.―CT Bureau