NEW DELHI: As fast-paced advancements in technology cause a surge in digital transactions and online activity in the country, home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday stressed on the need for all the stakeholders including Central and state law enforcement agencies, banks and internet service providers, to come together to fight the growing risk of cybercrimes with a data-driven approach and evolving counter-strategies.
Addressing an event here to mark the first Foundation Day of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Shah said I4C has an important role in bringing all the stakeholders on one platform to deal with emerging cyber threats as initiatives like ‘Digital India’ see the number of internet subscribers grow from 25 crore in March 2014 to 95 crore in March 2024 and 46% of the world’s digital transactions volume taking place in India.
“In the days to come, as the country makes significant technological advancements, I4C has an important role in ensuring the security of its technology, data and vital installations….I believe that cyber security has become an important aspect of national security…the country’s progress is not possible without it,” the home minister said as he launched four new cyber security initiatives of I4C aimed at realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘Cyber Safe Bharat’.
Firstly, Shah dedicated the Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC) — a national platform that will onboard major banks, financial institutions, payment aggregators, telecom service providers, IT intermediaries and law enforcement agencies for real-time action against online financial crimes — to the nation. He suggested that CFMC use Artificial Intelligence to identify the modus operandi of cyber frauds and find ways to deal with them.
Shah also inaugurated the Samanvaya Platform, a one-stop portal for data repository of cybercrime, data sharing, crime mapping, data analytics, and coordination among law enforcement agencies for investigation of cybercrimes. Cyber Commandos Program that seeks to create special wing of trained commandos in the states/UTs and Central police organisations to secure digital space, with 5,000 commandos to be readied in 5 years, was also launched.
The last initiative is the creation of a national-level ‘suspect registry’ of various mule account identifiers based on the national cybercrime reporting portal, and connecting state registries with it to in strengthen the fraud risk management capabilities of the financial ecosystem. Shah said the national suspect registry will help ensure that states/UTs do not work in silos.
Shah said a nationwide cyber security awareness programme is on since September 1, with over 72 TV channels, 190 FM channels, cinema halls and other platforms on board. He appealed to the states to join in the campaign, particularly promoting the national cyber helpline ‘1930’ across the villages and towns.
Dwelling on the new criminal laws, Shah said they incorporate provisions that give legal teeth to technology-driven initiatives and scientific methods of investigation in cases related to cyber crime, personal data safety, online harassment, sexual harassment of women and children, fake news and toolkit, and misinformation campaign, etc.
Shah said over 1100 officers have been trained in cyber forensics and joint cyber coordination teams (JCCTs) set up in ‘hotspots’ like Mewat, Jamtara, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Visakhapatnam and Guwahati. “These have been successful and shall be replicated in other centres,” said Shah.
Addressing an event here to mark the first Foundation Day of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Shah said I4C has an important role in bringing all the stakeholders on one platform to deal with emerging cyber threats as initiatives like ‘Digital India’ see the number of internet subscribers grow from 25 crore in March 2014 to 95 crore in March 2024 and 46% of the world’s digital transactions volume taking place in India.
“In the days to come, as the country makes significant technological advancements, I4C has an important role in ensuring the security of its technology, data and vital installations….I believe that cyber security has become an important aspect of national security…the country’s progress is not possible without it,” the home minister said as he launched four new cyber security initiatives of I4C aimed at realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘Cyber Safe Bharat’.
Firstly, Shah dedicated the Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC) — a national platform that will onboard major banks, financial institutions, payment aggregators, telecom service providers, IT intermediaries and law enforcement agencies for real-time action against online financial crimes — to the nation. He suggested that CFMC use Artificial Intelligence to identify the modus operandi of cyber frauds and find ways to deal with them.
Shah also inaugurated the Samanvaya Platform, a one-stop portal for data repository of cybercrime, data sharing, crime mapping, data analytics, and coordination among law enforcement agencies for investigation of cybercrimes. Cyber Commandos Program that seeks to create special wing of trained commandos in the states/UTs and Central police organisations to secure digital space, with 5,000 commandos to be readied in 5 years, was also launched.
The last initiative is the creation of a national-level ‘suspect registry’ of various mule account identifiers based on the national cybercrime reporting portal, and connecting state registries with it to in strengthen the fraud risk management capabilities of the financial ecosystem. Shah said the national suspect registry will help ensure that states/UTs do not work in silos.
Shah said a nationwide cyber security awareness programme is on since September 1, with over 72 TV channels, 190 FM channels, cinema halls and other platforms on board. He appealed to the states to join in the campaign, particularly promoting the national cyber helpline ‘1930’ across the villages and towns.
Dwelling on the new criminal laws, Shah said they incorporate provisions that give legal teeth to technology-driven initiatives and scientific methods of investigation in cases related to cyber crime, personal data safety, online harassment, sexual harassment of women and children, fake news and toolkit, and misinformation campaign, etc.
Shah said over 1100 officers have been trained in cyber forensics and joint cyber coordination teams (JCCTs) set up in ‘hotspots’ like Mewat, Jamtara, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Visakhapatnam and Guwahati. “These have been successful and shall be replicated in other centres,” said Shah.
