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Union Home Minister Introduces New Initiatives to Fight Cybercrime in India

Highlights

Union Home Minister launched four major initiatives to fight cybercrime at the Foundation Day celebrations of I4C.
A Suspect Registry will be created at the national level and connecting the states.
5 thousand Cyber Commandos will be prepared in 5 years.
Country to be cyber secured in three new criminal laws

Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced four new initiatives to prevent cybercrime in India while addressing the first Foundation Day celebration of the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C).

“Without cybersecurity, the development of the nation is impossible at this point. Technology is a blessing to humanity. Technology is being used to a great extent to boost the economy but at the same time, we are also seeing many threats because of technology. Cybersecurity has become an important part of national security. We won’t be able to secure our nation without cyber security. Platforms like I4C can play a key role in this,” Amit Shah said.
Shah highlighted the need for a national-level suspect registry that includes all states to prevent future crimes. He announced that I4C would launch a nationwide awareness campaign starting from September 10th, utilizing various channels such as FM radio and other platforms.
“The more popular the ‘1930’ number becomes, the more effective it will be. On this occasion, I will also appeal to all state governments to join this campaign,” he added.

The Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC) and the Samanvay platform (Joint Cyber Crime Investigation Facility System) were also launched during the event.

The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) has enhanced Bharat’s capacity to tackle cybercrime#CyberSecureBharat @HMOIndia @GoI_MeitY @PIBHomeAffairs pic.twitter.com/G02DV8N22G

— PIB India (@PIB_India) September 10, 2024

New Initiatives Launched to Curb Cybercrime in India

There are plans to train 5,000 cyber commandos in the next five years to fight cybercrime in the country.

Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC): Established at the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (14C) in New Delhi with representatives of major banks, Financial Intermediaries, Payment Aggregators, Telecom Service Providers, IT Intermediaries and States/UTs Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). They will work together for immediate action and seamless cooperation to tackle online financial crimes.

Samanvay Platform (Joint Cybercrime Investigation Facilitation System): A one-stop portal for data repository of cybercrime, data sharing, crime mapping, data analytics, cooperation and coordination platform for Law Enforcement Agencies across the country.

Cyber Commandos’ Program: Will establish a special wing of trained 5,000 ‘Cyber Commandos’ in States/UTs and Central Police Organizations (CPOs) to counter cyber security threats. Trained Cyber Commandos will work with States/UTs and Central Agencies to keep the digital space secure.

Suspect Registry: A registry of various identifiers will be created based on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). This will be a collaboration with banks and financial intermediaries to strengthen fraud risk management capabilities.

Amit Shah highlighted that cybersecurity is crucial for national security and progress.

Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre currently has the following institutions to combat cybercrime –

National Cyber Crime Threat Analytical Unit
National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
National Cyber Crime Forensic Laboratory
National Cyber Crime Training Centre
Joint Cyber Crime Investigation Task Force
Cyber Crime Ecosystem Management Unit
National Cyber Crime Research and Innovation Centre

Union Home Minister informed that 7 Joint Cyber Coordination Teams have been formed keeping in mind the complaints of cybercrime. The teams are formed at Mewat, Jamtara, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Visakhapatnam and Guwahati. These teams have yielded good results.

He said that I4C has also launched an effective awareness campaign on various social media handles under Cyber Dost. Shri Shah said that with all these efforts we have definitely reached a point but our goals are still far away. He said that to achieve the goal, we will have to make a precise strategy and move forward together in the same direction.

Launched on the initiative of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi under the Secured Cyber Space campaign, I4C today is a strong pillar country’s cyber security.

I4C was established under the ‘Safe Cyber Space’ campaign in 2015 on the initiative of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

I4C aka Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre was later set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India after approval in October 2018. It was inaugurated by Amit Shah in January 2020.

The centre has played an instrumental role in identifying and banning several apps and websites committing cyber crimes. Many apps such as TikTok, WeChat, and more were banned after inputs from I4C in 2020.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Union Home Secretary Shri Govind Mohan, Director IB, Special Secretary (Internal Security), Chief Secretaries and Director Generals of Police/Senior Police Officers of various States/Union Territories, officials from different government organisations, senior officials from several banks/financial intermediaries, FinTech, Media, Cyber Commandos, NCC and NSS cadets were present.

What are the 2023 cyber fraud stats ?

In February this year, the Centre said that a total of 1,128,256 cybercrime incidents were reported across India on the ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting Management System’ (CFCFMS) in 2023.
Part of I4C, CFCFMS was introduced to register the immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop syphoning off funds by fraudsters. In 2023, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of complaints on this portal at 197,547. The highest amount of fraud was reported in Maharashtra at Rs 9.9 billion.

FAQs

Q1. What is a suspect registry being created by the India Home Ministry?

Answer. A registry of various identifiers will be created based on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). This will be a collaboration with banks and financial intermediaries to strengthen fraud risk management capabilities.

Q2. What are cyber commandos?

Answer. Union Home Ministery will establish a special wing of trained 5,000 ‘Cyber Commandos’ in States/UTs and Central Police Organizations (CPOs) to counter cyber security threats. Trained Cyber Commandos will work with States/UTs and Central Agencies to keep the digital space secure.

Q3. What is I4C?

Answer. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre is a government initiative to deal with cybercrime in India, in a coordinated and effective manner. It is affiliated to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The scheme was approved in October 2018.