Centre streamlines cybercrime fighting mechanism

Sub: SCI

Sec: Awareness in IT

Context:

In an effort to further streamline cyber security and measures against cybercrime, President Droupadi Murmu allocated responsibilities to three Ministries and the National Security Council Secretariat.
Accordingly, the Cabinet Secretariat has notified changes in Allocation of Business Rules.
The borderless nature of cyberspace poses significant challenges for crime prevention and response.
This streamlined approach aims to bolster India’s defence against the increasing threat of cybercrime while improving the overall cybersecurity infrastructure.

Responsibilities under the notification:

Department of Telecommunications: Responsible for security of telecom networks.
Electronics & Information Technology Ministry (MeitY): Responsible for cybersecurity matters as per the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Internal Security Department (Home Ministry): Responsible for matters related to cybercrime.
National Security Council Secretariat: Responsible for overall coordination and strategic direction for cybersecurity.

Government Initiatives for cyber security:

Meghdoot Cloud Suite: A free and open-source cloud solution developed to address cybersecurity needs.
Hardened Mobile operating system: Developed by C-DAC to enforce custom security policies on pre-built software in devices.
CERT-In: Designated as the national agency for responding to cybersecurity incidents.
National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC): Implemented by CERT-In to monitor and detect cybersecurity threats.

Coordination mechanism:

State Responsibility: States/UTs are tasked with prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of cybercrimes through their law enforcement agencies (LEAs).
Support from the Centre: The Centre provides advisories and financial assistance to States/UTs for capacity building of LEAs.
Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): Established to strengthen comprehensive mechanisms for addressing cybercrimes.
Joint Cyber Coordination Teams (JCCTs): Set up in seven regions (Mewat, Jamtara, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Vishakhapatnam, Guwahati) under I4C to enhance coordination among LEAs, focusing on cybercrime hotspots and multi-jurisdictional issues.

Cybercrime Statistics:

As per the data published by the NCRB, cases registered under the cybercrime head (involving communication devices as medium/target) during the period from 2020 to 2022 rose to around 66,000 from around 50,000.