29 Jul Cyber Crime
This article covers “Daily Current Affairs” and the topic details “Cyber Crime”. The topic “Cyber Crime” has relevance in the Security section of the UPSC CSE exam.
For Prelims:
What is Cyber Crime?
Types of Cyber Crime?
For Mains:
GS 3: Security
Challenges Related to Cyber Security in India?
Measures to Tackle Cyber Crimes in India?
Government Initiatives to Deal with Cyber Crimes in India?
Why in the news?
Over the past six months, the world has experienced the immense potential of AI, along with the concerning challenges it poses, including misinformation, deepfakes, and the impact on job displacement.
What is Cyber Crime?
Cybercrime is a form of criminal activity in which computers or digital devices are either the target or the means used to commit offenses. It encompasses a wide range of illegal or unauthorized activities that exploit technology to perpetrate various forms of crimes.
Types of Cyber Crime:
- Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks: Overwhelming an online service by flooding it with traffic from multiple sources, causing the website or network to become unavailable.
- Botnets: Networks of compromised computers controlled by remote hackers to conduct spamming or launch attacks on other computers.
- Identity Theft: Criminals gain access to personal or confidential information to tarnish a person’s reputation or demand a ransom.
- Cyberstalking: Using online platforms, social media, websites, and search engines to harass and intimidate an individual.
- Phishing: Deceptive techniques to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information like login credentials and credit card details.
Challenges Related to Cyber Security in India:
- Profit-Focused Infrastructure Mindset: Private sector investments in IT, electricity, and telecom sectors often prioritize profitable infrastructure over cyber-attack preparedness.
- Non Availability of Separate Procedural Code: Currently, India lacks a specific procedural code dedicated to the investigation of cyber or computer-related offenses.
- Trans-National Nature of Cyber Attacks: Cybercrimes often transcend international borders, making evidence collection from foreign territories complex and time-consuming.
- Expanding Digital Ecosystem: The digitalization of various economic factors in India increases the risk of cyber threats, especially with technologies like 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT).
- Limited Expertise and Authority: Offenses related to cryptocurrency are under-reported due to limited capacity to investigate such crimes. Cyber labs need recognition as ‘Examiners of Electronic Evidence’ by the central government.
Measures to Tackle Cyber Crimes in India:
- Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign: Conduct extensive awareness campaigns to educate the public about cyber frauds, strong passwords, safe use of public Wi-Fi, etc.
- Cyber Insurance: Develop tailored cyber insurance policies for different businesses and industries to mitigate financial losses from cyber incidents.
- Data Protection Law: Implement stringent data protection regulations, inspired by global frameworks like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and India’s Personal Data Protection Bill.
- Collaborative Trigger Mechanism: Establish a collaborative approach to quickly respond to cyber threats, involving all stakeholders, law enforcement agencies, and private companies.
Government Initiatives to Deal with Cyber Crimes in India:
- Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): Coordinates efforts to combat all types of cybercrimes nationwide.
- National Cyber Forensic Laboratory: Provides early-stage cyber forensic assistance to investigating officers of all State/UT Police.
- CyTrain Portal: Offers online courses for capacity building of police officers, judicial officers, and prosecutors on cyber-crime investigation and forensics.
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: Allows the public to report cybercrimes, with a focus on crimes against women and children.
- Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System: Assists in lodging online cyber complaints and reporting financial frauds through a toll-free helpline.
- Cybercrime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) Scheme: Provides financial assistance to states for developing capabilities of law enforcement agencies in investigating cybercrimes.
- Joint Cyber Coordination Teams:to improve coordination among law enforcement agencies across different states and union territories, especially when dealing with cyber issues that involve multiple jurisdictions.
- Central Assistance for Modernization of Police: provides financial assistance to states and union territories to acquire modern weaponry, advanced communication,forensic equipment, and cyber policing tools.
Conclusion:
Global cooperation, information sharing, and joint efforts in cybersecurity research and development are crucial in combating cybercrime, which often originates beyond national borders. Corporates and government departments must identify gaps in their cybersecurity strategies and implement a layered security system with intelligence sharing among different layers to effectively tackle cyber threats.
Q.1 Which of the following statements is/are false regarding the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)?
- I4C is a government initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to combat cybercrimes in India.
- The center facilitates the reporting of cybercrimes through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, with a special focus on crimes against women and children.
- I4C provides financial assistance to victims of cybercrimes for their recovery and rehabilitation.
Select the correct option using the codes below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
ANSWER: C
Q.2 What is the “CyTrain Portal” in the context of cybercrime management in India?
(a) A government initiative to provide cybersecurity training to school students.
(b) An online platform for reporting cybercrimes and seeking immediate assistance.
(c) A portal offering specialized online courses for capacity building in cybercrime investigation.
(d) A collaborative platform for international cooperation in combating cyber threats.
ANSWER: C
Q.3 Discuss the challenges posed by cybercrime in the modern digital era and examine the measures that governments and organizations can adopt to enhance cybersecurity and combat cyber threats effectively.
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