Cyber security centre in state soon

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 22

The Himachal Police is set to crackdown on increasing cyber crime by bringing best technical support under one roof at the centre for cyber security after the success of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) pilot project.

The CCTNS was aimed at creating country-wide network to facilitate tracking of criminals.

“The centre for cyber security for investigation and innovation will be set up at the state Police Headquarters in Shimla. Best technical support from the entire state will be brought under one roof to develop synergy and keep constant vigil on cyber space,” DGP Sanjay Kumar told The Tribune.

Expected to become functional within a year, the centre would enable the police to put a tab on the mischievous elements in the virtual world invading private cyber space of individuals, government agencies, industrial houses and banks by indulging in hacking, phishing, cyber terror, cash cards electronic thefts, industrial spying, web defacements, stocking and publication of obscene contents.

“More than 350 cases of cyber crime were registered last year, most of them related to hacking of email and social media accounts, stocking through mobile phones, ATM frauds, obscene messages and mobile phone thefts,” the DGP said.

Sources in the Cyber Crime Branch said the number of complaints was about 500, but in several cases the complainants did not want registration of FIRs and were only interested in getting the money back.

“In almost 100 per cent cyber crime cases, criminals were operating from outside Himachal and located mainly in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar and North- East and tracking them was an intricate and tricky exercise,” Satwant Atwal, IG (Crime) and in-charge of the state cyber cell, said.

A cyber lab being developed at a cost of Rs 50 lakh would also be part of the “centre for cyber security”. Voice analysis and digital forensic, which would come up at the Forensic Lab in Junga, 30 km from here, would go a long way in speedy investigations and analysis of samples of computer files, voice recording and digital data being sent outside the state.

As per the data compiled by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI): “There are 355 integrated data centres, 17.4 m high-speed internet users, 24.3 m internet users and 904 million mobile phone users in the country, which means a big challenge to prevent cyber crimes.”

The cyber financial frauds are on the rise due to the fact that more than 30 per cent of total transactions are done online in the country, DSCI forensic experts opine. Cyber crimes have registered an annual increase of about 40 per cent in the country in the past few years.