New Delhi: A new exclusive cyber and information security(CIS) division was set up at Home Ministry after nearly 150 incidents of cyber threat and security which included phishing, website intrusions, defacements, virus, ATM malware and ransomware were reported in the first half of the year said Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN).
The officials said the new cybersecurity division is scheduled to hold its first meeting with the States and Union Territories on 12 and 13 December which shall notify the state governments of the National Information Security Policy and Guidelines (NISPG) formulated to ensure the safety of data.
Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba is likely to address the cyber experts from the States and UTs during this summit.
The WaannaCry ransomware had reportedly crippled many computers in states like Gujarat, Kerala, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh in the month of May when the attack hit 150 countries, reports Indian Express.
A senior government official said, “As more and more Indians go online, setting up a critical infrastructure to predict and prevent cyber crimes is the need of the hour. We plan to go into the processes of how cybercrime complaints are dealt in different states during the two-day discussions and then come up with a standardised format.”
The latest NCRB data revealed around 12,187 cyber crime related cases were reported last year in 2016 which has increased to a 7.55 percent more than the 2015 records.
Home Ministry official said the Ministry of Home Affairs will also urge the state authorities to create cyber security awareness adding that, “Due to lack of awareness, victims of cyber crimes such as stalking and sexual exploitation do not prefer to get an FIR registered and instead want their problems solved through an intervention from the police.”
The RBI has reported an increase of 4.4 percent cyber crime related cases from 13,083 in 2014-15 to 13,653 in 2016-17. Nearly 562 cases of sexual harassment, and 570 blackmail and extortion cases have been reported in the last year from UP state which recorded the highest number of incidents related to cybercrime.
“The cybercrime cells set up in States and UTs need to be proactive. During the two-day discussion we will also form groups to share best practices,” the official added.
The officials also added that a review of cyber forensic training and investigation labs will also be held in states of Kerala, Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and Jammu & Kashmir.