Cyber Crimes In India Have Increased By 457% In 5 Years

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM-NEC for short) recently conducted a joint study which indicates that the number of cybercrime incidents pursuant to the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 in India has increased by 457% during five years from 2011 to 2016.

According to Symantec Corp, an American company specialized in providing cybersecurity software and services, India is among the five countries most affected by cybercrimes. From 2012 to 2017, the number of internet users increased at the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 44%, this has placed India in the third position in terms of the number of internet users, surpassed by only the US and China.

According to the study, a lot of law enforcement agencies have made more use of advanced technologies such as Facial Recognition, Big Data Analytics or Artificial Intelligence to spot and seize cyber suspects and criminals. Nevertheless, these technologies have only been implemented on the state level, instead of the national level. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that the central government must aid and fund the utilization of these technologies to help law enforcement agencies deal with cybercrimes more effectively.

The government and various law enforcement agencies of India have pioneered in the fight against increasing cybercrimes. The central government and private organizations are helping the state government and police to develop more advanced measures to detect and neutralize cyber-crimes.

The study also states that the implementation of these new technologies will also provide access to personal information, which helps to deliver more personalized public services, assist the protection of public security, fight against crimes and reduce burdens on citizens and enterprises.

A number of other strategies are also being implemented including setting up cybercrime labs, cyber forensic labs, respond centers to spot and fight cyber-attacks. Additionally, the training and improvement of Police officers to detect and fight cybercrimes is also crucial to keep the police informed about cybercrimes and anti-cybercrimes measures.