NEW INITIATIVES ON CYBERSECURITY

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Context:

Central government has introduced a range of new initiatives to enable greater data sharing between law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders.

Cyber ​​Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC)

• CFMC has been established at the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) in New Delhi with representatives of major banks, Financial Intermediaries, Payment Aggregators, Telecom Service Providers, IT Intermediaries and States/UTs Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs).
• They will work together for immediate action and seamless cooperation to tackle online financial crimes.
• The CFMC is also likely to work on identifying the modus operandi (MO) of cyber criminals using data and inputs from the representatives of these stakeholders
• CFMC will serve as an example of "Cooperative Federalism" in law enforcement.

The Samanvay platform (Joint Cyber ​​Crime Investigation Facility System

• The Samanvaya Platform, also known as the Joint Cybercrime Investigation Facilitation System, will be designed as a single repository of data pertaining to cyber crimes.
• This unified database is expected to aid in cybercrime mapping, data sharing, data analytics, cooperation and coordination among law enforcement agencies across India.

The 'Cyber ​​Commandos' program

• Under this program, a special wing of trained 'Cyber Commandos' will be established to counter threats to cyber security landscape in the country.
• These commandos will be stationed in Central Police Organisations (CPOs) in all states and Union Territories.
• The government plans to train and deploy 5,000 such Cyber Commandos over the next five years.

Central Suspect Registry

• The Central Suspect Registry will serve as a central-level database with consolidated data on cybercrime suspects from across the country.
• The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) has been tasked with establishing the Suspect Registry.
• The NCRP will work with banks and financial intermediaries to create a pool of identifiers that would assist law enforcement agencies at the national and state level in mitigating cyber frauds.
• Under the Suspect Registry system, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) will share a list of all the repeat offenders in their servers with police personnel of any state as well as bank officials.

Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) 

Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) is an initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India to deal with cybercrime in the country in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.

Components of I4C

National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit (TAU)	Produce cybercrime threat intelligence reports and organize periodic interaction on specific cybercrime-centric discussions.
National Cybercrime Reporting	Facilitate reporting of all types of cybercrime incidents with a special focus on cybercrime against women and children.
Platform for Joint Cybercrime Investigation Team	Facilitate the joint identification, prioritization, preparation, and initiation of multi-jurisdictional action against cybercrimes.
National Cybercrime Forensic Laboratory (NCFL) Ecosystem	A centre to support investigation process. NCFL and associated Central Forensic Science Laboratory to be well-equipped and well-staffed in order to engage in analysis and investigation activities to keep-up with new technical developments.
National Cybercrime Training Centre (NCTC)	Standardization of course curriculum focused on cybercrimes, impact containment and investigations, imparting practical cybercrime detection, containment and reporting trainings on simulated cyber environments.
Cybercrime Ecosystem Management Unit	Develop ecosystems that bring together academia, industry and government to spread awareness of cybercrimes, establish standard operating procedures to contain the impact of cybercrimes and respond to cybercrimes.
National Cyber Crime Research and Innovation Centre	Track emerging technological developments, proactively predict potential vulnerabilities, which can be exploited by cybercriminals.

Objectives of I4C

• To act as a nodal point to curb Cybercrime in the country.
• To strengthen the fight against Cybercrime committed against women and children.
• Facilitate easy filing Cybercrime related complaints and identifying Cybercrime trends and patterns.
• To act as an early warning system for Law Enforcement Agencies for proactive Cybercrime prevention and detection.
• Awareness creation among public about preventing Cybercrime.
• Assist States/UTs in capacity building of Police Officers, Public Prosecutors and Judicial Officers in the area of cyber forensic, investigation, cyber hygiene, cyber-criminology, etc.

Pratibimb software of I4C

• It has been developed to help enforcement agencies, including state police forces, to map cybercriminals in real time and destroy their networks.
• The software provides a map view to personnel of law enforcement agencies and service providers to ascertain the actual locations of mobile numbers active in criminal activities.

Must read articles:

CERT IN: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/cert-in

World Cyber Crime Index: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/world-cybercrime-index

Cyber Insurance: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/cyber-insurance

Sources:

https://www.mha.gov.in/en/division_of_mha/cyber-and-information-security-cis-division/Details-about-Indian-Cybercrime-Coordination-Centre-I4C-Scheme

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2053438#:~:text=The%20Home%20Minister%20dedicated%20the,Commandos'%20program%20and%20Suspect%20Registry.

https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/samanvaya-portal-suspect-registry-anti-cyber-crime-initiatives-government-9562258/ 

PRACTICE QUESTIONS Q.“Pratibimb” platform, often mentioned in the news, is associated with which of the following? A. Cyber Crime Tracking. B. Water Conservation. C. Financial Transaction record. D. Biometric database of habitual criminals. Answer: A Explanation: The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and Joint Cybercrime Coordination Teams (JCCT) Jamtara, Jharkhand has launched the ‘Pratibimb’ platform which not only aggregates data but also employs geospatial mapping to pinpoint the physical locations of mobile numbers associated with cybercrimes. This innovative web platform is set to redefine the way Law Enforcement Agencies tackle online criminal activities, offering a powerful new tool in the ongoing battle again