Cybercrime a National Security Threat, Says HM Amit Shah

Source ~ PIB

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has warned of cybercrime as a new serious threat to national security. He said that India’s data was being stolen and probably sold to enemies. In his speech at the National Conference on Tackling Cyber-Enabled Frauds & Dismantling the Ecosystem held in New Delhi, Shah made a forceful appeal for coordinated efforts as the country’s digital ecosystem keeps growing.

The event was organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation, in collaboration with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Shah launched an appeal to the police departments of various states to upgrade the ‘1930’ cybercrime helpline by appointing an adequate number of call handlers, thus, facilitating a quicker response and a better recovery of funds.

The HM asked banks to utilize the AI-powered  Mule Account Hunter software jointly developed by the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India, as part of efforts to detect and prevent mule account crimes.

On the point of accomplishment, he disclosed that though 361,000 cyber fraud complaints, the government has successfully safeguarded ₹8,189 crore. He said that the according to estimates, the total amount of fraud was around ₹20,000 crore, out of which the government froze or returned ₹8,189 crore to the victims. The government has also cancelled 12 lakh SIM cards, blocked 3 lakh mobile IMEIs, and arrested over 20,000 accused as part of its crackdown.

The HM said that the Centre was advancing real-time reporting systems, forensic capacity, R&D, and nationwide cyber hygiene efforts to dismantle the fraud ecosystem.