Posted by New Delhi: India’s national cybercrime reporting portal — has recorded over four lakh complaints according to a top official.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs’ national cybercrime reporting portal has recorded over four lakh complaints, of which 50% are related to financial frauds,” said Ashok Kumar, Director – Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
“The portal gives us MIS kind of a report and gives us a perspective on what kind of complaints/ frauds are trending. What are the upcoming frauds and how we can work on policies and take up certain matters with the concerned authorities…,” Kumar added.
The Indian government launched the national cybercrime reporting portal launched on August 30, 2019.
Addressing the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) hosted cybersecurity event, Kumar informed about the portal has recently developed a new module. “The new module Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System has helped us save Rs 5 crore within two to three months,” said Kumar.
The new module released with helpline number 155260 allows individuals to file complaints with the police. After filing the complaint, the police take note of certain parameters and then the information is feed into the system. Following that the system alerts the banks on any suspicious transaction, saving the targeted amount.
Dr Gulshan Rai, India’s first Cybersecurity Coordinator and Distinguished Fellow – ORF, said that the Covid-19 pandemic and rising digitisation has led to a surge in cybercrimes. He cautioned the industry against the rise in targeted attacks, which has impacted the industry of late.
“In India, almost every sector has been breached because they all are inter-connected. During the pandemic, the number of breaches increased by 2,000% because we were using ASL or DSL from home,” said Dr Rai.
He also highlighted that although 90% of attacks are traditional attacks, which include phishing, malware, etc. Solar winds, Wannacry, are some examples of targeted attacks that are detrimental for any organisation and nation.