The digital revolution has invaded India long ago. The nation is now progressively using the transformation to make the society cashless. Apart from making transactions cashless, India is digitizing most other aspects as well. Be it deploying security, managing traffic or manufacturing goods, the Indian economy is enjoying the benefits of digitization even in peripheral areas and industries.
However, with every good thing comes something bitter, and in the case of India, there are more. Disruption, disruption, manipulation and tampering with technology or digital platforms are some of the threats that are associated with the digital revolution. These intimidations encourage the creation of a robust cyber security mechanism in India. In order to limit the risks of breaches, a cybercrime authority is necessary in the country.
Cyber Security in India: Current Scenario
To prevent any cyber attack, India introduced the IT Act in 2000, which was amended and re-enacted in 2008. Technology is evolving literally every day. In order to be more vigilant and attentive to cyber crime, India introduced the National Cyber Security Policy in 2013. However, this policy proved to be very weak.
When in 2014 the PMO took on a new position in the Ministry, i.e. the position of National Cyber Security Coordinator, and put Dr. Gulshan Rai. He also mentioned that there was an incredible 50% increase in cyber crime in 2013.
Till date there have been numerous cyber attacks in India. For example, in 2011, 1,791 cases of cybercrime were registered. In 2015, the number increased to 8,045
Here are some of the notable cyber crimes that have occurred in India:
- Cybercriminals (or popularly known as hackers) have defaced the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). They stole the records and data of approximately 10 million customers of the service.
- In 2015, a total of 912 cyber crimes were registered in Mumbai. Of these 912 cases, 178 cases involved creating fake Facebook profiles and uploading obscene media.
- Binny Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart, became a victim of one of the hackers. The hacker spoofed his email account and sent two emails to the company’s CFO requesting a transfer of $80,000.
- One of the cybercriminals attacked Canara Bank’s website and blocked some of its key payment services.
Retail takes care of the details of cyber security
Not only big names and brands are vulnerable to cyber attacks. Anyone who earns online, sells online, runs e-commerce portals, transacts online is vulnerable. An individual transacting online cannot do cyber security on their own unless their retailer, bank or favorite online shopping portal takes the initiative.
Retailers understand the importance of cyber security well and here’s how they do it in India:
Risk Diversification: As people diversify their financial risk by investing in different programs and assets, big data retailers have different repositories located in different locations. These places could therefore be the corporate office systems, the brand’s online portal or perhaps a trusted, reliable and verified third party.
Continuous monitoring and data monitoring: Diversification is not the end-all solution to countering cyber-attacks. Retailers today deploy various mechanisms, technologies and applications to effectively and efficiently track how their data moves into their IT infrastructure. Therefore, with experts and applications in place, any loophole or system breach can be detected in real time. This way you avoid any attack or escape beforehand.
Connection with third parties: There are organizations and companies that offer high quality and secure data storage services. They are usually called big data companies. These players are efficient in handling, securing, transferring, storing and protecting a large customer database of retail players. Many Indian e-commerce giants rely on these players for maximum security of their data.
Encryption Policy Deployment: Vendors are now investing in encryption policies to secure their data. This means that only a few individuals in the company are authorized to access data or information from the pool. Anyone other than authorized personnel trying to access the data faces firewalls and many other security measures that they cannot get through.
Regular IT infrastructure audits: Like anything that needs maintenance to function over a long period of time, retailers invest heavily in auditing their IT infrastructure from time to time. This is done to remove any error in the system and to make it resistant to cyber attacks.
Action plan against cybercrime
The demonetization that took place recently made the citizens of India realize the potential of online payment systems. Even though many were doing it earlier, the same got stronger after this major decision of the government. Even the government is encouraging people to go cashless. However, both banks and the government know the biggest risk associated with cashless transfer.
It is not just a lack of knowledge among people on how to use online banking, mobile apps to pay or use a debit/credit card to pay bills. It is also about securing the online payment mode to protect the public’s hard earned money.
For the same purpose, the Government of India has taken various initiatives:
Initiation of a major program to develop cyber forensics tools.
Development of tools and mechanisms for tracking digital evidence.
Establishing a Cyber Forensics Training Laboratory at the Central Bureau of Investigation Training Academy to impart knowledge of Cyber Forensics to police officers and new recruits.
Time to time issuing of alerts and alerts on new cyber threats by India’s Computer Emergency Response Team.
Provision for Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) – online portal for cyber crime registration.
A Fully Functional Cybercrime Cell: The need of the hour
With the after effects of demonetisation, online selling and buying is reaching a new level. And with the Indian government’s push to go cashless, a robust and functional cyber crime cell is a must in India. Apart from this, the cyber crime cells will act as a huge deterrent against all kinds of cyber crimes.
It takes years to earn, but a single breach by a cybercriminal is enough to empty your vault!