Sharing the journey of the cyber labs, Dr Kamlesh Bajaj, Founder CEO said, “DSCI has come a long way from taking over the functioning of four cyber labs (in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal & Karnataka) at the time of inception to enhancing the infrastructure of these labs significantly and adding three more in (Haryana and Maharashtra) which became fertile training grounds for forty five thousand officers in charge of law enforcement”. He added “besides training – which is an integral part – these labs are known to host cyber-crime awareness week, and create a mass sensitization movement on cyber-crime and allied subjects”.
Talking about the training material he said that the years 2009 to2014 were critical, foundational years in the development of this material. The matter contained in these manuals is based on real-life issues and challenges faced by police officers when conducting investigations – not necessarily restricted to technicalities and borne from a working network of cyber forensics experts, police, judiciary, CBI state police and similar bodies. The first level of the manual has been adopted by the Indian Armed Forces, Customs and Indian Railways. Cyber Awareness training programmes have percolated down to Tier 2 cities as well. Initiating Cyber forensics forum, running the Cyber Cop Award were some of the other feathers in the cap of DSCI. Clearly, expanding footprints was a testimony to its success. Given the speed at which technology is advancing, this effort would always remain as work-in-progress.
He also said given the speed at which technology is advancing, this effort would always remain as work-in-progress. In its second version now, but very soon it is expected that third version and beyond would follow suit.
India for IT, India for Cyber Security
Highlighting the role of the manual in outlining procedures arising out of mobile phone data analysis, surveillance techniques and many others, R Chandrashekar, President NASSCOM, said that the blurring of lines between international cyber gangs, local gangs, states, nation states and with terrorism looming large, made it imperative for guidelines and procedures to be laid down to facilitate investigation. He added that just as India was renowned for IT, the future should include the world mentioning India in the same breath (when it comes to cyber-security). To make this foreseeable in the future, workshops must be designed to make participants understand Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) for cyber-crimes and be able to build cyber forensic capabilities. As such, the manual will prove to be a better guide in assisting the law enforcement agencies in discharging their onerous responsibilities.
Cybercrime Manual Cornerstone in Cybercrime Training
GK Pillai, Chairman DSCI and Former Home Secretary, Govt. of India, quoted global estimates, which reveal that the impact of cybercrime is almost 445 billion dollars per year. He added that there had been 37,721 cases of cyber-crimes in India, to the tune of 497 Crores. While highlighting the exponential growth rate, he specified gross under-reporting of these facts.
Adding to this, he said that awareness levels were incredibly low, even in 2015 and India was far from maximizing the potential of the young brains in dealing with the menace of cybercrimes, unlike in the West, where organizations were investing in the talent of the young. He reiterated that the release of the Level-II manual was commendable, and law enforcement must consider cybercrime training as one of the most important activities for recruits.
Effective Cyber Forensics as a Means to Enhanced Cyber Security
Emphasizing on the fact that as a distinct branch of knowledge, cyber-crime is relatively new and its approach a few years back was rather simplistic, was Mr Lokenath Behera, IPS, ADGP, Kerala Police. The lack of knowledge pertaining to cybercrime was omnipresent and DSCI made significant inroads into knowledge dissemination by replicating its success in many states. He shed light on the booming E-commerce industry that is most vulnerable to cyber-attacks. He stressed on the definitive need to increase skill levels even in sectors which may be seemingly progressive and those which exhibit high growth.
Comprehensive and written by technical experts in consultation with law enforcement agencies, the CTM Level-II includes procedures laid down, and which have been a standard reference manual for the criminal justice system. Mr.Behera emphasized that the CTM Level-II needed to reach every police station and police training college. Concluding, he added that without an effective cybercrime forensic mechanism in place, we can never achieve enhanced levels of cyber security.
Improved Judicial Ability to Understand and Redress Cybercrimes
Mr Talwant Singh, District & Sessions Judge in New Delhi, spoke from the judicial point of view and highlighted that those responsible in the judiciary for prosecution must have a clear-cut understanding of laws related to cyber-crimes, else the punishment meted out will be disproportionate to the crime committed. As such, he stressed on the fact that DSCI can play a major role in ensuring that the judiciary is also included as part of training initiatives. In addition, he added that the procedures laid down must reach all courts which deal in cybercrime.
The article is based on proceedings at the inauguration and release of the Cyber-crime Training Manual – II for LEAs at India Habitat Centre, on April 7, 2015. The press release can be read here.
Credits:
Soumitra Dasgupta for NASSCOM (for event rapporteur inputs)
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