Why in News?

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently reviewed cyber security infrastructure and functioning of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
• He appealed to spread awareness to curb the menace of cybercrime.

What’s in today’s article?

• About I4C (Objectives, Functions)
• About NDSO (Purpose)
• Cyber Security (Laws related to cyber-security, Institutions Involved)
• News Summary

About Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C):

• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre is an initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to combat cyber-crime in the country, in a coordinated and effective manner.
• It acts as a nodal point in the fight against cybercrime.
• The centre is located in New Delhi.

Functions of I4C:

• To prevent misuse of cyber space for furthering the cause of extremist and terrorist groups
• Suggest amendments, if required, in cyber laws to keep pace with fast changing technologies and International cooperation
• To coordinate all activities related to implementation of Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLAT) with other countries related to cybercrimes in consultation with the concerned nodal authority in MHA.

What is the National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO)?

• The Ministry of Home Affairs launched the National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) in 2018.
• NDSO is a central database of sexual offenders in the country which is being maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
• Currently, the database has a registry of over 13 lakh individuals involved in sexual offences, like rape, molestation, stalking, child abuse, etc.
• The database allows investigation officers to track habitual sex offenders, besides initiating preventive measures against sexual offences.

Laws related to Cyber Security in India:

• Information Technology Act, 2000 –
  • As of now, the only law applicable to such a mechanism is the Information Technology Act, 2000.
  • The Act provides legal recognition and protection for transactions carried out through electronic data and other means of electronic communication.
  • It also focuses on information security, defines reasonable security practices to be followed by corporates and redefines the role of intermediaries, recognizes the role of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).
  • The IT Act not only extends to the whole of India, but it is also applicable to any offence or contravention committed outside India by any person.
• National Cyber Security Policy (2013) –
  • National Cyber Security Policy is a policy framework by Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).
  • It aims at protecting the public and private infrastructure from cyber-attacks.
  • The policy also intends to safeguard “information, such as personal information (of web users), financial and banking information and sovereign data”.

Institutions Involved in Ensuring Cyber Security:

• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) –
  • CERT-In has been operational since 2004.
  • It is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
  • It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing.
  • It strengthens security-related defence of the Indian Internet domain.
  • In the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008, CERT-In has been designated to serve as the national nodal agency to perform various functions in the area of cyber security.
• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal –
  • This portal is an initiative of Government of India to facilitate victims/ complainants to report cyber-crime complaints online.
  • This portal caters all types of cyber-crime complaints.
  • The portal also provides an option of reporting an anonymous complaint for reporting online Child Pornography (CP) or sexually explicit content such as Rape/Gang Rape (RGR) content.

 News Summary:

• Recently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed cyber security infrastructure and functioning of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)
• He said that I4C is organizing “Cyber Jagarukta Diwas” on the first Wednesday of every month.
• The I4C is reaching out to all the states in the country to play an active and pivotal role in this initiative and help promote cyber hygiene.
• More than 20 lakh cyber-crime complaints have been registered on the cybercrime portal so far.
• He also said that 99.99 per cent of police stations (16,597) in the country have been connected with CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems).
  • CCTNS, launched in 2009, aims to integrate all the data and records of crime into a single database.
  • Police stations are now registering 100 per cent of First Information Reports directly on CCTNS.
  • The database so far contains 28.98 crore police records.
• Under the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform ‘CyTrain’, the Minister further stated more than 31,000 police officers have been registered and more than 8,000 certificates have been issued.
  • CyTrain portal has been developed by National Cybercrime Training Centre of I4C, MHA.
  • It aims to build capacities at all levels such as investigators, public prosecutors, police officers etc., by providing online courses and certificates.
• He also mentioned that more than 500 apps have been blocked on I4C’s recommendation due to security reasons.