Digital India & Cyber Crime
Digital India may have become a soft target for criminals as the country recorded a huge increase of 63.5 per cent in cybercrime cases in the year 2019, showed the National Crime Record Bureau data. The NCRB's data stated that 4,4546 cases of cybercrimes were registered in 2019 as compared to 28,248 in 2018.
According to Lucknow Newspaper Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has revealed that Uttar Pradesh accounted for the maximum number of economic offences in 2018. While the state recorded 22,822 cases of economic offences, Rajasthan was a close second with 21,309 such cases. The data showed in 60.4 per cent of cases, registered fraud was the motive followed by sexual exploitation (5.1%) and causing disrepute (4.2%).
The data comes at a time when India’s probe agencies – the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation – are investigating some crucial cases pertaining to economic offences, including the Rs14,356 crore Punjab National Bank scam, the INX Media case, as well as the ICICI Bank-Videocon Industries case.
The Information Technology Act- 2000, lays down the provisions regarding cybercrimes and the penalties there off. An amendment was made in 2008, with a special focus on Information Security. However, not all cybercrimes are covered under IT Act, with crimes related to forgery, threat, misappropriation etc have provisions under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Despite the tall claims by the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh on the improving law and order situation, the new age crime - ransomware - seems to be growing in the state. By Latest Today News in NCRB report, out of 1,218 cyberattacks involving ransomware, 1,136 took place in Uttar Pradesh. Notably, there is a 400% rise in such cases across the country as compared to the 2017 numbers. In 2017, there were just 300 such cases countrywide, though UP had still the highest 245 cases involving ransomware then. Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid.
Even the states considered to be information technology hubs, like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, are nowhere close to UP. While Andhra Pradesh has zero such cases registered in 2018, Karnataka has seven. The only state that comes next to UP is Jharkhand with mere 51 cases. Nevertheless, Karnataka still tops the charts when it comes to non-ransomware cyberattacks.
According to Up News Live by a senior police officer in UP's cybercrime cell, "Computer illiteracy combined with negligence is the primary cause of ransomware attacks."
Good anti-virus software and not falling prey to attractive but unauthentic lucrative baits in the form of cash rewards are some of the safeguards. Besides, there are times when small firms or individuals attach their backup data to the internet by plugging devices into their systems. Such data is always vulnerable to ransomware. But considering the size of the state and its population, 1,136 is still a minuscule figure when compared to the way people throw caution to wind."
To know more click here: Lucknow Newspaper
