Will the Minister of Electronics & Information Technology be pleased to state:-
(a) whether there has been a sharp rise of 77 per cent in incidents of cyber crimes from 2016 to 2017 and if so, the details thereof from;
(b) the reaction of the Government thereto; and
(c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to curb the cyber crimes and rising cases of cyber-stalking of women?
(a): As per the data maintained by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs, a total of 12317 and 21796 cyber crime cases were registered during the years 2016 and 2017 respectively showing a rise of 77 percent. These include cases registered under the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 and related sections of Indian Penal Code and Special & Local Laws involving computer as medium/ target.
(b) and (c): With the growth of number of users on Internet, rise in cyber crime is a global phenomenon. Government has taken a number of legal, technical and administrative measures to prevent cyber crimes. These inter alia, include:
(i) Enactment of the Information Technology Act 2000 which has provisions to deal with prevalent cyber crimes. Further, sections 354A and 354D of Indian Penal Code provide punishment for cyber bullying and cyber stalking.
(ii) To spread awareness on cyber crime, several steps have been taken that include dissemination of messages on cyber crime through MHA Twitter handle @cyberDost, radio campaign, publishing of Handbook for Adolescents / Students, publishing of ‘Information Security Best practices’ for the benefit of Govt. Officials/ Officers. Organizing of cyber Safety and Security Awareness weeks, in association with police department in different States/Uts etc.
(iii) To prevent such crimes and to speed up investigation, MHA has taken several steps to spread awareness about cyber crimes issue through alerts/ advisories, capacity building/training of law enforcement personnel/ prosecutors/ judicial officers, improving cyber forensics facilities etc. MHA has also launched an online national cyber crime reporting portal, (www.cybercrime.gov.in) to enable complainants to report complaints pertaining to all types of cyber crimes with special focus on cyber crimes against women and children.
(iv) Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology through a program, namely, Information Security Education & Awareness (ISEA), has been creating awareness among users highlighting the importance of following the ethics while using Internet and advising them not to share rumors/fake news. A dedicated website for information security awareness (https://www.infosecawareness.in) provides all the relevant awareness material.
(v) Cyber Crime Cells have been set up in all States and Union Territories for reporting and investigation of cyber crime cases.
(vi) Government has set up cyber forensic training and investigation labs in the States of Kerala, Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and Jammu & Kashmir for training of law enforcement personnel and Judiciary in these States.
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