With increasing number of cases of cyber crime being reported across the state, Inspector General (IG), cyber crime, Yashasvi Yadav talks to Mohamed Thaver about the need for pre-empting cyber crimes and the looming threat of cyber terrorism.
Cyber crime has been growing at a rampant pace across the state and the country. In terms of crimes reported, how big a threat do you think cyber crime is?
Cyber crime has become the world’s biggest organised crime syndicate in 2021. Its damages are worth 6 trillion — 2.5 times the value of India’s economy. It is believed that by 2025, cyber crime damages will be worth 10 trillion dollars. Over the years, cyber crime has only grown and was especially accelerated during the pandemic.
Among the various kinds of cyber crime emerging, which ones do you see as the biggest threats?
In terms of threat level, cyber terrorism is something that we should be wary of. Railway signaling systems can be hacked and trains made to collide with each other, water purification systems can be hacked and chlorine content can be increased that could prove fatal for a large section of the population. Drone tracks are something that has already begun. Cyber terrorism is something we should guard against. Back in October 2020, there was an attack on our electricity lines leading to a power outage. I had done an inquiry in that case and we found 14 trojan horses installed, a finding that was ratified by the central agencies.
In terms of monetary crimes, what are the biggest threats?
One of the most damaging cyber crimes is ransomware attacks that target big organisations. Two weeks back, there was a ransomware attack on Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT) port, which had suffered a similar attack a few years back. There was also a ransomware attack at MIDC. Apart from that, we have lost large sums in malware attacks in banks like the ones in Nanded and Pune where they lost Rs 14 crore and Rs 96 crore respectively. Recently, there have been rising cases of e-SIM fraud where fraudsters activate e-SIM in your name and wipe out your bank account.
What measures can be taken to avoid such losses to cyber crimes?
In a nutshell, we need TRA – Training Resources and Awareness to take on cyber crime. The biggest weapon in cases of cyber crime is awareness as it is very difficult to detect cases where Virtual Private Network (VPN) is used as it makes us lose the IP address. We need resources like state-of-the-art mechanisms to counter such attacks. We are also training our own people so that they are equipped to take on such sophisticated cyber crimes. However, unlike conventional crime for which you need to train once, cyber crime is like an amoeba that is constantly changing its form. Hence, the training has to be continuous as cyber criminals keep evolving their modus operandi in a matter of weeks.
What should be the government’s approach in terms of resources provided and policy formulated against cyber crime?
Policy makers have to focus on cyber crime. We should not wait for a trigger in the form of a big attack to start developing our capabilities but be proactive and avoid any such attack from taking place. There should be proper training, attention should be given to cyber crime as the department needs resources, training and manpower. The government should fill these gaps so that we become more proactive.