Lok Sabha Question No. 182 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-07
Subject: Cyber Frauds
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Manoj Rajoria, Ranjeeta Koli, Balak Nath, Sumedhanand Saraswati

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 182

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 7.12.2022

## CYBER FRAUDS

## 182. DR. MANOJ RAJORIA:            SHRIMATI RANJEETA KOLI: SHRI BALAK NATH: SHRI SUMEDHANAND SARASWATI:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has received a number of complaints related to cyber frauds during the last two years and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government is aware that these cyber criminals are far from being caught due to lack of technocrats at present and if so, the details thereof alongwith the number of such criminals punished so far;
- (c) the  efforts  being  made  by  the  Government  to  effectively  check  the  increasing  cases  of  cyber  fraud including the punishment for such criminals; and
- (d) whether the Government is also initiating any awareness campaign to prevent cyber frauds, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a) and (b):The policies of the Government are aimed at ensuring an Open, Safe and Trusted and Accountable Internet  for  its  users.  With  the  expansion  of  the  Internet  and  more  and  more  Indians  coming  online,  the number  of  Indians  exposed  to  cyber  frauds  has  also  grown.  The  many  challenges  in  securing  cyberspace against cyber frauds also flow from its vastness and borderless nature. As per data reported by the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of complaints reported under the online financial fraud category of the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal over the period from 1.1.2021 to 30.11.2022 is 8,84,863. Further, the Bureau has informed that as per data reported to it by States and Union territories, a total of 10,395 and 14,007 cases  were  registered  under  the  category  'Frauds  for  cybercrimes'  during  the  years  2020  and  2021 respectively and, further, 2,332 and 3,503 persons respectively were arrested in relation to the said category in the said years.

The  Information  Technology  Act,  2000  ('IT  Act')  penalises  various  offences  relating  to  the  cyberspace, including  tampering  with  computer  source  documents  (section  65),  dishonestly  or  fraudulently  accessing  a computer resource without the permission of its owneror person in charge (section 66), identity theft (section 66C), cheating by impersonation (section 66D), etc.  These offences are in addition to the penal provisions under the Indian Penal Code for various offences relating to fraud. Such offences are cognizable offences. As per  the  provisions  of  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure,  1973,  prevention  and  investigation  of  cognizable offences is to be done by the police, and as per the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, 'Police' is a State subject.  As  such,  States  are  primarily  responsible  for  the  prevention,  investigation  etc.  of  such  offences through the State police departments, which take preventive and penal action as per law.

Public has been enabled to report financial cyber fraud incidents through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in), which is connected to police stations and helps them in investigating effectively and improving coordination across States, districts and police stations.

- (c)  and (d): Government has taken a number of measures to check cyber frauds and to create awareness to prevent the same. These include the following:
- (i)          The  Indian  Cyber  Crime  Coordination  Centre  (I4C)  under  the  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  has  been designated as the nodal point in the fight against cybercrime. A toll-free number 1930 has been made operational for citizens to get assistance in lodging online complaints in their own language. To spread

awareness  on  cybercrime,  the  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  has  taken  several  steps  that  include dissemination  of  messages  on  cybercrime  through  the  Twitter  handle  @cyberDost  and  radio campaigns.

- (ii)        The  Indian  Computer  Emergency  Response  Team  (CERT-In)  has  formulated  a  Cyber  Crisis Management  Plan  for  countering  cyber-attacks  and  cyber  terrorism  for  implementation  by  all Ministries  and  Departments  of  the  Central  Government,  State  Governments  and  their  organisations and critical sectors.
- (iii)    CERT-In conducts regular training programmes for network and system administrators and the Chief Information Security Officers of Government and critical sector organisations regarding securing the information technology infrastructure and mitigating cyber-attacks. A total of 41 training programmes were conducted, covering 11,377 participants, during the years 2021 and 2022 (upto November).
- (iv)        CERT-In  operates  the  Cyber  Swachhta  Kendra  (Botnet  Cleaning  and  Malware  Analysis  Centre)  to detect malicious programs and free tools to remove the same, and to provide cyber security tips and best practices for citizens and organisations.
- (v)      CERT-In issues alerts and advisories regarding latest cyber threats/vulnerabilities and countermeasures to protect computers and networks on an ongoing basis.
- (i) Security tips have been published for users to secure their desktops and mobile phones and to prevent phishing attacks.
- (ii) CERT-In operates an automated cyber threat exchange platform for proactively collecting, analysing and sharing tailored alerts with organisations across sectors for proactive threat mitigation actions by them.
- (iii) All authorised entities and banks issuing pre-paid payment instruments (wallets) in the country have been advised by CERT-In through the Reserve Bank of India to carry out special audit by empanelled auditors of CERT-In on priority basis and to take immediate steps to comply with the findings of the audit report and ensure implementation of security best practices.
- (iv) Cyber security mock drills are being conducted to enable assessment of cyber security posture and preparedness of organisations in the Government and critical sectors. 74 such drills have so far been conducted by CERT-In, in which 990 organisations from different States and sectors participated.
- (v) CERT-In  has  set  up  the  National  Cyber  Coordination  Centre  to  generate  situational  awareness regarding existing and potential cyber security threats.
- (vi) CERT-In  also  co-operates,  works  and  coordinates  incident  response  measures  with  international CERTs, overseas organisations and service providers as well as law enforcement agencies.
- (vii) CERT-In  provides  leadership  for  the  Computer  Security  Incident  Response  Team-Finance  Sector (CSIRT-Fin)  operations  under  its  umbrella  for  responding  toand  containing  and  mitigating  cyber security incidents reported from the financial sector.
- (viii) CERT-In,  National  Institute  of  Securities  Markets  and  the  Centre  for  Development  of  Advanced Computing (C-DAC) conducts a self-paced 60-hour certification Cyber Security Foundation Course for professionals in the financial sector.
- (ix) CERT-In  regularly  disseminates  information  and  shares  security  tips  on  cyber  safety  and  security through  its  official  social  media  handles  and  websites.  CERT-In  organised  various  events  and activities for citizens during Safe Internet Day on 8.2.2022 and Cyber Security Awareness Month in October  2022  by  posting  security  tips  using  posters  and  videos  on  social  media  platforms  and websites. CERT-In, in association with C-DAC, conducted an online awareness campaign for citizens, covering topics such as general online safety, social media risks and safety, mobile related frauds and safety, secure digital payment practices etc. through videos and quizzes on MyGov platform.
- (x) CERT-In and the Reserve Bank of India jointly  carry  out  a  cyber  security  awareness  campaign  on 'beware and be aware of financial frauds' through the Digital India Platform.
- (xi) The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology conducts programmes  to generate information  security  awareness.  Specific  books,  videos  and  online  materials  are  developed  for children, parents and general users about information security, which are disseminated through portals such as www.infosecawareness.in and www.csk.gov.in.