A day after the Indian government unveiled a series of initiatives to combat cybercrime, cybersecurity experts and activists have welcomed the move, yet remain cautious about its practical implementation. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on September 10, announced plans to train a special wing of 5,000 cyber commandos over the next five years to address rising cyber threats in India.
While the move signals progress, industry experts emphasize the need for a more strong framework and focus on emerging cybercrime trends.
The New Cyber Commandos Unit: A First Line of Defense
At the heart of the government’s initiative is the formation of a cyber commando unit, which will consist of 5,000 commandos recruited from all police forces in each state and Union Territory. Each commando will be selected based on their expertise in IT, digital forensics, and cybersecurity. The cyber commandos will act as India’s first line of defense against domestic and international cyber threats, safeguarding IT networks and investigating cyberspace issues.
However, cybersecurity expert Srinivas Kodali believes this effort, though welcome, is overdue and insufficient. Kodali, an interdisciplinary researcher on data, cities, and the internet, expressed concerns that 5,000 cyber warriors may not be enough, given India’s pace of digitization.
“There has been immense pressure on the government to implement such a program due to the rise in cybercrime. However, the number of cyber warriors is the bare minimum. This initiative is unlikely to revolutionize things, but it is a step in the right direction,” Kodali commented.
Global Inspiration: Following International Cybersecurity Models
India’s new cyber commandos unit appears to draw inspiration from similar government-funded cybersecurity programs in countries like the United States, Australia, China, and Russia. In these nations, cybersecurity professionals protect critical infrastructure, including power grids, transportation systems, and financial networks, from sophisticated cyberattacks. India seeks to emulate this model, with possible collaboration from Western nations for intelligence and technology development.
While experts like Kodali acknowledge the necessity of this move, others, such as cybersecurity entrepreneur Nandakishore Harikumar, CEO of Technisanct, highlight additional areas of concern. Harikumar echoed similar apprehensions about the scale of the initiative, noting the need for greater resources to tackle both cybercrime and enterprise security.
“We need a lot of resources to fight cybercrime and we are lacking in it. So the setting up of cyber warriors is a welcome step in that direction. I believe the government needs to focus on cybercrimes as well as enterprise security. The government should also focus on data breaches as this is the base for cybercrimes,” Harikumar emphasized.
Will AI be Effective in Curbing Cybercrimes?
Another key initiative announced by Shah is the establishment of the Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC), a national platform that will collaborate with banks, financial institutions, telecom providers, and law enforcement to counter online financial crimes. The CFMC will leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyze cyber fraud patterns and create countermeasures.
However, the deployment of AI in cybersecurity raises questions about its efficiency. Kiran Chandra, General Secretary of the Free Software Movement of India (FSMI), advised caution regarding AI’s application in such a critical field.
“AI is still evolving. The data set and algorithms on which AI is trained are critical. If either is biased, the outcomes will be skewed. The open-source way of doing things is not well known. The government should be transparent on its AI’s algorithmic efficiency because there are more than a billion users in the country and zettabytes of data is being generated where it becomes difficult to track information,” Chandra explained.
Srinivas Kodali added that the training of law enforcement in AI technologies is critical. “Online scammers are already using AI, deepfakes, to carry out cybercrimes. It is only natural that the police will get trained on it,” Kodali stated.
‘Collating Data is Crucial’
In another significant move, Shah inaugurated the Samanvaya Platform—a centralized data repository for sharing cybercrime information among law enforcement agencies. The platform aims to streamline data sharing, crime mapping, and analytics to improve investigation efficiency.
Harikumar stressed the importance of localizing data repositories to effectively combat cybercrime in India. He emphasized the importance of localizing data repositories to effectively combat cybercrime in India. “The launch of a data-sharing platform caught my attention. India’s cybercriminals operate in highly localized ways, such as the recent ‘Fedex Courier Scam,’ where criminals target individuals within their region. Collating this data is crucial for mapping and addressing these cybercrimes,” he explained.
By collecting and processing data effectively, the Indian government hopes to build a resilient ecosystem capable of fighting evolving cyber threats. However, as Harikumar noted, ensuring adequate training for the cyber commandos will be key to the platform’s success.
Balancing Cybercrime Prevention with Privacy Concerns
The fourth major initiative by the Indian government is the creation of a national-level ‘suspect registry’ of various mule account identifiers based on the national cybercrime reporting portal, and connecting state registries with it to in strengthen the fraud risk management capabilities of the financial ecosystem. Shah said the national suspect registry will help ensure that states/UTs do not work in silos.
Chandra supported this move but emphasized that the suspect registry should extend beyond financial fraud to include other cyber offenses.
“The aim of threat intelligence and darkweb monitoring systems should ensure the protection of the common man undisputedly. It is the responsibility of the state to ensure that the common man does not suffer cybercrimes. So this is a welcome move.”
“However protecting people from online financial frauds is one thing. But most of the people also fall victim to other online frauds such as stalking, cyberbullying and other basic issues such as drug crime mafia. The government has to look into these things too and take stringent action,” Chandra argued.
He also stressed the importance of balancing cybercrime prevention with privacy rights.
“Right to privacy is a fundamental right. There is a thin line between monitoring and surveillance. So what rules and procedures the government will make and how will it draw the line in public cyber space to not infringe privacy should be looked into.”
The Path Forward
The Indian government’s new cybersecurity initiatives are a step toward securing the nation’s rapidly expanding digital infrastructure. However, their success will depend on the careful implementation of policies, training of personnel, technological advancements, and transparency in processes such as AI deployment and data sharing.
As India embarks on this journey, experts remain cautiously optimistic, urging the government to strike a balance between cybercrime prevention and safeguarding civil liberties. With vigourous planning and collaboration, India can build a secure and resilient digital ecosystem capable of addressing the challenges of an increasingly connected world.
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As the Indian government launches a cyber commando program and AI-driven cyber fraud platform, experts argue that the focus should also be on preventing data breaches and addressing privacy concerns.