Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under PMLA

Context

The government has approved Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to share and get hold of data from the Enforcement Directorate under the anti-money laundering law.

Key Highlights

• It is aimed toward detecting money trails and combating cyber frauds.
• The Revenue Department under the Finance Ministry included I4C under Section 66 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. 
• Need: This information sharing could assistance was aware of the masterminds behind such frauds which are typically trans-national.

About Directorate of Enforcement (ED)

• Established: It was established in 1956 with the formation of an ‘Enforcement Unit’ under the aegis of the Department of financial Affairs and handles Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (FERA 1947). 
  • A year later, the Enforcement Unit was renamed the Enforcement Directorate. 
• It is a multi-disciplinary employer mandated with research of the offence of money laundering and violations of forex laws. 
• The statutory capabilities of the Directorate encompass enforcement of following Acts:
  • The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA): It is a civil regulation enacted to consolidate and amend the legal guidelines regarding facilitating external trade and payments.
  • The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA): It is a criminal law enacted to prevent money, ED has been given the responsibility to put in force the provisions of the PMLA.
  • The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA): This regulation was enacted to discourage financial offenders from evading the manner of Indian regulation by means of ultimate outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts. 

What is Cybercrime?

• Cybercrime refers to criminal activities that involve the use of computers, networks, and digital technologies. 
• It incorporates a wide number of illicit activities carried out in the digital space, frequently with the rationale to compromise, harm, or gain unauthorized access to laptop systems, networks, and statistics. 
• Cybercriminals rent numerous techniques and tools to take advantage of vulnerabilities in networks, and they’ll target individuals, businesses, or even governments.
• Common types of cybercrime encompass:
  • Hacking: Unauthorized access to computer systems or networks to steal, regulate, or ruin information.
  • Phishing: Deceptive attempts to acquire sensitive data, including usernames, passwords, and monetary info, by posing as a sincere entity.
  • Malware: Malicious software program designed to disrupt, harm, or benefit unauthorized get entry to to pc structures.
  • Identity Theft: Stealing and using someone’s personal data, such as social security numbers or credit card details, for fraudulent purposes.
  • Cyber Espionage: Covert sports aimed at gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data for political, monetary, or military functions.
  • Cyberbullying: Using digital platforms to bother, threaten, or intimidate individuals.

Impact of Cyber Crimes

• National Security Threats: Cyber crimes pose a chance to national security when state-sponsored actors or criminal organizations target critical infrastructure, government institutions, or military structures. 
• Data Breaches: Data breaches cause the publicity of personal data, trade secrets, intellectual belongings, and other confidential data, inflicting high damage to the affected entities.
• Disruption of Services: Cyber attacks disrupt critical services including power grids, verbal exchange networks, and transportation structures. 
• Reputational Damage: Organizations that fall victim to cyber assaults frequently go through reputational harm. 

Initiatives by Government of India to Prevent Cybercrimes

• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In): CERT-In is the national nodal organization for responding to cybersecurity incidents.
• National Critical Information Infrastructure security Centre (NCIIPC): NCIIPC is liable for defensive critical data infrastructure from cyber threats.
• Cyber Crime Prevention towards Women & Children (CCPWC) scheme: The Ministry of Home Affairs has furnished financial assistance to all the States & UTs under the scheme to assist their efforts for setting up of cyber forensic-cum-training laboratories, training, and hiring of junior cyber consultants. 
• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): It provides a framework and environment for Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to deal with cyber crimes in a complete and coordinated way.
• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: It is launched to enable the public to record incidents concerning all forms of cyber crimes.
• The Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System module has also been launched for instant reporting of financial frauds and to stop siphoning off funding by the fraudsters.
• Cyber Swachhta Kendra (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre): This initiative is aimed at growing consciousness about botnet and malware infections and supplying equipment for detection and cleansing.

Source: The Hindu

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. What are the different elements of cyber security ? Keeping in view the challenges in cyber security, examine the extent to which India has successfully developed a comprehensive National Cyber Security Strategy. (2022)

Download as PDF