Digital Crackdown: Over 1,700 Skype IDs and 59,000 WhatsApp Accounts Suspended
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New Delhi, Dec 10 (NationPress) The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has identified and blocked more than 1,700 Skype IDs and 59,000 WhatsApp accounts utilized for Digital Crackdown, as the Parliament was informed on Tuesday.
In a statement to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai revealed that as of November 15, over 6.69 lakh SIM cards and 1,32,000 IMEIs reported by police authorities have also been blocked by the Central government.
Addressing a query regarding cyber frauds and crimes from K. Eswarasamy of DMK, MoS Rai stated, “The Ministry has established the I4C as an attached office to tackle all forms of cyber crimes in the nation, in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.”
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is also running an automated cyber threat exchange platform to collect, analyze, and share customized alerts with organizations across various sectors for proactive threat mitigation actions, he added.
To enhance public awareness of cybercrime, the Central Government has initiated several measures, including the dissemination of messages via SMS, I4C's social media accounts on X (formerly Twitter) (@CyberDost), Facebook (CyberDostI4C), Instagram (cyberDostI4C), Telegram (cyberdosti4c), a radio campaign, and engagement with MyGov for publicity across multiple platforms. They are also organizing Cyber Safety and Security Awareness weeks in collaboration with States/UTs and have published a handbook for adolescents/students, in addition to digital displays at railway stations and airports.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has allocated Rs 131.60 crore under the ‘Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC)’ Scheme to States/UTs for capacity building initiatives, such as establishing cyber forensic training labs, hiring junior cyber consultants, and training personnel from law enforcement agencies, public prosecutors, and judicial officers, he mentioned.
The MoS stated that 891 Judicial Officers, 395 Public Prosecutors, 12 Forensics Experts, and 2,180 law enforcement officials have been trained by I4C in matters related to cybercrime prevention, awareness, and investigation forensics.
Furthermore, the I4C has provided cyber hygiene training to 7,330 officials from various ministries and departments within the Central government.
