Story in numbers: Cybercrime trends in India

As many as 11,592 cases of cybercrime were reported across India in 2015, nearly 26 times more than a decade ago, when 453 cases were reported in 2006 , according to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.

The Indian National Congress raised the issue of digital security after its mail server and many e-mail and Twitter accounts, including the party’s and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s official Twitter accounts, were hacked. The hacking came to light on December 1, a day after Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter account was breached.

A series of obscene tweets were posted from both accounts. The Congress has filed complaints with Delhi Police’s cyber cell. Asked what his reaction would be if his own account was hacked, Minister of Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad told CNN-News18 that he “will not make a fuss of it”. 

Of the 11,592 cases of cybercrime reported in 2015, as many as 8,045 were filed under the Information Technology (IT) Act, while 3,422 were filed under the Indian Penal Code and 125 under special and local laws. As many as 8,121 people were arrested in 2015 for cybercrimes, a 41 per cent increase from 2014. Around 36,000 cases were registered between 2006 and 2015, while 24,140 persons were arrested. 

The persons arrested for allegedly committing cyber crimes increased 14 times over the past decade, indicating this represents an increasing problem, as India moves towards greater digitisation. There was a 13 per cent increase in India’s internet subscriber base, from 302.4 million on March 31, 2015, to 342.7 million on March 31, 2016, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha. 

Greed or financial gain was the biggest motive for cybercrimes, accounting for a third of all cases reported in 2015, at 3,855 cases. 

“Other” motives accounted for the second highest number of cyber crimes at 3,008, followed by fraud or illegal gain (1,119), insult to modesty of women (606), sexual exploitation (588) and causing disrepute (387). 

Data source: National Crime Records Bureau, Analysis: IndiaSpend