HM Amit Shah inaugurates state-of-the-art portal to tackle cyber crimes

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday inaugurated the state-of-the-art Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal through which people can report cyber crimes online.

A home ministry statement said the portal will let all cyber crime related complaints be accessed by the law enforcement agencies in the states and union territories to take action as per the law.

So far, more than 700 police districts and more than 3,900 police stations have been connected to the portal - www.cybercrime.gov.in - which is a citizen-centric initiative that will let people report cyber crimes online.

The portal can boost the capacity of the law enforcement agencies to investigate cases and will improve the success rate of prosecutions, the statement said.

It also focuses on specific crimes especially those related to finance and social media like stalking, cyber bullying, etc.

The portal will improve coordination amongst the law enforcement agencies of different states, districts and police stations for dealing with cyber crimes in a coordinated and effective manner, it said.

The home ministry is committed to provide and create an eco system for dealing with cyber crimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, it added.

In future, this portal will feature a chatbot that will offer automated interactive assistance to the public for guidance on cybercrime prevention and how to report incidents on the portal.

The scheme to setup I4C was approved in October 2018 at an estimated cost of Rs 415.86 crore, to deal with all types of cybercrimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.

It has seven components viz., National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit, National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, National Cyber Crime Training Centre, Cyber Crime Ecosystem Management Unit, National Cyber Crime Research and Innovation Centre, National Cyber Crime Forensic Laboratory Ecosystem and Platform for Joint Cyber Crime Investigation Team.

At the initiative of the home ministry, 15 states and UTs have given their consent to set up a Regional Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.

The portal was launched on a pilot basis on August 30, 2019 and it enables filing of all cyber crimes with specific focus on crimes against women, children, particularly child pornography, child sex abuse material, online content pertaining to rapes and gang rapes, etc.