This story is from August 24, 2015

For second year, Maharashtra a cyber crime hotspot

Maharashtra reported the highest number of cyber crimes in the country in 2014 for the second year in a row.
For second year, Maharashtra a cyber crime hotspot
PUNE: Maharashtra reported the highest number of cyber crimes in the country in 2014 for the second year in a row.
The recent National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data has revealed that cyber crimes have more than doubled in the state. Over 900 cases were reported in the state in 2013, which crossed the 1,800 mark in 2014. More than 1,000 cases were reported in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka states individually during the year.
Maharashtra is also the only state in the country to have cases reported under the 'cyber terrorism' category, though the number of cases is just four. A majority of cyber crimes committed in the state were not only triggered by greed, but also with an intention to harass women.
The motive for committing crimes ranged from revenge to settling scores to emotional reasons like anger, greed or financial gains, extortion, causing disrepute, pranks, frauds, and even insulting modesty of women. In fact, Maharashtra, followed by Telangana, recorded the highest number of cyber crimes committed with an intention to outrage the modesty of women.
The country-wide data also showed that men in the age group of 18 and above (but below 30) were the highest among others to have been arrested for committing computer-related crimes. Men also seem to lead in the publication or transmission of obscene or sexually explicit content as well as the total cyber crimes committed in the country.
Paresh Degaonkar, regional head of Nasscom, Maharashtra, told TOI that Maharashtra, which includes metros like Mumbai and Pune, as well as two-tier cities like Nagpur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Nashik, have a vast student population. "To execute cyber crimes, the first requirement is that a person should be trained in information technology. Maharashtra has a large pool of IT professionals. Mumbai and Pune alone have close to 7.5 lakh such professionals, which is much more than any other region in the country," Degaonkar said.

A lot of cyber crimes are also committed for money. "Students are tech-savvy and are more aware of the latest trends in technology. In addition, Maharashtra being a developed state, has a large number of people who use credit cards, rely on online banking and use smartphones. Hence, the rise in cyber crimes," said Degaonkar.
Shweta Chawla, cyber crime investigator and the founder of Association of Women in Information Security, said, "The section 66 of the IT Act refers to dealing with instances of unauthorized access, tampering of data, malware addition to a computer among other things. In fact, offences under section 66 A to E of the Act form the bulk of cases in Maharashtra. The only offences that we have not seen much in the state are those related to cyber terrorism, which are registered under section 66 F," Chawla said.
The NCRB data, however, shows that Maharashtra was the only state to record four cases of cyber terrorism last year. Though the number is not high, it still goes on the show how far the state has come in terms of increase in cyber crime.
"Cyber terrorism refers to attacking systems of national importance, which could be a national-level server, or a defence establishment, among others," said Chawla.
Chawla said that one of the reasons why Maharashtra may be leading in cyber crimes is the extensive reach of computers in the state. "Unfortunately, very little has been done in the state in terms of cyber crime awareness, which may be another reason why we see so many instances of cyber crimes here. Also, a lot of people in the state are more comfortable in approaching police, which means better reporting," Chawla added.
Cyber crime expert Anshul Abhang said that the maximum number of cyber crimes happen in states that have good IT penetration and are commercial hubs, such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, UP and Karnataka. The greater the reach of IT, the higher is the number of potential victims. "In addition, the data shows that maximum cyber crimes have been committed by those in the age group of 18 to 30 years, a section which spends more time on social media," Abhang said.
Abhang observed that the state has a lot of manufacturing units that have low IT awareness, which is why they are targeted by fraudsters. "To combat the increasing number of cyber crimes, law enforcement agencies should create awareness and proactively chase such fraudsters to nip the crime in the bud. Launching a helpline to report the mobile numbers or emails that these fraudsters use to trap victims will also help," said Abhang.
Cyber crime expert Kirtar Oza added, "In many cases, neighbours, friends and relatives are found to be behind the crime. A large chunk of those arrested in the state were students, which is a bit worrying. Many times, students do so just to get fame. There is, therefore, a need to divert such students to the right channels by providing them the right kind of educational and cyber research environment."
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About the Author
Neha Madaan

Neha Madaan is a senior feature writer at The Times of India, Pune. She holds an M A degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from University of Pune. She covers tourism, heritage development and its conservation, apart from an array of subjects such as civic issues, environment, astronomy, civic school education as well as social issues concerning persons with disabilities. Her interests include metaphysical research and animal rights.

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