Cybercrime Archives - Lokmarg

Yogi To Set Up Cyber Crime Police Stations In 57 UP Districts

By LokMarg 20th December 2023

In view of the increasing cases of cybercrime in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government has made a significant decision to establish cybercrime police stations across 57 districts of the state. The proposal was approved in the cabinet meeting held at Lok Bhavan under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday, said a statement from government of UP.

With this decision, cybercrime stations will be operational in every district of the state. At present, cybercrime police stations are established in all 18 divisions of the state. Till now, an IG-level officer used to look after these police stations, but after the establishment of cyber crime stations in all the districts, the Superintendent of Police will take charge, added the statement.

A total of 20 proposals were presented during the cabinet meeting, out of which 19 were approved by the Cabinet. The setting up of the cyber police stations is estimated to cost Rs 1.25 billion.

Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna provided details of the Cabinet’s decisions at the media center of Lok Bhavan. He emphasized that due to the escalating incidents of cybercrime in the state, there is a pressing need for cyber police stations in all 75 districts. While cyber police stations are already operational in the 18 divisional headquarters, a significant decision has been made to establish such stations in the remaining 57 districts, he added.

“The total expenditure on this is estimated at more than Rs 1 billion, 27 crore, 24 lakh, 51 thousand. The government is committed to expeditiously working on this, ensuring the prompt establishment of these police stations. This endeavor aims not only to enhance vigilance against cybercrime, but also to enable the effective enforcement of measures against such criminal activities”, Khanna said.

Giving information about the current situation of cybercrime in the state, Khanna pointed out that UP is at the top in terms of convictions in cybercrime. “Our conviction rate is much better than the national average. The national conviction rate in cybercrime cases is 46.5 percent, whereas our conviction rate is 87.8 percent.

So far, there have been 838 convictions in the state, whereas Madhya Pradesh, which is at second place, has had only 59 convictions. A total of 7122 criminal arrests have been made in the state, while 2582 criminal arrests have been made in Maharashtra. In 2022, Uttar Pradesh has registered 10,117 cybercrime cases”, he informed further.

The districts where the new cyber stations will be set up are: Unnao, Rae Bareli, Sitapur, Hardoi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Kanpur Dehat, Etawah, Fatehgarh, Kannauj, Auraiya, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Baghpat, Hapur, Sultanpur, Barabanki, Amethi, Ambedkar Nagar, Etah, Hathras, Kasganj, Mathura, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Maharajganj, Deoria, Kushinagar, Balrampur, Shravasti, Bahraich, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit, Rampur, Bijnor, Amroha, Sambhal, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Sonbhadra, Bhadohi, Mau, Ballia, Siddharthnagar, Sant Kabirnagar, Lalitpur, Jalaun, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli.

Suresh Khanna further announced that decks have also been cleared for the opening of an Advanced Pediatric Center at the PGI with the approval of the proposal by the Cabinet. It is worth mentioning here that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced the setting up of an Advanced Pediatric Center in PGI recently.

Under the proposal, a 575-bed Advanced Pediatric Center will be established in PGI in two phases consisting of over 20 departments and 6 units. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 199 crore 10 lakh 52 thousand. The first phase will include setting up of 12 departments, 4 units and 308 beds whereas the second will see inclusion of an additional 265 beds, nine departments and two units.

The Chief Minister has issued a directive for the completion of construction within 18 months. The establishment of the Advanced Pediatric Center aims to provide a secure treatment environment for children.

Providing relief to advocates, the government has also approved the proposal to increase the Advocate Welfare Fund by Rs 100 crore. The Finance Minister said that on the death of an advocate, his family gets help from this fund. Earlier, the amount given to an advocate’s family was Rs 1.5 lakh, which has been increased to Rs 5 lakh. At present, this fund is of Rs 200 crore; however, the government’s target is to increase it to Rs 500 crore. (ANI)

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Jacqueline Shares BTS Moment With Sonu

By LokMarg 29th June 2023

Actor Jacqueline Fernandez took to her Instagram handle to share a behind-the-scenes look from her upcoming action movie, ‘Fateh.’

The actress revealed a candid moment with her co-star Sonu Sood in which she was seen sitting behind the camera, with Sood guiding her. Currently, the actress is preparing for her action thriller with Sonu Sood.
She wrote, “In this exact sequence..@sonu_sood #fateh @ilcondor I think I need more classes!”

Reverting to this, Sonu Sood mentioned, “Sometimes some students are such quick learners @jacquelienefernandez..Finally I found the DOP for my next film. @ilcondor your job is in danger #fateh @vedishnaidu_photography”

Helmed by Vaibhav Mishra, ‘Fateh’ is based on a cybercrime.

Sonu and Jacqueline have participated in various workshops, and are expected to be coached by ethical hackers on the sets while filming.

The film also features Shivjyoti Rajput and Vijay Raaz in prominent roles. (ANI)

Cyber Crime Stories – 'Busting An e-Ticket Racket'

By LokMarg Publishing 3rd October 2018

I knew that change was near, and that nature of crime was going to be transformed with changing technology. Without any official backing, I started to read about cyber crimes. I then pursued professional courses on the subject and today I am a PhD holder. I was also conferred with the Cyber Cop of the Year (2012) award by Data Security Council of India (DSCI) NASSCOM.

Over the past few years, my interest in cyber crime and financial fraud has brought me many digital crime assignments from central agencies and other government bodies. Recently, I busted a gang of software sellers, who helped railway touts book train tickets within a fraction of seconds. Booking train tickets on the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website generally takes several minutes, even with high-speed Internet connections.

Tracking this multi-crore, pan-India racket was a tough job. The software they used bypassed all the security norms put in place by the Central government website. The agents would merely fill in the details of the passengers and the required train, along with the mode of payment and voila… the tickets were booked. An in-depth analysis of the software showed that it provided proxy IP addresses; bypassed IRCTC captcha and bank OTP; allowed forms autofill; and logins with multiple IDs.

The servers were usually based outside India, allowing the users to fraudulently gain unauthorised access to a computer network in contravention of rules and regulations. These software makers were based out of major metro cities and were connected with agents through different WhatsApp groups. It was thus important for us to penetrate their network.

My team also went undercover and one of our team members posed as a customer to see how an agent booked the ticket. And then we followed the electronic trail. Following the crackdown, IRCTC has introduced multiple security features to their website to keep a check on such bookings. But you can never be sure of a foolproof system.

The nature and magnitude of cyber crimes are changing every day. Last month, I arrested four hackers, who booked tickets online from the website of the UP’s State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) without paying up. We managed to figure their modus operandi before they could cause a bigger damage. We found that they were exploiting the vulnerabilities of the online payment system of the UPSRTC website to book counterfeit e-tickets through a software called ‘Burp Suite’. After procuring these free tickets, they would then sell them on WhatsApp and Facebook groups.

Robbers no longer need to enter a bank with guns to steal money, it can happen with just a click of a button. Here, the robber doesn’t have a face, or any record, all we have is a digital footprint. He or She can operate from any part of the world. Most cyber criminals are young and energetic and eager to learn. They know a bit of scripting.

And with a few sessions of hacking tutorials available on the internet, they are ready for the kill. They are learning something new each day, so cops working on cyber crime, need to hone their skills every day. The digital world comes with its own set of banes. While technology has made our lives hassle-free, it has also opened new avenues for thefts and frauds. From withdrawing money through cloned cards to trading vital information on the web, all this is happening in India. Unfortunately, not many in our law enforcement agencies are skilled enough to tackle such crimes.