A recent data by CERT-In had showed that cyber attacks had increased from 41,378 attacks in 2017 to 14,02,809 attacks in 2021. In India, 3,377 cyber crimes were reported in 2012, and in 2020, the number of such reported crimes reached 50,000. More than 11 lakh complaints of different types, have been registered so far, and more than two lakh complaints have also been registered for social media crimes. In the thick of these gory developments, it is not possible to imagine the development of any country without ensuring cyber safety. Hence, figuring out challenges and finding effective solutions for cyber security becomes a thing of utmost importance for this digital economy to grow and sustain, which the G20 summit laid much stress on.
The first meeting of the Digital Economy Working Group under India’s G20 Presidency witnessed Cyber security dominating the discourse of the session, and it was termed as ‘crucial’ for digital transformation and digital economy by experts. If crores of people feel empowered digitally due to brisk Internet expansion and proliferation of innumerable applications, products and services, cyber crimes are also on the rise with almost the same speed if not greater. A sharp increase in organized crime gang hacking activities, supported and sponsored by hostile nations, have raised the risk. Hence, trade and business related to restricting cyber crimes are said to be one of the most profitable businesses globally.
Cybercrime are predicted to inflict damages totalling more than 6 trillion dollar globally, and the cost of cybercrime is estimated to grow by almost 15% every year over the next 4-5 years, reaching 10.5 trillion dollar annually by 2025. This enormous cost simply puts growth of digital economy in danger, which makes discussion and action on cyber theft very relevant for the entire world. Digital technology has the potential to address the myriad of problems still confronted by crores of people in Indian and other developing economies. Results are there to corroborate the claims. Today, 80 crore Indians have an online presence in India and by 2025, another 40 crore will enter the digital world, thanks to India’s Digital India campaign. In the last 8 years, the data cost per GB has come down by about 96%, which is expected to come down further.
Riding on the back of the speed and spread of the internet, transactions on UPI have crossed one trillion dollar in FY 2022, making India the first in the world in digital payments. BHIM-UPI are no longer just Indian apps, but have become truly global, as they are accepted in Singapore, the UAE, Bhutan, Nepal, France and a number of countries may adopt them in the coming days. Today, 130 crore Indians get the benefit from the government directly in their bank accounts through DBT. Rs.6,000 reaches the accounts of 13 crore farmers annually. Just a few years earlier, one could not have even imagined it.
However, the big challenge of securing the country from cyber fraud and other cyber attacks still needs to be addressed in an effective and speedy manner. To tackle this menace, the Cyber and Information Security (CIS) Division was formed in 2017, and from there, a lot of steps have been taken. More than 16,000 officers from police forces have been trained. A lot of research works are also going on in the National Cyber Crime Forensic Laboratory and the National Forensic Science University in cybercrime forensic investigation. However, this fight of global magnitude, can’t be fought in isolation. Here, the G20 summit promises a lot through research & analysis of global patterns and developments, and then collective actions to combat the issue.
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