DSCI Releases Cybercrime Investigation Training Level-II Material

Data Security Council of India (DSCI) announced the inauguration and release of Cybercrime Training Material Level-2 on April 7, 2015 at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.  Shri G.K. Pillai, Chairman, DSCI and Former Home Secretary, Govt. of India released the publication at the event, ‘Meeting the Cybercrime Challenge through Capacity Building’.

The training material is created as a standardized curriculum to train police officers in a five day program through DSCI Cyber Labs. The curriculum focuses on the latest developments in technological and legal aspects of cybercrime investigation. The resource material will take police officers through theoretical aspects which include appreciation of cyber forensics tools and technologies used in investigations. It further seeks to acquaint them with not only hardware but also with concepts like data logs, email headers, mobile forensics and social engineering attacks including phishing and identity theft.

In addition to the inauguration and release, there were active discussions on the need of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for cybercrime investigation and elaboration on the need for Corporate and Digital Forensics.

At the inauguration, G.K Pillai quoted, “A recent study released by Global Network Initiative (GNI)– ‘Data Beyond Borders – Mutual Legal Assistance in the Internet Age’ is not only outdated and inefficient, but also opaque and incomplete and it is therefore necessary to reform the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) process.” He added, “India too anticipate a rise in cybercrimes as it moves towards a digital economy and hence, it is vital to build legal and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) capabilities in the country to curb them. Indian LEAs must keep pace with technology by partnering with the industry to enhance their skills and in this, a consultative and collaborative approach as shown by the release of Level 2 of the DSCI Cybercrime Investigation Training Material, will be imperative.”

Kamlesh Bajaj, CEO, DSCI, focusing on DSCI work on bringing cyber forensics to the mainstream in the country, stated, “One of the first tasks DSCI undertook after the establishment was the transfer of cyber labs from NASSCOM. Since then, over 45,000 personnel from law enforcement agencies have been trained. In this regard, our publications such as the cybercrime training material Level-1 released in 2011, handbook on cybercrime Investigation procedures, in 2013 and the cybercrime training material Level-2 now, have played an integral role in guiding cybercrime investigations.”

Commending efforts by DSCI in capacity building of LEAs to better handle cybercrimes, Mr. R Chandrashekhar, President NASSCOM said, “While cybercrimes affect security and rights of individuals, they also strengthen transnational criminal organizations and risk critical information infrastructure on which societies depend and undermine the security and trust necessary to harvest benefits of ICT.” While underling the importance of building capacities of law enforcement, he said “Capacity building – including resource mobilization, training and sharing of best practices are essential for enabling the law enforcement capacities in dealing with technical investigations.” He added “here, public education and awareness become essential elements to prevent cybercrimes”.

The pervasiveness of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has resulted in an upsurge in frequency and severity of cyber-attacks targeted on industry, government and civil society. The sophistication of the cyberattacks has led to highly motivated advanced persistent threats that render conventional investigation techniques inadequate. With the Internet becoming the single largest data source for information collection and intelligence, due to publicly available online data, the criminal justice ecosystem needs constant up gradation of its capabilities in handling cybercrimes.

NASSCOM and Data Security Council of India (DSCI) have played a major role in the building capabilities to combat cybercrimes. DSCI-NSAACOM through its Cyber Labs operational in seven cities in India, train police officers in cyber forensics, which includes gathering appropriate evidence and presenting it in a manner that is acceptable to courts of law. As part of the initiative, the DSCI Cybercrime Investigation Training Material greatly adds to the capacity building of cybercrime investigators.