Infy to set up centre to tackle cybercrime

The Infosys Foundation on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Karnataka Police and Data Security Council of India (DSCI) towards setting up a Centre for Cybercrime Investigation Training and Research (CCITR) in Bengaluru.

The DSCI, a premier industry body on data protection in India, is committed to making the cyberspace safe, secure and trusted by establishing best practices in cyber security and privacy. The DSCI has proposed to start the centre in collaboration with the CID of Karnataka Police.

As part of this MoU, the Infosys Foundation will support the establishment of the centre that will house the CCITR through a public-private-partnership model, anchored by the Karnataka Police Department.

The CCITR aims to train police, prosecution, judiciary and other departments in handling technology investigations and create standard operating procedures (SOPs) in cybercrime investigations. The centre will also be used to perform research in digital forensics and cybercrime investigation that will improve the prosecution of cybercrime cases investigated by the state police.

The Infosys Foundation will support the setup cost and associated facility management and operational costs, including maintenance of equipment and their fittings; the capital investment for hardware, software and working capital requirements for conducting training programmes, conferences and digital forensic analysis; technological infrastructure by providing specialised tools and incurring relevant licensing costs; and upgrade of existing cyber lab for a period of five years.

“The CCITR is a project for the present and the future; aiming to build state-of-the-art facilities to tackle cyber and forensic crimes in Karnataka. Once operational, it will be a proud milestone for the CID and the DSCI to curb misuse and unethical use of technology that create distress and uneasiness for fellow beings,” said Sudha Murty, chairperson of Infosys Foundation.

“Cyberspace has turned out to be the world’s largest ungoverned space demolishing all geographical boundaries. Crimes using cyberspace will be the biggest organised crime in the times to come. Law enforcement agencies need to proactively get equipped in terms of hardware, software and expertise to face this challenge,” said Praveen Sood, IPS, Director General of Police, CID, Karnataka.

The infrastructure:

The state-of-the-art Centre for Cybercrime Investigation Training and Research will have the following infrastructure in place: setup costs and operational costs for an approximate 9,600 square feet built-up area which will have an exclusive space for policy and legal research learning, six-people capacity R&D laboratory, Banking Fraud Cell capacity of one police inspector and three assistants, cyber forensics investigation laboratory, and a capacity of 12 investigating officer and assistants along with lounge area, reception, cafeteria, restrooms, training room, library, record room, IT room, and server room. There will also be a three-person capacity trail monitoring cell, women and children cell, a discussion room with woman inspection cabin, visitors' discussion room and an electrical room.

Key activities of the centre

Resource centre for digital forensics

Forensic investigation support

Research & Development

Malware research centre

Training/event

Legal & Policy research unit