NIA-style agency for cyber terror

The increasing use of social media by global terror groups, like ISIS and the Al Qaeda, for radicalising young people and a sharp upward trend in cyber-related offences has led to the government launching a major initiative in setting up a highly-specialised cyber agency to watch and probe such cases.

The agency will work under the Union home ministry and would be to cyber crime what the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is to probing terror-related incidents in the country, sources said. The NIA was set up in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

The new cyber unit will investigate all major cases of cyber crime in close co-ordination with respective state agencies.

The steady increase in cases of breach of cyber security across the country prompted the much-needed move by the Centre. From 5,693 cyber crime related cases registered in 2013, the spike has been to 9,622 in 2014 and 11,592 in 2015. The situation has only gone from bad to worse with 21,248 cases already reported till May this year. Intelligence officials claim they have been closely monitoring the trend in cyber security over the last few years and it has been showing a spiraling increase, particularly in the last four years. And this is what has pushed the government to finally go ahead with a specialised agency to probe incidents related to cyber security. “The intelligence agencies too have been stressing on the need for a professional outfit to deal with cyber security. Things have now started moving and a fund of `400 crore has been earmarked for the project. The agency will have highly-trained professionals in cyber security,” a government official said.

The proposed cyber agency apart from investigating cases will also assist and provide technological support to the state police and other central agencies. The new cyber agency will be the nodal agency for investigating all cyber cases where ISIS is found to be using social media for recruitment.

In fact, the increasing threat from ISIS on the cyber space is one of the main reasons why the government plans to fast-track the setting up of this agency.

“The experience of having a professional outfit like NIA for investigating terror cases has been good and it works as a nodal agency in close co-ordination with the States also. Now we want to do the same in the case of cyber security as well,” the official added.