Jammu: Amid the rise in cyber crimes and the boom of artificial intelligence (AI), people are facing various challenges and threats in cyberspace, with Jammu and Kashmir Police claiming that it would bring tough times ahead.
In an exclusive chat with ETV Bharat, M Y Kichloo (IPS), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Cyber Crime Investigation Centre for Excellence (CCICE) J&K, said that digital arrest was a new type of cybercrime that they have come across during 2024, and it is on the rise.
"Modus operandi of cyber criminals is digital arrest is a strange kind of activity in which criminals call; it could be a video call or WhatsApp call, and set up a virtual police station or a court through which people are told that their son or relative is in their custody. They pretend to be from the police, CBI, or judiciary, and people are forced to transfer the money in their given account,” Kichloo said.
“Through voice cloning, cybercriminals create a similar voice of the so-called arrested person. They also take precautionary steps through another modus operandi by calling the target person first by pretending to be from mobile service operators for SIM card updation and make the person switch off his phone for an hour or two, and in the meantime, they call their parents,” he said.
The SSP CCICE J&K said, “We are working on a couple of such cases, and one such case was busted in Srinagar by the zonal cyber police station and made arrests as well. These cases are on the rise, but as we are raising awareness regarding cybercrime, people are getting information, and such things are being stopped.”
“In his Mann Ki Baat, Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi has talked about the digital arrest, which is helping to control crime,” he added.
Another major challenge the cyber police are facing is quantum computers and metacrime, which is going to be a challenge for cyber experts soon. “Upcoming time is tough as we are discussing the topic of quantum computers. We need to be more vigilant, and already we are providing training to investigation officers to timely tackle it. These crimes can affect the encryption of cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, online banking, messages, and communication. Wherever algorithms and protocols regarding encryption are present, quantum computers can easily decrypt the encrypted data,” Kichloo maintained.
Apart from these new crimes, cyber police are working tirelessly on deepfakes, voice cloning, email spoofing, call spoofing, and other things, and the SSP informed us that earlier it was found that cyber criminals were mostly operating from Jamtara, and now they are operating from Rajasthan and West Bengal, but in cyberspace, it is immaterial where they are operating.
Talking about the frauds regarding investments, SSP Kichloo said that mostly these criminals were luring doctors, the salaried class, and businessmen, and firstly their money was being doubled, and when victims invested a higher amount, criminals fled away with the money after deleting the apps. “We have cracked many such cases, and even the money has been retrieved from accounts of criminals,” the SSP added.
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