An IT firm in Gurgaon involved in developing the source code of an upcoming software worth millions has implemented new security measures to ensure protection against cyber-attacks. The internet and local networks are fortified, cyber consultants are hired, and the employees are frisked at the gate to check if they are carrying any USB disks. One morning, a senior employee, involved in the software work, walks through the gates listening to her iPod. She plugs the device in, goes through the main systems, downloads the software source code, and after encrypting it on her iPod, walks out calmly. She is never seen on the premises again.
This incident occured in 2010, and is one of the typical cases of cyber crime taking place in IT and BPO sectors in Gurgaon. The woman finally sold the data to a rival software company for a huge profit, said Anup Girdhar, a cyber crime expert, who is a consultant with several IT firms in the city.
Being a cyber criminal is all about being inventive, a step ahead of the times, and two steps ahead of the police. According to Girdhar, new forms of cyber crimes are invented frequently. The most common form is social engineering. And it is mostly committed by company employees, he said.
Each day Gurgaon sees 20-30 cases of cyber crime committed in the corporate sector. On the one hand, the police are updating their apparatus to fight cyber crime, but simultaneously, the cyber criminals are also becoming more cunning and are able to pull off such acts effectively, added Girdhar.
New forms of hacking mainly imply new means to crack the system and attain sensitive and valuable data. But the BPO owners of the city believe that the Gurgaon police lack even the basic skills to handle routine cyber-crime cases. They lack the seriousness needed to handle data theft cases, said Sanjay Kumar (name changed).
Kumar ran a BPO in Gurgaon till three years ago, when a cyber crime incident in the company made him approach the police. First, they wouldnt register the case, as they thought it wasnt a case of cyber crime, he said.
It took Kumar six months to get an FIR registered, and the investigation is still under way. I have moved my company to Bangalore. The Gurgaon police need to get their act together if they are serious about cracking these cases. The will is missing, he added.