Cyber crime cell to take off this month

VADODARA: Now, victims of cyber crime in the city won`t be turned away by ignorant cops when they approach police stations to register complaints under the Information Technology (IT) Act. The city police is all set to get its very own cyber crime cell. Work on forming the cell and having a full-fledged set-up has already begun. According to senior police officials, the cell will become functional by the end of June.

The cell will cater to cyber crime cases, right from hacking to online financial frauds, registered across the city. After Ahmedabad, Vadodara will be the second city to have cyber crime cell. "We got permission for starting cyber crime cell some time back following which we began working on it. The cell will have all the modern facilities including latest software and hardware. Cops posted in the cell will be trained in operating latest gadgets and cracking cyber cases," said police commissioner Rakesh Asthaana.

About 25 cops are currently being trained in using advanced facilities. A police inspector has already been given charge of the cell that will take off within 20 days. The cyber crime cell will be located on the spacious fifth floor of the Police Bhavan — headquarters of city police. The floor is currently being renovated. "The entire floor will be dedicated for the cell. We will be installing biometric card system on the entrance so that only employees will be able to enter the cell. We don`t want any disturbance or outsider walking into the cell," said a police official.

The city police has studied cyber crime cell models in cities like Mumbai and Delhi and are making Vadodara cell on those lines. The incidents of cyber crimes have been rising in the city over last few years but the police department hadn`t kept itself updated with the contemporary methods of internet crimes. Cops posted at police stations failed to understand the intricacies of cyber crime and turned away complainants. "I had a tough time explaining my case to cops when my estranged husband threatened to post my nude pictures online. They refused to register my case as they were not aware of cyber crimes," said a complainant.

However, victims of cyber crimes can now directly approach the crime branch that will register such cases and investigate it.

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Latest Research Reveals Top 5 “Phish-Prone” Sectors

According to a latest research by Internet Security Awareness Training (ISAT) KnowBe4, an Internet Security Awareness Training company, most "Phish-prone" industry sectors in the US comprise IT services, government services, financial services, education, and travel, as reported by eWireInformer on May 23, 2011.

These novel cybercrime statistics were deduced on the basis of a latest phishing experiment done among small and medium sized businesses that feature largely in Inc. 5000 and Inc. 500 listings.

KnowBe4 made use of a free data-gathering service to determine publicly accessible e-mail addresses and dispatched a fake phishing e-mail to above 3,500 firms. Employees of those firms who clicked on the link in the e-mail were directed to a webpage that clearly indicated the fact that, they had just taken part in a research related to phishing activities.

Nearly 29,000 employees from these firms got the e-mails and it was discovered that, one or more employees within around 500 of those firms clicked on the link.

Commenting on the matter, Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 founder and CEO, stated that, any kind of business that offers access to e-mail or access to its networks through the Internet is only as safe from cybercrime to the extent that its employees are trained to evade phishing e-mails and other fake scams. He further stated that, the more employees within an organization utilize e-mail or go online, the more the threat of exposure to cybercrime, as reported by PRNewswire on May 23, 2011.

The findings disclosed that, few industries are specifically susceptible to cybercrime. On the basis of the percentage of firms in each sector that replied to the scam e-mail, the most Phish-prone industries include: Travel 25%, Education 22.92%, Financial Services 22.69%, Government Services 21.23%, and IT Services 20.44%.

Sjouwerman further added that, their findings should alert all the SMEs countrywide. He stated that, not only are these businesses at threat for monetary loss through a scam, but their vulnerability to the phishing techniques could hack private and financial customer information, such as credit card details, bank account information, and social security numbers, as reported by PRNewswire on May 23, 2011.

Cybercrooks have become quite complex in their techniques, and Sjouwerman said that they usually attack businesses via genuine looking e-mails that seem to be dispatched by the government agencies, business associates, or even company executives.

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Cyber crime cell to help solve 28-year-old’s murder case

Nearly four months after a newly-married woman was found murdered at her residence, Gurgaon police have failed to get any clue about the killer and handed over the case to its cyber crime cell. This will be the first murder case that will be investigated by the cyber crime cell in the city.

Sweta Singh, 28, wife of a chartered accountant, was found murdered with her throat slit at her posh Saraswati Vihar apartment on January 25.

The police are trying to get access to the email account of the deceased.

“We will see that with whom she used to chat and who were in her friend circle. This can give us some lead to solve the case,” said a police official.

“We will also check her mobile phone details. The woman had a long conversation with some one the day she was killed,” said the official.

Source:- http://www.hindustantimes.com

They also added that her laptop and mobile phone were missing and prima facie suggests that the entry was friendly. Police suspect that the killer also tried to rape the victim.

According to police, the deceased’s husband, Kuku Rajan, informed about the incident. Shweta was doing her Ph.d from Delhi. They got married eight months before her murder and it was a love marriage.

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