India to establish five new cyber forensic labs

The Indian government plans to open five more National Cyber Forensic Laboratories (NCFLs) to improve the country's ability to fight cybercrime. A senior official stated that increasing the number of labs will help combat cyber fraud, financial crimes, and malware attacks more effectively. These new labs will be established in different regions, including the south, north, central, and west of India. The goal is to strengthen forensic capabilities and speed up the examination of digital evidence. This will assist law enforcement in detecting cyber attacks and tracing criminals. Since the existing NCFL started operations, it has handled over 11,203 cases relating to digital evidence and cybersecurity. This includes investigations of hard drives, laptops, and mobile phones. A significant increase in financial fraud using cryptocurrencies has led to about 1,000 cases being processed. Besides the NCFLs, the Ministry of Home Affairs is also enhancing the Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC). This center is designed for collaboration among banks, telecom providers, and law enforcement to address cybercrime swiftly. The government has also been proactive in blocking over 781,000 SIM cards and 208,000 IMEIs linked to fraudulent activities. Furthermore, seven Joint Cyber Coordination Teams have been set up in various cities to better coordinate efforts against cybercrime. As part of these initiatives, there is a proposal to rename NCFL to National Digital Investigation Support Centre (N-DISC) to reflect its focus on digital investigations. The expansion of these labs is expected to bolster India's cybersecurity measures.