Of the 11,791 cases of cyber crimes reported in the country last year (2011), 117 were registered in Bangalore alone.
Also, Bangalore accounted for 77.48 per cent of the 151 cases registered in the State in 2011 under various provisions of Information Technology (IT) Act.
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures reveal that the number of cyber crime cases registered in Bangalore has been steadily rising over the past three years.
In 2010, the reported cases were 40.
But this is very much in line with the trend witnessed across the country, which recorded 288, 420, 966 and 1791 cases of cyber crime in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.
However, officials say that many cyber crimes of a minor nature never get reported.
Rise in hacking
One major challenge is increased hacking, with the NCRB recording 233, 510 and 983 cases in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively in the country.
In Karnataka, they were 91 each in 2009 and 2010, and 110 in 2011.
NCRB figures also point to a steep increase in cases booked for obscene publication/transmission in electronic media across India.
While reported cases rose from 105 in 2008, 139 in 2009, 328 and 496 in 2010 and 2011, respectively, the number of arrests increased to 90, 141, 361 and 443 in these four years.
However, the statistics pertaining to Bangalore or Karnataka are notprovided in the NCRB compilation.
Government websites
As per the information of Computer Emergence Response Team (CERT-In), the number of attacks on government websites showed a marked rise this year with the first seven months reporting 273 such incidents.
The total attacks on government websites were 201, 303 and 308 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.
In a recent case, hackers accessed Chief MinisterJagadish Shettar’s personal website and left a message on the homepage demanding an independent Kashmir.
Securing cyberspace
When the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s website was hacked, the Cyber Security Response Team (CSRT), a city-based cyber security and education group, tracked down the culprits when it cracked the IP address.
“The hackers have been working in groups. Some members of this group hacked the BJP’s and the Congress’s in the past,” said Shubhamangala Sunil of CSRT.
She said that as per Section 70A of IT (Amendment) Act 2008, the Union Government had to set up a nodal agency for Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (i.e., to secure cyberspace).
However, it has not been done yet.
