The country’s first cyber forensic lab in an academic institute was inaugurated on the National Law School of India University’s (NLSIU) campus here on Tuesday.
The lab intends to train police personnel and judges in the nuances of cyber crime investigation and cyber security. It will go a long way in helping to tackle the increasing number of cyber crimes in the country.
Statistics published by the National Crime Records Bureau, Bangalore, reveal that the city accounted for 342 of the 1,401 cyber crimes booked under the IT Act among 53 ‘megacities’ in India in 2012.
The cyber lab, which has 30 computers, will also be training prosecutors, lawyers, government officers and bank officers. Cyber forensic tools have been procured from the Centre for development of Advanced Computing to provide hands-on experience to participants, said A. Nagarathna, co-ordinator of the NLSIU’s Advanced Centre for Research, Development and Training in Cyber Laws and Forensics.
Some of the tools installed include Cybercheck Suite, which helps in acquiring, analysing and recovering data. Another tool is the mobile check tool which can be used to acquire details from mobile phones. The lab has been co-funded by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Union Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
Shyamal Ghosh, former Telecom Secretary at the Centre who inaugurated the lab, said all stakeholders including practitioners, prosecutors and experts would be trained on various aspects of cyber security.
“In cyber security cases, laws of evidence are different and equipping experts with knowledge of the same is needed,” he said.
Speaking about the need for the lab, Prof. Nagarathna said currently only cyber police stations have such facility. “Our lab will help people who work in the field get practical exposure. Judges and investigating officers will be able to appreciate the manner in which evidence is traced using this method,” she said.
