India proposes a joint web portal to track crimes.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: In an effort to curb the growing tide of web-related crimes happening in the US and India, the latter has offered up a partnership in the form of a web portal dedicated to tracking down and fighting cyber-criminals.
Indian police chiefs extended their collective hand towards the US during a two-day summit held in New Delhi, during which police chiefs from the US and India came together to discuss common issues and possible solutions.
Indian law enforcement typically waits for weeks on end to get certain information related to cyber-crimes, as the servers for the vast majority of email clients and websites reside with US borders. By creating a joint web portal, Indian and US law enforcement can have equal access to information that would help make catching criminals faster and more efficient.
The portal would facilitate logging and tracking of web-related crimes, as well, and would help police keep tabs on certain criminals as well as better track down potential new ones.
Cyber-crime in India went up in 2013, with 4,191 Indian websites hacked and defaced in just August alone. Indian officials have repeatedly asked websites and social media outlets like Facebook to suspend or ban users who use derogatory language or images on their pages, particularly in a religious connotation, but often run into a brick wall of red tape and general inefficiency.
The web portal would, presumably, not just track pranksters, but actual criminals, who use the web to hack into back accounts, company records, and so on. These crimes can ruin lives and bring huge companies to their knees — the Target Corporation in the US is facing similar problems at the moment. With India’s IT sector booming and its economy slowly recovering from the rupee’s decline earlier this year, it’s more important than ever to keep a close eye on cyber-crime.
There is no word yet from the US side as to whether or not this option is feasible, or even being considered. The US Departments of State and Justice will likely have to come together and join with India to make this work, but it could be a long road ahead.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com