'Samanvaya' portal for data exchange among police forces on cyber criminals' activities: MHA

New Delhi: Aiming for a major country wide crackdown on the activities of cyber criminals, the government is setting up a one-stop portal "Samanvaya" for sharing data among the state police forces on the cyber criminals' activities, officials said.

The officers in the Law Enforcement Agencies will be able to use the portal to map locations of the cyber criminals, mule bank accounts, ATM withdrawals locations, Point of Sale for SIM cards, suspect residences, they said.

The portal will act as a data repository of cybercrime, data sharing, crime mapping, data analytics, cooperation and coordination platform for law enforcement agencies across the country.

The portal will use the software Pratibimb, developed by the Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). It can map suspect residences using PM Gatishakti to give visibility to the jurisdictional police officers.

Highlighting the achievements of 100 days of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the officials said the web-based module Samanvaya will serve as a Management Information System (MIS), data repository and coordination platform for the law enforcement agencies for cybercrime data sharing and analytics.

A techno-legal support module for expert advice in the investigation of cybercrime cases, the portal will also allow LEAs to decipher inter-state linkages of mobile and IMEI numbers, bank accounts and raise requests for CCTV footage and related information from banks across the country, they said.

They said the sleuths will be able to route inter-state Cybercrime Investigation Assistance Requests (CIAR) from other states/UTs for mutual assistance.

The ministry has also started creating a special wing of suitably trained ’Cyber Commandos’ with intensive hands-on training in states, UTs, and central police organizations to counter the threats to the country's cyber security landscape, they said.

The ministry aims to raise 5,000 cyber commandos in five years, who will assist the states, UTs and central agencies in cyber patrolling to secure digital space.

They will be the first responder in case of cyber-attacks in various states and UTs for which the training of senior police officers has commenced at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA), Hyderabad, from September 2.

The ministry has also launched a mobile application 'cyberdost' for reporting and alerting users about cybercrime. The application will provide a convenient medium for citizens to report cybercrime complaints.