Scheme for Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCWC)

The Scheme for Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCWC) has been formulated by the Ministry of Home Affairs to have an effective mechanism to handle cybercrimes against women and children in the country. The scheme includes various components such as Online Cybercrime reporting Unit, Forensic Unit, Capacity Building Unit, Research & development Unit and Awareness Creation Unit.

Online Cybercrime reporting Unit

‘Police’ and ‘Public’ are State subject as per the Constitution of India and States are primarily responsible for prevention, detection and investigation of crime through their law enforcement machinery. The Law Enforcement Agencies take legal action as per the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, 2000 against the cyber fraud offenders. The Online Cybercrime Reporting Portal is a central citizen portal through which an online cyber-crime complaint can be made by the victims of cyber-crime. It was launched on 20th September 2018 to report complaints pertaining to Child Pornography (CP)/Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) or sexually explicit content. It will provide a central repository for all such crimes, which will be used for publishing an annual analytical report regarding cyber-crimes, their trends and remedial measures etc.

Forensic Unit

Proper collection and preserving of evidence related to cyber-crime and its analysis in line with the provisions of the IT Act and evidence Act is of utmost importance. A national cyber forensic laboratory will operate 24*7*365 basis. It would have all the latest forensic tool setup, which would be accessible to all central /state/ UTs as well as central/ State forensic laboratories as and when needed. This unit will have a team of cyber security professionals to carry out vivid types of electronics forensic analysis and assist the law enforcement agencies in electronic forensic analysis across the country.

Capacity Building Unit

This unit will support capacity building of Central and State Police Forces, Prosecutors, Judicial officers and all other concerned stakeholder for all required capabilities like detection, investigations, forensic etc. This unit will also assist the state/ UTs officials in taking up long term courses to enhance the expertise in this area.

Research and development Unit

In order to develop effective tools to detect obscene and objectionable content in the cyber space, a continuous refining is needed. Hence, there is need to take up research and development activities in partnership with research and academic institutions of national importance. These initiatives will help in improving the technology readiness and would be prepared to face any type of cyber-crimes. As part of research and development activities multiple Centres of Excellence (COE) will be developed in the country.

Awareness Creation Unit

There is need for a well-defined citizen awareness program by the government of India aimed at delivering cyber-crime dos and don’ts as a proactive mitigation initiative. Awareness about cybercrime and cyber hygiene will be introduced in schools in the early stages of education as a component of school curriculum. These initiatives will help in creating awareness among citizens and would be prepared to face any type of cyber-crimes.

Scheme for Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children is an important initiative by the government of India to tackle cybercrime against women and children. The various components of the scheme are aimed at providing a comprehensive mechanism for reporting, investigating, and preventing cybercrime. The scheme is an important step towards ensuring a safer and secure cyber environment for women and children in the country.

Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children Portal

In September, 2018, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) launched Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) to check objectionable online content. The portal will allow citizens to lodge complaints on objectionable online content related to child pornography, child sexual abuse material and sexually explicit material such as rape and gang rape.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2018