Date:08/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/08/stories/2008090861810300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Police being trained to check Net crime

Raghava M.

‘We are teaching cyber concepts to policemen’

It is happening in phases at Cyber Lab
706 policemen have taken up the course

BANGALORE: Are there parallels: a hit-and-run and an anonymous e-mail? Yes, say the police.

“In the case of a road accident, the Regional Transport Office has the address of the vehicle owner. In the case of e-mail, the Internet service provider will give you the IP (Internet Protocol) address. With this, you can trace the computer through which the e-mail was sent,” said K. Venkatesh Murthy, who trains police personnel at the Cyber Lab.

“We are teaching cyber concepts in a language that will help the policemen,” said Mr. Murthy, Project Manager of the laboratory set up jointly by the State police, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) and the Canara Bank.

The Cyber Lab is being used to train the police in a phased manner to help them investigate crimes that involve use of computers and Internet. Sub-inspectors of police and officers above their rank are being given basic training in computers and Internet.

As many as 706 policemen have undertaken the course since last year.

“It started out as a 10-day training. As many found it difficult to spare so much time, we brought it down to three days,” said Director General of Police (CoD) Ajai Kumar Singh.

The police are familiarised with computer peripherals and networking.

They are then taught how information is exchanged on the Net and the way in which the IP address can be tracked. They are then lectured on the Information Technology Act with stress on the sections dealing with criminal prosecution for hacking, tampering with of source code and pornography.

“I give the example of trespass to illuminate the concept of hacking,” said Mr. Murthy, who has been involved with the Cyber Crime police since its inception in 2001.

The police are taught how to collect digital evidence, analyse mobile handset information and the modus operandi of cyber criminals.

The Cyber Lab is conducting a similar training for public prosecutors and bank officers. Defence units are using the services of the laboratory to train their personnel in preventing hacking and ensuring cyber security.

Mr. Singh said facilities were being upgraded at the Cyber Lab. Police officers were being sent to specialised centres to help them get acquainted with the latest cyber investigative techniques, he said.