D4C: Police to get new centre for cybercrime

The Delhi government directed the Delhi Police to establish a nodal agency, “Delhi Cyber Coordination Centre” (D4C), to prevent cybercrime, tackle ransomware, provide digital forensic support and carry out cyber intelligence work in Delhi

The Delhi government directed the Delhi Police to establish a nodal agency, “Delhi Cyber Coordination Centre” (D4C), to prevent cybercrime, tackle ransomware, provide digital forensic support and carry out cyber intelligence work in Delhi.

This will be the third revamp of the Delhi Police’s cybercrime setup.

Under Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu’s directions, an order was issued by the home department on Tuesday directing the formation of D4C which will work in alignment with the MHA’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.

The Delhi Police already has a dedicated cyber unit, but police officials said the new centre will allow investigators to focus on areas including cybercrime, ransomware, digital forensics, cyber threat intelligence, social media monitoring and the use of artificial intelligence.

This will be the third revamp of the Delhi Police’s cybercrime setup. In 2018-19, CyPAD (Cyber Prevention, Awareness and Detection Centre) in Dwarka was established to deal with cybercrime and gangs involved in such offences. In 2021, the unit was renamed to Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO), with two ACPs working under a DCP-level officer to handle cybercrime and digital forensics.

Officials aware of the matter said the rapid growth of digital platforms had led to a rise in financial fraud, online radicalisation, online harassment, crimes against women and children, cyber sabotage, ransomware, among others.

“To effectively combat these crimes, there is an urgent requirement to form a cyber crime coordination centre in Government of NCT Delhi for undertaking counter-measures against these complex crimes…” the order, seen by HT, stated.

The D4C will coordinate with central agencies, other states, financial institutions, telecom service providers, intermediaries and other stakeholders for information-sharing, technical assistance and operational support to counter cybercrime and enhance cybersecurity.

According to the order, the centre will also generate intelligence and carry out surveillance of cyber threats in accordance with law. A digital investigation lab will operate under the agency to assist police from all districts and units.

As per the order, the D4C will be headed by a joint commissioner of police, who will function under the special cell. The unit will have four DCPs, each heading the administrative wing, cyber investigation wing, operations wing and Online Crimes against Women and Children (OCWC) wing.

“The existing IFSO unit in Dwarka will be subsumed into the D4C. Its investigation wing, digital investigation lab, training and awareness centre, cyber helpline control room at Haiderpur and fraud mitigation centre will form part of the new centre. The cyber police stations operating in each of the 15 districts will implement cyber policies and operational directions issued by the D4C,” the order stated.

The order also provides a provision for a hoax bomb email investigation cell to investigate virtual private networks (VPNs), spoofed or anonymous emails, hoax threats and among others.