Ahmedabad: In an era where one ‘digital arrest’ can wipe out lakhs of someone’s life savings in seconds or a single click can destroy a person’s reputation overnight, the strongest firewall against cybercrime is awareness, said minister of state (MoS) for home Harsh Sanghavi on Wednesday. He made a strong pitch for digital vigilance at the launch of The Times of India (TOI) campaign ‘Hacked 2.0’, an anti-cybercrime mission being held in partnership with the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), in Gandhinagar.At the event, Sanghavi said, “There are only three ways to protect ourselves from cybercrime: awareness, awareness, and awareness. We are working hard to ensure that we reach out to victims, but we also request everyone to call 1930 (cybercrime helpline) immediately after facing any monetary fraud so that the accounts involved can be frozen (before funds vanish).” He added that each and every citizen needs to be cyber-aware. “Our survey last year revealed that, in comparison to rural folks, the urban population was more susceptible to cybercrime.”Hacked 2.0, which follows the success of Hacked 1.0 in 2023 that focused on overcoming the stigma around reporting cybercrimes, moves beyond awareness to focus on building digital resilience. As part of the the on-ground campaign starting Oct 15, TOI and NFSU will carry out 14 focused sessions for MSMEs, hospitals, schools, and govt departments across Gujarat, bringing together cybersecurity experts, law enforcement officers, and civic stakeholders. The goal: help citizens and institutions anticipate, prevent, and recover from cyberattacks. The minister congratulated TOI and NFSU “not only as a home minister but also as a citizen for taking up a socially relevant cause that affects everyone”. Highlighting that numerous women fall prey to cybercrimes, he pushed back against the culture of shaming and blaming the victims and their families. He instead called on TOI and NFSU to advocate for societal support for these victims.Sanghavi said crimes are evolving faster than before and cybercrimes could soon outnumber conventional ones. He urged citizens, especially more vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, to stay up-to-date on the modus operandi of various kinds of digital crime.”We are working on upgrading Gujarat Police to prepare them for crimes of the future,” said the MoS. “We plan to send our officers to leading global universities for training in dark web forensics, blockchain, big data, and artificial intelligence so that they can address the kind of crimes that are likely to take place five years from now. We are also expanding the scope of our Centre of Excellence in Cybercrimes to address high-tech crimes,” he added.Sanghavi emphasised that the state police managed to block siphoned funds in 42% of reported cases through awareness and pre-emptive action. He added that the state police recently also busted a major crime ring that affected 1,500 victims not just from Gujarat, but all over India.The event was attended by K L N Rao, DGP, CID (crime); Nipuna Torwane, principal secretary (home); and J M Vyas, vice-chancellor, NFSU; along with representatives from trade, corporate, medical, and education sectors, cybercrime experts, and senior police officials handling cybercrime.In his address, Vyas traced the journey of technology and crime-solving techniques. “Today every person using a digital device is a potential victim, so awareness is must. In the era of AI where anyone’s writing or voice can be forged, aware citizens can prevent crimes like digital arrests that is affecting many,” he said.Rao said that during Hacked 1.0, CID (crime) had partnered with TOI, and he was pleased to collaborate again. “We live in a digital ecosystem where even small businesses depend on UPI and e-payments. Digital security is no longer a service, it’s becoming a citizen’s right,” he said.
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