Cybercrimes in India May Double in 2015: Assocham-Mahindra Study

The number of cybercrimes in India may touch 300,000 in 2015, more than double the level of last year, causing havoc in the financial space, security establishment and social fabric, a study said.

"What is causing even more concern is that the origin of these crimes is widely based abroad in countries including China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Algeria among others," D.S Rawat, secretary general, Assocham said while releasing the joint Assocham-Mahindra SSG study "Cyber and Network Security Framework".

At present, the number of cybercrimes in India is nearly around 149,254 and is likely to cross the 300,000 by 2015 growing at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 107 percent. According to the study, every month sees 12,456 cases registered in India.

During 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, the total number of cybercrimes registered were 13,301, 22,060, 71,780 and 62,189 (till May) respectively, it said.

Phishing attacks of online banking accounts or cloning of ATM/debit cards are common occurrences. The increasing use of mobile/smartphones/tablets for online banking/financial transactions has also increased the vulnerabilities to a great extent. The maximum offenders came from the 18-30 age group, the report added.

These attacks have been observed to be originating from the cyberspace of a number of countries including the US, of Europe, Brazil, Turkey, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria and the UAE, highlighted the study.

"Growing Internet penetration and rising popularity of online banking have made India a favourite among the cybercriminals, who target online financial transactions using malware and India ranks third after Japan and US in the tally of countries most affected by online banking malware during the year of 2014," it said.

As per the study, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra have occupied the top three positions when it comes to cybercrimes registered under the new IT Act in India.

Interestingly, these three states together contribute more than 70 percent to India's revenue from IT and IT related industries, it added.