India and the US have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in cybercrime investigations.
In a statement, the external affairs ministry (MEA) said that the MoU will allow the two countries to “step up” cooperation and training with regards to using digital forensics and cyber threat intelligence for criminal investigations.
From the Indian side, Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) and the home ministry will be responsible for the execution of the MoU.
On the other hand, the Department of Homeland Security, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Homeland Security Investigations Cyber Crimes Center will be the nodal agencies on the US side.
“Cybercrime has intricate linkages with the common security challenges faced by India and the US, such as terrorism and violent extremism, terror financing, drug trafficking, organised crime, human trafficking, illegal migration, money laundering and transportation security. The MoU on cybercrime investigations will enable further strengthening of India-US security cooperation, as part of our comprehensive and global strategic partnership,” the MEA said.
The agreement was signed by Vinay Kwatra, the Indian ambassador to the US, and the acting US deputy secretary of homeland security Kristie Canegallo in Washington DC on Friday (January 17).
The move is expected to foster collaboration between the two nations in the area of cybersecurity, enable knowledge-sharing and pave the way for speedy investigation in such cases.
This comes days after the governments of the US, Japan, and South Korea, in a joint statement, attributed the $235 Mn hack last year at Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX to state-backed North Korean hackers.
The development also comes at a time when a growing number of Indian entities and institutions are witnessing a spate of cyberattacks. India emerged as the second most targeted nation in terms of cyberattacks in the world in 2024, only next to the US.
As per a report by non-profit Prahar, 500 Mn cyberattacks were recorded in the country in the first quarter of 2024. This was followed by another nearly 750 Mn attacks in the second quarter last year.
The cyber threats have exacerbated on the back of AI and ML tools, which train machines to automate and enhance cyberattacks and are harder to detect.
The major cyber breaches in India last year included those at state-run telco BSNL (278 GB of sensitive user data leaked), broking platform Angel One (personal information of 7.9 Mn customers leaked), and WazirX (which impacted 15 Mn users), among others.
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