NATIONAL CYBERCRIME REPORTING PORTAL (Syllabus GS Paper 3 – Cyber Security)

Context: Recently, banks have proposed integrating their systems with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), an arm of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which could pave the way for a faster freeze on fraudsters' accounts in case of a cyberattack.

National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP)

• About: The portal serves as an initiative by the Government of India to enable victims/complainants to report cybercrime complaints online.
• Coverage: It caters to all types of cybercrime complaints, encompassing a wide range of offenses such as online Child Pornography (CP), Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), Rape/Gang Rape (CP/RGR) content, mobile crimes, online and social media crimes, online financial frauds, ransomware, hacking, cryptocurrency crimes, and online cyber trafficking.
• Purpose: Aimed at restraining perpetrators of digital crimes and phishing attacks.
• Objective: Prevent quick movement of money from a target’s bank account to accounts with multiple banks.
• Anonymous Reporting Option: The portal offers the option of reporting anonymously, particularly for sensitive cases involving online Child Pornography (CP) or sexually explicit content like Rape/Gang Rape (RGR) content.
• Two options for reporting cybercrimes on the portal:

o Report Crime related to Women/ Child: Under this section, you can report complaints pertaining to online Child Pornography (CP), Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) or sexually explicit content such as Rape/Gang Rape (CP/RGR) content.

o Report Other Cybercrimes: Under this option, you can report complaints pertaining to cybercrimes such as mobile crimes, online and social media crimes, online financial frauds, ransomware, hacking, cryptocurrency crimes and online cyber trafficking.

Child Sexually Abusive Material (CSAM)

• About: It  refers to material containing sexual image in any form, of a child who is abused or sexually exploited. Section 67 (B) of IT Act states that “it is punishable for publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in sexually explicit act, etc. in electronic form”.