India has been grappling with a rise in cybercrime for three and a half years, with analyzes suggesting that cities like Bangalore and Gurugram – centers of India’s technological development – are hubs for this activity.
The report – A deep dive into cybercrime trends impacting India from the Future Crime Research Foundation (FCRF), a non-profit organization, which identified cybercrime hotspots between January 2020 and June 2023.
“Analysis of India’s 10 most cybercrime-prone districts reveals several common factors contributing to their vulnerability. These include geographic proximity to large urban centers, limited cybersecurity infrastructure, socio-economic challenges and low digital literacy. » States The report.
Several of the geographic areas most prone to cybercrime are home to technology hubs. Gurugram and Bangalore – both considered (PDF) among the five most attractive cities for the IT industry in Asia – presented for the wrong reasons.
Gurugram district, home to an IT-focused city of the same name, is ranked sixth on the FCRF list. The district accounted for 8.1 percent of reported cybercrime, despite being home to less than 0.2 percent of India’s population.
The FCRF cited the high crime rate as “likely influenced by its status as a major commercial and IT hub, making it an attractive target for cybercriminals seeking valuable data or financial gains.”
Outsourcing services and call centers occupy an important place in the region. Globally recognized technology names including Google, Microsoft, IBM India, Accenture, Cognizant, Infosys, Wipro and many others are all present in the city.
And even though the city is known for its economic wealth, it is said having the third highest per capita income in India – the Foundation suggested that “disparities in digital literacy and cybersecurity awareness” could be factors that could drive criminal activity.
Meanwhile, Bangalore – in Karnataka district – has been named by the FCRF as an emerging cybercrime hotspot. The city is known as the “Silicon Valley of India” thanks to its proliferation of IT employers, including Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, IBM India, Microsoft, Google, Amazon Intel, Cisco, Samsung Research Institute, Nvidia Graphics and many more.
Topping the list was Bharatpur, Gurugram’s neighbor, with 18% of India’s total cybercrime. The FCRF cites limited employment opportunities and lack of digital literacy as reasons for the prevalence of crime in the region, as well as the fact that it contains large urban centers like Delhi and Jaipur.
Mathura – a district filled with important religious sites – took second place with 12 percent. The FCRF cited the area’s limited cybersecurity infrastructure and status as a tourist attraction among the likely reasons it was so popular with criminals.
Another finding of the report is that among all cybercrimes reported in India, almost half (47.25%) involved Unified Payments Interface (UPI) fraud. Debit, credit card and SIM Swap fraud came in second at 11.27 percent. Overall, financially motivated crimes accounted for 77.41 percent of incidents. ®