Discuss different types of cyber crimes and measures required to be taken to fight the menace.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Classify cyber crimes with examples, and list the legal, institutional, technical and awareness measures needed to check them.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Discuss the different types of cyber crime, with examples
- Discuss the measures required to fight the menace
Open with · Cyber crime is any unlawful act in which a computer or network is the tool, the target or both. NCRB counted 50,035 such cases in 2020, rising to 65,893 by 2022, with fraud cases alone up from 10,395 to 17,470.
Cover
- Against individuals: identity theft, phishing and online fraud, cyber stalking and bullying, sextortion, morphed images and data theft.
- Against organisations and infrastructure: ransomware and malware, denial-of-service attacks, hacking, data breaches, and attacks on power grids, banks and hospitals.
- Against the State and society: cyber terrorism, espionage, fake news and hate spread through social media, radicalisation, and cyber warfare.
- Legal: the IT Act, 2000 (Sections 66C, 66D, 66F cover identity theft, cheating by personation, cyber terrorism) and penal law on fraud and stalking.
- Institutions: CERT-In for incident response, NCIIPC for critical infrastructure, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and the national cyber crime reporting portal.
- Prevention: cyber hygiene and public awareness, two-factor authentication, security audits, trained police and forensic labs, and cooperation with platforms and other countries.
- Gaps: low reporting and conviction, cross-border jurisdiction, fast-changing technology, and a data-protection law that came late (Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023).
Close with · Sound law, capable institutions and alert citizens must move together, because technology changes faster than legislation; the DPDP Act's test now is enforcement.
Add value (verified)
- PIB backgrounder (March 2025, citing NCRB's Crime in India): cyber crime cases registered were 50,035 in 2020, 52,974 in 2021 and 65,893 in 2022.PIB backgrounder on cyber crime (March 2025), Annexure citing NCRB Crime in India ↗“TOTAL (ALL INDIA) 50035 52974 65893 Source: ‘Crime in India’ published by NCRB.”
- PIB backgrounder (March 2025, citing NCRB): cases registered under fraud among cyber crimes rose from 10,395 in 2020 to 14,007 in 2021 and 17,470 in 2022.PIB backgrounder on cyber crime (March 2025), Annexure II citing NCRB Crime in India ↗“TOTAL (ALL INDIA) 10395 14007 17470 Source: ‘Crime in India’ published by NCRB.”
- Akashvani News (December 2025, on a Rajya Sabha reply): more than Rs 7,000 crore has been saved in more than 23 lakh complaints through the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System, with the 1930 helpline for lodging complaints.Akashvani News: Over Rs 7,000 crore saved through Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (17 December 2025) ↗“more than seven thousand crore rupees have been saved in more than 23 lakh complaints so far through the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 225words · Minimalist IAS
Cyber crime is any unlawful act in which a computer or network is the tool, the target or both. NCRB counted 50,035 such cases in 2020, rising to 65,893 by 2022, with fraud cases alone up from 10,395 to 17,470.
Different types of cyber crimes
| Target | Main crimes | Legal hook |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals | Identity theft, phishing, stalking, sextortion | IT Act S. 66C, 66D |
| Organisations and infrastructure | Ransomware, denial-of-service, data breaches | CERT-In, NCIIPC |
| State and society | Cyber terrorism, espionage, fake news | IT Act S. 66F |
- Against individuals: online financial fraud, sextortion and morphed images, often targeting first-time users.
Measures required to fight the menace
- Law: enforce the IT Act, 2000 (Sections 66C, 66D, 66F) and penal provisions on fraud and stalking, with data protection (since enacted as the DPDP Act, 2023).
- Institutions: CERT-In, NCIIPC and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C); its fraud-reporting system (helpline 1930) had saved over Rs 7,000 crore across 23 lakh complaints by December 2025 (Akashvani, on a Rajya Sabha reply).
- Technology: two-factor authentication, security audits and secure-by-design systems.
- People: cyber hygiene for first-time users, women and children; trained police and forensic labs in every state.
- Cooperation: with platforms for quick takedowns and with other countries on evidence and jurisdiction.
Sound law, capable institutions and alert citizens must move together, because technology changes faster than legislation; the DPDP Act's test now is enforcement.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
