Indian Government Inaugurates National Crypto Forensic Lab

The government of India has inaugurated a national cyber forensics lab which includes a cryptocurrency forensic lab to perform crypto-related analyses. Alongside this is the inauguration of the Delhi Police’s cybercrime unit which will deal with fraud involving cryptocurrencies. It is the first cybercrime awareness and detection center in the country, according to a commissioner.

Also read: Indian Blockchain Summit Draws Policy Makers to Speed up Crypto Regulation

Indian Government’s Crypto Forensic Lab

India’s Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a national cyber forensic lab and the Delhi Police’s cybercrime unit called the Cyber Protection Awareness and Detection Center (Cypad) on Monday, The Hindu reported.

“It is the first cybercrime awareness and detection centre opened in the country,” Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik was quoted as saying. The national cyber forensic lab includes units such as a “memory forensics lab, image enhancement lab, network forensics lab, malware forensics lab, cryptocurrency forensics lab, damaged hard disk and advanced mobile forensics lab,” the publication wrote. Noting that the new lab will help officers detect cyberfraud, he elaborated:

We are now equipped with technology to recover data from damaged hard disks, cryptocurrency analysis, malware forensic and data can be retrieved from 33,000 kinds of mobile models available in the market. Cyberexperts will train our staff.

Cypad Will Deal With Crypto Fraud

Both the Cypad and the national cyber forensic lab are located in the same complex in Dwarka’s Sector 16 C, according to The Hindu. The lab is part of the Union Home Ministry’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center.

The Cypad “aims to provide cyber investigation, cyber forensics, cyber safety and security-related services to the citizens as well as to police units and agencies of Delhi,” the publication detailed. “The centre in Dwarka will provide security services to citizens, cops and other agencies to better equip the country in the fight against cybercrime.”

Minister Singh said that cybercrime is the “biggest threat to digital India,” the news outlet conveyed. He further emphasized that Cypad “will deal with cryptocurrency fraud and international tech-supported frauds,” Devdiscourse publication noted. On Sunday, The Times of India reported that the city crime branch has busted a gang allegedly involved in a crypto scam that duped investors an estimated Rs 100 crore (~$14 million).

What do you think of the Indian government’s crypto forensic lab? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Kevin Helms

A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.