26 Specialists, Including IITians, Help Crack E-Fraud Targeting Azmi

The scamsters who duped actor Shabana Azmi in an online liquor-order-placing fraud on June 24 have been identified and will soon be arrested, said the state cyber police on Monday.

- V Narayan

Mumbai: An officer said the breakthrough was achieved after the cyber cell hired 26 graduates, including from the IITs, as domain specialists to track increasing online offences in the state.

In Mumbai alone, 8,284 cases of cybercrime were registered from 2017 to 2021 (till May 31), of which 945 were solved. “The newly-hired 26 cyber specialists will help clear the backlog, not only in the city but across the state,” said a cyber police officer. A state cyber cell officer told TOI, “The hired specialists will also take care of cyber analysis and the government’s cyber audit. They are experienced in cases through Google’s cybersecurity audit, especially concerning overseas hackers. The team will oversee how to strengthen critical power and railways signal infrastructure to guard against cyber terrorism.”