NEW DELHI: Warning that cyber attacks go far beyond financial fraud and pose a serious threat to national security, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that India’s sensitive data is being stolen and sold to hostile forces.
However, he asserted that the government is taking sustained and coordinated steps to counter such threats, even as incidents of cyber fraud continue to rise alongside the rapid expansion of the country’s digital ecosystem.
Delivering the keynote address at the national conference on ‘Tackling Cyber-Enabled Frauds & Dismantling the Ecosystem’, organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Shah said cyber security has become critically important as digital transactions and UPI-based payments have become part of everyday life in India.
The Home Minister said his ministry had taken an early and firm stand against cybercrime and has worked consistently to promote cyber awareness among citizens. He added that cyber security has strengthened significantly under the Modi government over the past several years.
“Our country’s data is being stolen and sold to our enemies, and we are making continuous efforts to stop it,” Shah said, adding that progress has been made in tackling cybercrime, strengthening the criminal justice system and recovering funds lost to online fraud.
Emphasising the need for stronger safeguards, he said the focus must now be on reducing “leakage from all sides”. He also underlined the importance of real-time reporting of cybercrime, improved cyber awareness and better cyber hygiene to ensure safety and security. A robust and secure framework involving all agencies, he said, is essential to effectively counter online crimes.
Highlighting the role of I-Force, set up by the Government of India, Shah said it has performed well in facilitating coordination among agencies. “Now the time has come to take I-Force a step further,” he said, adding that multiple institutions are working together on the initiative.
He said several agencies, including the Reserve Bank of India, the National Investigation Agency and the CBI, are working in coordination to combat cybercrime. The conference, he added, would help align efforts and strengthen cooperation to deal more effectively with cyber-enabled fraud.
Shah said security agencies led by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) have so far saved or frozen over Rs 8,000 crore out of the Rs 20,000 crore swindled by fraudsters till November 30, 2025. He also noted that 82 lakh cybercrime complaints were reported during this period, of which 1.84 lakh cases were converted into FIRs. However, he stressed that efforts to curb cybercrime and recover funds must be taken to the next level.
Urging the 562 delegates attending the conference to intensify the fight against cybercrime, Shah said cyber criminals are now operating in an increasingly institutionalised manner and often remain two steps ahead of law enforcement in terms of technology.
The Home Minister also said that while 62 banks and financial institutions have already been onboarded onto the secure framework, the government aims to bring all cooperative banks under it by December 31.