BHUBANESWAR: The state Home department has asked the DGP to proritise establishment of a State Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (S4C) to facilitate seamless exchange of cybercrime intelligence and threat feeds with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
The move follows a communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), stressing the need for speedy establishment and operationalising S4Cs across all states and Union Territories. The proposed centres are envisaged as state-level nodal agencies for the coordinated prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of cybercrimes.
In a letter, Home Department Joint Secretary Minakshi Behera has requested the DGP to take necessary action regarding establishing S4C in Odisha and also nominate an officer not below the rank of DIG to coordinate with the MHA in this connection. So far, S4Cs have been established in 10 states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The S4Cs are envisaged as state-level counterparts of I4C with a broader and more intensive mandate encompassing criminal investigation, cybercrime prevention and cybersecurity response capabilities.
The MHA has noted that cybercrime patterns vary across states based on demographics, digital adoption, local languages and socio-economic factors. S4Cs would enable state-level data analytics, hot spot mapping and assist in trend analysis, allowing targeted preventive and enforcement strategies. The MHA has directed the states/UTs to establish S4Cs as a dedicated police unit functioning under the Head of the Police Force (HoPF). The head of the S4C should directly report to the HoPF.
The ministry further stated that the S4C should comprise two to three wings to deal with cyber investigation, cyber operations and cyber security. A senior official will head the overall S4C and supervise the functioning of its wings.