About a decade ago, when the horrific Nirbhaya case shook the country, questions were raised yet again on the pace of the judiciary. The civil society, political class and intellectuals argued on how the justice system can act faster to deter such savages. Apart from the huge backlog of cases pending in courts, another key factor which was blamed for delay was accumulation of credible evidence to convict the criminals. The security agencies notably the State police were already reeling with stress, work pressure and overwork. While high-profile cases were attended with great care to escape media attention and negative PR, millions of people waited for justice because the evidence couldn’t be collected or the overload in judiciary was making it an ordeal for the common man to wait for years.
About a decade ago, when the horrific Nirbhaya case shook the country, questions were raised yet again on the pace of the judiciary. The civil society, political class and intellectuals argued on how the justice system can act faster to deter such savages. Apart from the huge backlog of cases pending in courts, another key factor which was blamed for delay was accumulation of credible evidence to convict the criminals. The security agencies notably the State police were already reeling with stress, work pressure and overwork. While high-profile cases were attended with great care to escape media attention and negative PR, millions of people waited for justice because the evidence couldn’t be collected or the overload in judiciary was making it an ordeal for the common man to wait for years.
Only 600 panchayats in India were connected to the internet during those days whereas 2,13,000 panchayats are connected with the Internet today. With extraordinarily high internet usage, cyberforensics has emerged as a vital component in evidence gathering and fighting crimes. Cyberforensics is being used today to collect evidence even in non-digital crimes because every criminal in the real world is also leaving a digital footprint of his activities, geo-location and app usage. From a preceding era where police would manually search the premises for murder weapon hoping to find fingerprints, cyberforensics has enabled the courts to track digital activity to monitor the movement of the suspect real-time.
On September 2024, Home Minister Amit Shah announced a “suspect registry”. The online registry is a comprehensive database of about 1.4 million cyber criminals involved in financial fraud and various other cyber frauds. The database is part of the cyberforensics effort to track, accumulate evidence, and convict criminals. Cybercrimes have rose from 1.56 million in 2023 to 4.78 million complaints by August 2024. The government is understandably investing heavily in cyber resources and Home Minister has even announced 5000 cyber commandos to counter the surge in cybercrimes. Cyberforensics is emerging as the unsung hero in the fight for justice and an enabler for law enforcement agencies with the following:
Fast track courts have become a regular phenomenon in India. They are popular because of the promise of prompt delivery of justice. They are necessary because government of the day often faces public pressure in case of high-profile crimes and need a route to deflect the ire of the masses. Cyberforensics is the hero which is accelerating the speed of fast track justice systems. When a fugitive is chased, he is smart enough to shut down the phone so that mobile tower location cannot be tracked with IMEI number. However, cyberforensics makes it easier for justice system because even an app login from unknown device can be tracked. The speed at which cyber evidence can be collected makes it the most attractive option for criminal justice. The role of cyberforensics will continue to grow in the coming years.
In the past, only photoshopped images or text content were subject to authenticity verification. Video content were perceived as the unvarnished truth because falsifying video evidence convincingly wasn’t technically easy. In the case of edited videos, it was easier for human users to judge their authenticity. The recent progress in GenAI tools has made it easy for criminals to create clear and authentic-looking videos. You can no longer believe what you see in the digital content because AI is too good. Deepfake detection tools like Authentify by pi-labs.ai is required for cyberforensics teams to examine and authenticate digital evidence before it gets submitted in court. Unlike earlier times when digital evidence was regarded as secondary evidence, government has brought in laws to make it primary evidence. Cyberforensics capabilities at the local level is very important because the magnitude of digital evidence is set to explode in the next few years. It isn’t surprising that everyone right from AI startups to Tech giants are investing in deepfake detection capabilities.
State governments in India have already set up dedicated cyber cells at district level so that demand by the law enforcement agencies are met. It’s only a matter of time that every court in India will have a in-house cyberforensics team so that evidence collected during investigation is accessible real-time by the judges. It will reduce the time lag between evidence collection and submission to zero so that agencies can focus on routine policing work and maintenance of law and order work after saving time in collating evidence.
The Dark web is growing as a nuisance for the court system across the world. Apart from jurisdiction issues due to non-tracability, dark web is also being used as a medium to carry out illegal activities like piracy, black marketing, remitting proceeds of crimes etc. In case of crimes in the dark web, there won’t be any evidence except cyberforensic evidence. The role of law enforcement will be limited to arresting the individual because activities on the dark web can’t be understood without understanding the cyber framework.
The role of cyber forensics isn’t limited to local laws or courts. In the past decade, there have been recurring instances of cyber threats emerging from hostile countries like China. Apart from the physical borders, every geo-political power of today is constantly engaged in a covert cyberwar to control the internet, steal digital information or infiltrate digital infrastructure of adversaries. India banning TikTok and China facing global flak for Huawei are symptoms of these cyber maneuvers. In case of full-fledged war, the advantage in cyber world will emerge as a key differentiator that determines the winner. In such a scenario, cyberforensics is a prerequisite for diplomatic conflicts in international courts, post-war negotiation terms and intelligence gathering. When everything from a simple overspeeding ticket to gruesome war crimes starts getting tried in courts based on digital evidence, cyberforensics is the unsung hero that will sing the truth into the ears of the honourable courts.
Cyberforensics has transitioned from a niche investigative tool to becoming the backbone of modern law enforcement and justice delivery systems. As the digital footprint of criminals continues to grow, so does the importance of cyberforensics in ensuring accurate and timely evidence collection. From combating localized crimes to addressing global geopolitical cyber threats, the potential of cyberforensics is immense. Its role in detecting deepfakes, tackling dark web activities, and enabling faster judicial processes underscores its transformative impact.
As India embraces its digital future, investing in robust cyberforensic infrastructure is no longer optional—it is imperative. By equipping courts, law enforcement, and policymakers with advanced forensic capabilities, we not only expedite justice but also reinforce trust in our systems. Cyberforensics truly stands as the unsung hero, ensuring that in a digital-first world, truth and justice prevail.
WEBSITE: www.pi-labs.ai
E-MAIL: hello@pi-labs.ai
Together, let’s build a digital future where we can differentiate fake from real.
