To strengthen cybersecurity and empower citizens, Union Minister for Communications Ashwini Vaishnav launched two new initiatives: the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) and the Chakshu facility on the Sanchar Saathi portal on March 5th, 2024.
These initiatives, DIP and Chakshu, highlight the government's commitment - to improve coordination between stakeholders to combat cybercrime and financial fraud, to empower citizens to actively participate in reporting suspicious activity and to enhance overall cybersecurity in the country.
DIP: Strengthening Collaboration Against Fraud
A secure platform for real-time intelligence sharing between law enforcement, banks, telecom companies, social media platforms, and document issuing authorities.
Aims to combat cybercrime and financial frauds by facilitating coordinated action based on shared information.
When a number is flagged for fraudulent activity, it's shared with all stakeholders for immediate blocking across their platforms.
Not directly accessible to citizens.
Chakshu: Empowering Citizens to Report Fraud
A citizen-facing portal on the Sanchar Saathi platform.
Allows users to report suspected fraudulent communication received via calls, SMS, or WhatsApp, including attempts to get:
KYC updates
Bank account details
Payment wallet information
SIM card details
Gas connection details
Once a report is submitted, the system initiates a re-verification process for the reported number. Failure to re-verify the number could lead to its disconnection.
Provides a mechanism to report mistakenly disconnected connections and recover frozen account funds.
Sanchar Saathi portal:
The launch of these initiatives builds upon the success of the Sanchar Saathi portal, which was introduced in May 2023. This government portal offers various services related to mobile connections and has already facilitated the disconnection of over 10 million fraudulent connections while also aiding in tracking and recovering over 700,000 stolen mobile handsets.