New Delhi : The rate of cybercrime has increased in 2017, as one case of cybercrime was reported in every 10 minutes in the first six months, said a report in The Economic Times .

According to Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), 27,482 cases of cybercrime were reported from January to June. This is higher than 2016 when a cybercrime was reported in every 12 minutes, added the report.

Analysis of data from 2013 - 2016 shows that network scanning and probing, which is seen as the first step to detect vulnerabilities in systems so that sensitive data can be stolen, constituted 6.7% of all cases while virus or malware attack accounted for 17.2%, added the report.

The cybercrime includes global ransomware attacks that hit hundreds of systems, to phishing and scanning rackets. The report said while India has been dealing with crimes such as phishing and defacement, ransomware attacks have come as a surprise. Other crimes in the cyberspace include phishing, scanning or probing, site intrusions, defacements, virus or malicious code, ransomware and denial-of-service attacks.

India has seen a total of 1.71 lakh cases of cybercrime in the past three-and-a-half years and the CERT claims that the number is likely to cross 50,000 by December.

Increasing ransomware threat and the demand for ransom in bitcoins, a crypto-currency which attackers feel is the safest way to get paid, saw the Supreme Court direct the RBI to take note of the matter. The RBI has also been issuing regular warnings on bitcoins, added the report.

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