Government rescuing citizens forced into cybercrime in this country, here’s how

The government is trying to rescue citizens in Cambodia who were lured into employment and weren forced to participate in cyber fraud schemes. In a statement to the news agency Reuters, India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the Indian embassy in Cambodia is working with Cambodian authorities and has rescued and repatriated about 250 Indians, including 75 in the last three months.The statement offered by Jaiswal was in response to reports that stated more than 5,000 Indian citizens are trapped in Cambodia and are being forced to carry out cyber frauds on people in India.Jaiswal said: “We are also working with Cambodian authorities and with agencies in India to crack down on those responsible for these fraudulent schemes.”The report also notes that the government and its embassy in Cambodia have issued several advisories informing them about such scams, the spokesperson added.However, the Cambodian embassy in India is yet to respond to a request for comment.Increase of cybercrimes in 2023Several reports have suggested that cybercrime incidents across the globe has increased last year. In 2023, major data breaches as well as ransomware attacks impacted businesses globally. <toifeed>Untitled Carousel</toifeed> A recent report by Palo Alto Networks also announced its cybersecurity predictions for 2024. The report recommended companies to take a holistic approach to cybersecurity to be safe.The report cited a survey that claimed that about “67% of Indian government/essential services witnessed more than 50% increase in disruptive cyberattacks in 2022–2023.”This survey also discovered that 75% of Indian organisations have increased their cybersecurity budgets in 2023 compared to 2022.Ian Lim, field chief security officer at Palo Alto Networks said: “In 2023, we’ve seen mature organisations, who invest heavily in cybersecurity, still falling victim to debilitating cyberattacks. This is due to the tenacity and ingenuity of attackers who exploit cyber hygiene issues or find novel ways to compromise legacy defences. Another key reason for these breaches lies in the complexity of security capabilities in most modern organisations.”GN Awards 2025: Vote for your favorite Gadgets