Thiruvananthapuram: With cyberthreats involving artificial intelligence, malware and other malicious software becoming increasingly sophisticated, the cyber wing of police is setting up an integrated facility to train police personnel to identify and respond to emerging threats.The facility, proposed at Police Training College in the state capital, is expected to become operational within four months, said P Prakash, IGP SCRB and nodal officer CCTNS and ICJS, Keralam. The first phase will focus on training officers in cybersecurity and cybercrime investigation.The facility will provide a controlled environment where cadets can simulate cyberattacks and practise responding to different types of threats without dealing with live systems. The cyber range proposed as part of the project will support up to 200 officials simultaneously and have more than 300 virtual machines and over 100 cyber scenarios.The training will cover areas, including attack simulation, incident response, malware analysis, digital forensics and cyber-crisis management.“Cyberthreats are no longer limited to a particular section of society. Threats involving AI, malware and different types of malicious software are a threat to everyone. The police personnel need to be trained to understand these threats and respond effectively,” Prakash said.Unlike a conventional police training space, the facility will integrate AI/ML-based threat analytics, a threat-intelligence platform, a malware sandbox, digital forensics software and an incident and digital evidence management system.The AI-based system will help analyse suspicious activity and identify potential threats, while the threat-intelligence platform will collate information on threats, malware, vulnerabilities and other indicators. The malware sandbox will enable investigators to examine suspicious files in a controlled environment.The digital-forensics system will provide tools to examine computers, mobile devices, memory, networks and multimedia, besides helping investigators manage digital evidence and maintain chain of custody records.“Cyber policing cannot be seen as something limited to the police alone. Cyberthreats affect society. Once the system is established and the training programme is developed, there is a possibility of extending the initiative to civilians also,” he said.The first phase, however, will be restricted to the police, with the focus on equipping them with cybercrime investigation skills before they are deployed for regular duties.The project also includes installation, integration, commissioning and training, besides five years of comprehensive technical support. The proposed facility is expected to strengthen the police force’s capacity to investigate cybercrimes and handle electronic evidence as digital threats continue to evolve.
