Globally, 6,70,000 complaints have been registered and as on December 31, 2006, the total reported loss was $1.1 billion. According to Indian Computer Response Team (CERT IN), hackers broke into over 2,340 websites till May this year.

At the current rate, India needs about 20,000 trained professionals to solve the crimes related to internet and mobile phones.

To address this shortage, Agape India - providing services in cyber forensic law, biometrics solutions and storage consultant - has launched National Institute of e-forensic (NIeF).  It is a unit of e-forensic, aimed at providing advanced specialised computer and mobile forensic training programmes.

The company will be investing close to Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) by March 2008 to set up five training laboratories in India - of which two would be for state governments.

"At present, we have one lab operational in Mumbai. We plan to set up similar training labs in Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. We will be raising these funds through foreign investment," said Sachin Pandey, CEO and president, NIeF.

The company will also enter into tie-ups with law enforcement agencies to train and consult officials on handling such cases. Each of these labs will be have a capacity to seat 15 students and will be set up with an investment of Rs 15-20 crore (Rs 150-200 million).

The company has introduced 10 courses with the fees in the range of Rs 15,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh. It is expecting to enroll 100 students per quarter.

"The course will be certified by Oregon University, US. The demand for such professionals is very high. We ourselves will absorb around 200 students who will pass out from the centres," said Pandey.

He feels that the current scenario in India makes it necessary for such training as most of the time evidence in cyber related crimes are destroyed by the law enforcement agencies themselves. Especially, in the mobile related crime.

While the company does not take direct complaints, it does provide investigation services to corporates and individuals. Pandey says, "On a monthly basis we get 25-30 complaints. Of which 60-65 per cent are committed through mobile phones while the rest are from the PC segment."

Pandey believes that NIeF will be able to generate Rs 2-2.5 crore (Rs 20-25 million) as revenue in the first year of operations.

Agape has been in the Indian market for the last seven years. It has been marketing high-end forensic products from players such as Paraben, Wetstone, HP, X-Ways, Steganos and others.

www.crime.com

• At the current rate, India needs 20,000 trained professionals to handle crimes related to the internet and mobile
• Agape is investing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) to set up five training labs
• The company's course is certified by Oregon University, US