THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A special cyber division will soon be set up in the state to coordinate efforts to prevent cyber crimes due to increasing crime rate. For this, a high-level meeting will be held in September under the leadership of the Chief Minister and will be attended by the DGP and the Home Secretary.

This is on the basis of the incidents including the Kozhikode AI technology extortion of money through video call and the central directive to ensure the privacy and information of individuals.

Currently there are cyber police stations in the districts. There are cyber domes in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode districts for cyber research. The Cyber Division is constituted to coordinate and supervise these and investigate cases flawlessly. At present only one SP is in charge. It will be expanded to form various teams of about 20 officers. More than 500 policemen will also be given cyber training.

In the last six months, 685 cyber cases have been registered in the state. 75 percent of these cases are cyber attacks against women. There are 65 million fake accounts on Instagram alone. Even ministers are victims of crimes such as extorting money using the names and pictures of prominent people.