With 7 lac resource gap in cybersecurity, more experts needed: Amit Dubey, National Security Expert

With 7 lac resource gap in cybersecurity, more experts needed: Amit Dubey, National Security Expert

Updated on Mar 18, 2019 04:15 PM IST | #Cyber Law

Amit Dubey, Crime Investigator & Deputy CTO at Tech Mahindra speaks to Careers360 about the career prospects of cybersecurity in law. He is a renowned National Security Expert and a Crime Investigator on Cyber Forensics and Ethical Hacking to various Investigation Agencies like (NIA, CBI, Punjab Police, STF Lucknow, STF Noida etc.). He lends his mentorship to several law enforcement agencies and has authored a book named ‘Return of The Trojan Horse, Tales of Criminal Investigation’.

With 7 lac resource gap in cybersecurity, more experts needed: Amit Dubey, National Security Expert
With 7 lac resource gap in cybersecurity, more experts needed: Amit Dubey, National Security Expert

Every day cyber financial crimes are costing India more than 2 billion dollars. If we can save even 10% of it, it will be a huge saving, tells Dubey. Underlining authorities’ and consumers’  unawareness about the procedure, he says, an experienced cyber lawyer plays a pivotal role in acting as a hustler, pushing the right buttons with right documents and connecting all the dots together. Given below is the full interview.

INTERVIEW

Careers360: What is the status of cybercrime protection laws in India?

Amity University | M.Sc Admissions 2025

Ranked as India’s #1 Not for profit pvt. University by India Today

UPES MA Admissions 2025

Ranked #46 Among Universities in India by NIRF | 1950+ Students Placed 91% Placement, 590+ Recruiters | Last Date to Apply: 15th July

Amit Dubey: I think from an awareness point of view, we are still quite behind. Though we are coming up with new laws and regulations every year. Recently, the NITI Aayog released the paper on data protection law, IT Act 2008 was also updated, but then from the law enforcement perspective, I think police isn’t as aware of the laws. From the investigation point of view, they are not trained well. So, when a victim of cybercrime approaches them, especially financial crimes, they don’t entertain well. You say somebody has hacked your account, or taken money from your bank account, that’s very difficult for them to pursue as they don’t themselves understand how to start an investigation, to whom should they approach. Here we are lacking. We need to build that capacity in our law enforcement departments.

Careers360: Beside capacity building, what aspects of cyber law we still need to build on like blockchain technology, etc.? We still don’t have any laws on that...

Amit Dubey: Yes we are still evolving. If you see, 5 years earlier we started with the concept of data privacy and from there, now, we are talking of data sovereignty. This is a long journey. We are evolving everyday and trying to pitch in new prospects. Recently, WhatsApp and Ministry of IT went into communication and they are pushing WhatsApp to keep all of their data in India. They sort of agreed to the proposition to some extent. Though WhatsApp is a very tough guy as the technology they use is complex. Its peer-to-peer encryption. So, it’s very difficult to share this data with anybody else because it cannot be decrypted. It can be decrypted only at the peer end. However, the catch lies, whenever you take backup of your data and it is retained on some server, that data or analysis of that data can be shared with someone. Now that is something which law enforcement agencies are trying to get for investigations as most criminals use WhatsApp for communication due to its encrypted communication and since nobody can put surveillance on it. We also need to build support from other social media too as all these channels are being used for various criminal activities.

Careers360: Why is it so important for data to be protected?

Amit Dubey: Many times people ask me what will happen if my data is leaked. What is so big deal about it! Will I get some sort of threat? What sort of real tangible criminal activity possible to do with that? It is not clear to many people. For that, I will give you an example. Recently I was investigating a case. Somebody put in a complaint of their faulty RO system with the company and a person came to fix that. After examination, this person produced a list of items, gave the lady at home a better plan for 3 years including free AMC and replacements in INR 12,000. He duped the family; took the money and never turned up. Upon realization, this couple approached the company to only find out that they never sent a person like that. When I investigated the case, I found that the complaint department of the company was selling this data to third-parties at a mere 500 rupees. So, their complaint was sold to somebody else to commit any sort of crime they deem fit. Data protection certainly is a big issue. When you put in your data, you put in a lot of trust on there. You are as good as giving entry to an unknown in your home and personal space. Any sort of data leak can damage a person to a large extent, whether it be via social media or LIC payment details or call data records or bank details, anything.

Careers360: How can law students take benefit of these changing times?

Amit Dubey: This is a great opportunity especially from cyber law perspective. We have very few expert cyber lawyers. With coming of data protection laws, I believe there will arise new posts of Chief Data Protection Officer, Chief Data Officer, financial fraud investigator, etc. as those unable to protect their department data will be penalised and for that, we will need accountable positions just like that of CEO, CTO, etc. With investigators, they will need expert lawyer to frame the right procedure and protocols from law perspective in case of a breach. So, the victim company/person can gain maximum out of it. These lawyers will need to understand how much damage and more can be recovered by convincing the judge that this data leak could have damaged the person to an extent to paralyze one’s life. That's the beauty of a lawyer who can put the case forward in a right and creative manner. I am sure in future to come there will be a huge demand for these lawyers. Whoever is there in cyber security right now, be it cyber lawyer, data protection and investigation people, they are already earning hell lot of money.

Careers360: Can you give an example...

Amit Dubey: I got a complaint recently where through a phishing attack on a person’s email, the criminal transferred 15 lacs to a Germany account. The victim approached the police department but was turned down as they didn’t know how to investigate the case, their jurisdiction and what not. He started looking for a cyber lawyer, as a normal lawyer couldn't make a case to the police. I found one freelance cyber lawyer who was in Mumbai at that time and he travelled all the way to Delhi as it was a big amount. He worked on it, investigated the case and eventually helped him to get this money back. This was a lawyer who could convince police as to what should be done, what sort of complaint should be filed to the bank. The bank had to push as there are RBI guidelines about this. Ultimately, it was the bank who had to return the money as it was within three days that the complaint was filed. Though the money was already transferred to some bank in Germany, but bank had to follow the rules. On lawyer’s advice, he also had to approach the embassy. The pivotal role played by this lawyer’s knowledge is interesting to see. All these laws connect. He pushed the right buttons at right time with right documents. This was vital to the case.. He played a hustler and connected all these dots together. I think everyday India is losing more than 2 billion dollars in these digital financial crimes. This starts from as small as 500 rupees to 50 lacs. If we can save even 10% of it, it will be a huge saving. Active lawyers can help polish existing rules.

Careers360: What skills and knowledge a law student should develop to become a cyber law expert?

Amit Dubey: In cyber law, a person who doesn’t have a technical background, sometimes it becomes difficult for them to understand the jargons and consequently it becomes difficult for them to work on the cases. If a particular IP is leaked or a firewall is breached or the network system which is there to ensure the security is compromised, the lawyer should be able to understand who could be accountable for that and to whom he/she should approach. That sort of understanding is possible only when one gains required technical understanding of it. So, I think all cyber lawyers need to learn some technicalities, these jargons, their real meanings and importance. Secured HDLC, secured by design, all these things may look simple but encompasses a lot when are used in reality. Merely knowing the IT acts would not be sufficient unless you know the system and its working.

Careers360: Do we have enough law institutions to produce such lawyers?

Amit Dubey: There are traditional law institutions, but as per the new knowledge they need to upgrade their teaching. Every year we come up with new laws and regulations and the update becomes necessary. Not just in IT and Cyber law, all other domains as well. You don’t need new courses per se, but we need to upgrade the existing facilities with these new norms.

Careers360: Could you shed light on the research domain of cyber law?

Amit Dubey: In UK, for instance, if a police officer is investigating you and he/she asks for your passport, you have to give it by law, but in India, you have all the liberty to deny. The reason being the low trust level with law enforcement. In other countries, it’s really high. People are losing trust with the system mainly because our system doesn’t know how to solve the issues. In fact, within the organizations there are insiders leaking the data and damaging the system. Here comes the need for researchers to find and fill these gaps by beginning communication on right pedestal.

There are a lot of think tanks working closely with government. Recently I was in an event organized by ORF, The Dialogue, etc. So, they worked with NITI Ayog and other government agencies to propose new regulations and laws which are required pertaining to new crimes. The work of these think tanks requires a lot of research effort. You have to study the laws applicable in other countries, how they are evolving and then only you can propose laws for Indian context right for our geography and demography. 

Careers360: Students with cyber law understanding, where can they find employment?

Amit Dubey: All corporate companies are already hiring the cyber law experts, including Tech Mahindra. We have a good number of positions for them. Every mid size company need at least 10-15 such professionals. And if a company is having 3,000-4,000 resources, they will need at least 2-3 cyber law experts. That is the ratio right now as companies are playing safe, but eventually, we will need a lot more as there will be more exposure to this media, more crime cases and more complaints. With BYOD (Bring your own device) culture the level of complexity will rise. It will go to the lawyer first, as to whether it is a criminal offence, if it can be waived off as per Indian system. Then, of course, the government departments will be opening such positions very soon because they are the most affected organizations in case of any data-leak or hacking. They need to defend, not only with cyber experts but judicially too. The third, I am sensing that there are and will arise many freelance law experts as well to offer these services to common people, similar to the example of Mumbai lawyer I laid above.

Careers360: Any final message for students...

Amit Dubey: I will only say that there is about 7,00,000 resource gap in the cyber security domain today and we will need a lot more law experts and investigators. The starting positions would range from security analyst to Chief Security Officer, Chief fraud investigator, Chief data security officer, and so on. The need for this will increase exponentially in banks, government, private, etc. I am sure none of the companies has yet been able to speculate the right figures for these professionals, but it's sure that security will become a key concern for every industry with the coming of smart cities, be it automobile, logistics, healthcare, anything. It's not a hidden fact I am telling but I am reiterating that we should explore and exploit this opportunity. I hope that our educational institutions will take these opportune times forward and will be able to supply the right security experts.

Articles

Questions related to Cyber Law

Have a question related to Cyber Law ?

The General Knowledge (GK) and General Studies (GS) sections in the RS Banaras Law College entrance exam typically assess a candidate's awareness of current events, legal concepts, and general knowledge. Questions may cover current affairs, static general knowledge, legal principles, and areas like history, geography, and economics.

Specific areas covered in GK and GS:

Current Affairs: National and international news, recent events, and important developments.

Static General Knowledge: Historical facts, geographical knowledge, and basic science concepts.

Legal Knowledge: Basic legal principles, landmark cases, and legal maxims.

Other areas: Economics, environment, sports, awards, and famous personalities in law.

Example question types:

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs): A common format where you select the best answer from given options.

Fill in the blanks: Tests your knowledge of specific facts or concepts.

True/False questions: Assesses your understanding of legal principles and general knowledge.

Matching type questions: Requires you to match terms or concepts with their definitions or examples.

With a 93.5 percentile in MH CET Law 5-year, you have a good chance of securing admission to DES Navalmal Firodia Law College, Pune. Other options include University of Mumbai Law Academy (UMLA), and potentially other colleges depending on seat availability and category.

DES Navalmal Firodia Law College, Pune this college is a good fit for your percentile.

University of Mumbai Law Academy (UMLA), Mumbai: You might also be able to get into this

Other Colleges: Your percentile should also be competitive for other colleges with slightly lower cutoffs, and depending on your category (e.g., reserved category) you might have more options. Check here

To get a more precise list of colleges that fit your percentile, you can:

1. Use an Online College Predictor:

Several websites offer tools that predict your chances of getting into specific colleges based on your percentile and other factors.

2. Consult the Official Merit List:

Once the merit lists are released, you can check the closing ranks and percentiles of different colleges to see where your percentile falls.

3. Attend Counselling:

If you are eligible, attend the counseling sessions where you can get personalized guidance about the best colleges for your profile.

Hello,

With 68 percentile in CET Law 2025, it is a bit difficult to get admission in top government law colleges in Maharashtra like GLC Mumbai or ILS Pune, as their cut-offs are usually higher. But you may still have a chance in some other government or semi-government colleges, especially in lower rounds or if seats remain vacant.

You can try for colleges like:

  • Vidya Prasarak Mandal's TMC Law College, Thane

  • Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Law, Nagpur

  • Manikchand Pahade Law College, Aurangabad

Cut-offs change every year, so do take part in counselling and check all rounds. Keep checking the official CAP portal for updates.

Hope it helps !

University College of Law, Osmania University is one of the top government law colleges in Hyderabad. For the 5-year LLB course, you need a rank within the top 50 in TS LAWCET to get a seat.

Pendekanti Law College is a well-known private college in Chikkadpally. For the 5-year LLB course, students with ranks around 290 have got admission in past years.

Padala Rama Reddy Law College is also a good option. It usually accepts students with ranks between 70 and 440.

Sultan-ul-Uloom College of Law gives admission to students with TS LAWCET ranks up to 6500 or more for the 5-year course.

If you are aiming for a national-level law college, NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad is the best. It accepts students through the CLAT exam. For general category, you need a rank around 150 for All India seats and around 450 for Telangana state quota.

Dear Candidate ,
If you have passed 10 + 2 with at least 45% (or 40% for reserved categories ) , and qualify in the Calcutta university law entrance exam , you are eligible for admission to the 5 year BA LLB program at KPLI . You can also apply under the police ward reservation if applicable .

View All
Lawyer

A lawyer advises clients on legal matters, represents them in court, and drafts legal documents. They work in various fields like criminal, corporate, or family law. Key skills include communication, research, and analytical thinking. To become a lawyer in India, one must complete a law degree, clear entrance exams, register with the Bar Council, and pass the All India Bar Examination.

4 Jobs Available
Civil Lawyer

A civil lawyer handles non-criminal legal disputes like family, property, and contract issues. They represent clients in court, draft documents, and advise on legal rights. To practice in India, one needs an LLB degree and Bar Council enrollment. Civil lawyers work in firms, government, or independently, with growing demand across various specialisations.

3 Jobs Available
Human Rights Lawyer

Individuals in the human rights lawyer career path are legal professionals responsible for advocating for people whose inherent dignity has been violated and who have suffered a lot of injustice. They take cases to defend the human rights of minorities, vulnerable populations, the LGBTQI community, indigenous people and others. 

2 Jobs Available
Criminal Lawyer

A criminal lawyer defends individuals or organisations accused of crimes, ensuring fair trial and legal rights. They analyse cases, represent clients in court, conduct legal research, and negotiate plea deals. Strong communication, analytical, and ethical skills are essential. After earning a law degree, gaining experience, and registering with a Bar Council, they can practise independently or with law firms.

2 Jobs Available
Family Lawyer

Family lawyers are required to assist a client in resolving any family-related problem. In general, family lawyers operate as mediators between family members when conflicts arise. Individuals who opt for a career as Family Lawyer is charged with drafting prenuptial agreements to protect someone's financial interests prior to marriage, consulting on grounds for impeachment or civil union separation, and drafting separation agreements.

2 Jobs Available
Cyber Lawyer

A cyber lawyer handles legal issues related to the internet, such as cybercrimes, data breaches, and online privacy. They prepare legal documents, represent clients in court, and advise businesses on cybersecurity compliance. The career requires a law degree, specialisation in cyber law, and strong tech knowledge.

2 Jobs Available
Immigration Lawyer

An immigration lawyer is responsible for representing the individuals (clients) involved in the immigration process that includes legal, and illegal citizens and refugees who want to reside in the country, start a business or get employment. 

2 Jobs Available
Government Lawyer

A Government Lawyer represents the government in legal matters, provides legal advice to officials, drafts legislation, and prosecutes or defends cases. The role requires strong research, communication, and analytical skills. To pursue this career, one must obtain an LLB, pass the Bar Exam, gain court experience, and apply for government positions. Career progression includes roles from junior to senior government lawyer.

2 Jobs Available
Back to top