With cyber war topping the list of threats being faced by India's IT industry and government, CBI today signed an agreement with industry body Nasscom for sharing of expertise to contain the menace of cyber crime, generally being perpetrated from outside the country.

As part of the agreement, Nasscom and Data Security Council of India (DSCI) will act as knowledge partners for the CBI in the area of cyber security.

"Cyber security is emerging as a major corporate and government concern worldwide. This partnership will enable Nasscom to play the role of a facilitator and bring the latest technological developments to the CBI," National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) President Som Mittal told reporters here.

CBI Director Ashwani Kumar said, "it is feared that enemy countries are now focusing on waging a low cost and low investment war which can be highly damaging. A cyber war targeting the economy and services of the country is a possibility instead of a conventional war."

Kumar said that cyber crime had become a major threat to security and economy at international level. "New types of cyber crimes are surfacing and new modus operandi are coming to notice each day. The concern increases even more as even traditional and conventional crimes now have a cyber angle.

"The use of modern technology has resulted in traditional crime becoming global. This has made the task of investigation more difficult and complex. There are several examples of kidnapping, terrorist attacks, economic crimes, bank frauds and financial scams being committed with the help of computers," he said.

The CBI Director, while stressing on the need to solve the cyber crime cases, said "cyber crime detection and investigation are crucial to both the government and private sector due to its implications for security and economy. The government and law enforcement agencies on the one hand and the private sector led by the IT companies on the other can come together and forge a collaboration to fight this threat."

The CBI had created the Cyber Investigation Cell (CIC) for investigating computer crime, crimes committed in computerised environment and other hi-tech crime in areas like telecom in August 1999.

The various types of offences being investigated by the CIC include website defacement, phishing attacks, pornography, credit card frauds and other economic offences using computer as a medium and counterfeiting of software.

Asked about the areas of coordination, Mittal said, "Though the specific areas are being worked out, Nasscom will regularly impart training through workshops and events. We could also provide our expertise on specific cases if that is required."