Combating Cybercrime: India’s ASTR AI Leads Crackdown on Fake SIMs

The Department of Telecommunications is employing advanced technology to combat cyber threats. The indigenous AI tool ASTR is at the forefront of this effort, specifically designed to identify and flag fraudulent SIM cards. As a direct result of ASTR’s efforts, over 8.2 million mobile connections have been disconnected. These connections were identified as being registered under multiple names linked to a single individual. The Ministry of Home Affairs is actively involved in addressing cybercrime through the I4C, and the NCRP provides a platform for public reporting. The Department of Telecommunications has also established a robust ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) framework for issuing mobile connections.