The innovative system aims to help law enforcement agencies trace the real sources of threatening calls, hoax messages, cyber fraud, and digital terrorism that often spread through phones, emails, and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
Unlike conventional tracing systems that rely mainly on data logs and static analysis, this new AI tool will employ de-anonymisation techniques to penetrate hidden networks such as VPNs. Within minutes, it will be capable of identifying the real IP address, approximate geographical location, and key digital fingerprints of the sender.
The system will be powered by multiple small ‘digital agents’ that can monitor large streams of data, prioritise suspicious activities, and send real-time alerts with reliability scores to security agencies.
According to Prof. Vrijendra Singh from IIIT-Allahabad’s Department of Information Technology, who is leading the project, the technology will drastically cut down the time and cost involved in cyber investigations.
“Tracing a single hoax call can currently take several days and cost lakhs of rupees,” Prof. Singh explained. “Our system will identify the origin of a call or message, the VPN used, and the network or server involved — all within minutes.”
The project is being developed with the support of CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team), a specialised agency under MeitY that handles cybersecurity threats. The system is expected to be completed in about two years.
Once operational, it could serve as a crucial digital security layer for airlines, banks, and government institutions, combining their internal threat data with real-time monitoring to rank potential cyber risks with high precision.
What sets this initiative apart is its use of agentic AI, a new class of artificial intelligence that can think, plan, and act autonomously like a human investigator. Unlike traditional AI, which reacts only to user inputs, agentic AI can proactively analyse situations, make decisions, and adapt based on outcomes — enabling it to perform complex, multi-step investigative tasks.
With the rise of sophisticated cyberattacks and anonymous communication technologies, the IIIT-Allahabad project marks a significant leap toward making India’s digital ecosystem more secure, intelligent, and self-reliant.
Tags:
Cybercrime
