Most cybersecurity experts spend their careers building stronger defenses.
But one cyber criminologist from India is trying to do something far more unusual.
He wants to think like the attacker.
From Kolkata, a city not typically associated with global cyber intelligence research, Anirban Mitra is exploring a controversial and intriguing idea: that the future of cybersecurity will not be won by software alone, but by understanding the psychology of cybercriminals themselves.
And that approach is beginning to attract attention.
The Digital Battlefield Is Changing
Cybercrime is now one of the fastest-growing criminal economies in the world.
Global losses from cyber fraud, ransomware attacks, and online scams are estimated in the trillions of dollars each year. Organized cybercrime groups now operate like multinational corporations, complete with customer support teams, affiliate networks, and digital money laundering systems.
Yet many experts say traditional cybersecurity defenses are always one step behind attackers.
Anirban Mitra believes the reason is simple.
“Most defenses react to attacks,” he says. “But very few systems try to understand the mind behind the attack.”
Studying Hackers Like Criminal Profilers
Mitra approaches cybercrime the way behavioral analysts study serial offenders.
Instead of just examining malicious code, he studies patterns such as:
- how cybercriminals select targets
- how phishing campaigns psychologically manipulate victims
- how ransomware groups pressure organizations into paying
- how fraud networks coordinate operations across borders
This hybrid field, known as cyber criminology, blends cybersecurity with behavioral science and criminal psychology.
It is still a relatively new discipline, but many experts believe it could reshape how digital investigations are conducted.
The Idea That Is Raising Eyebrows
Among Mitra’s most unconventional ideas is a strategy known as cyber deception intelligence.
Rather than simply blocking hackers, the concept involves building environments that allow attackers to believe they are succeeding, while their actions are secretly being observed.
In these controlled systems, every command an attacker types, every tool they deploy, and every step they take becomes valuable intelligence.
Instead of immediately shutting down intruders, investigators can study:
- their methods
- their infrastructure
- their communication patterns
- their operational habits
In simple terms, the system becomes a digital trap designed to understand criminals before stopping them.
From Kolkata to the Global Cybercrime Conversation
What makes Mitra’s work particularly surprising is where it originated.
Major cybersecurity innovation hubs are usually found in cities like Tel Aviv, Washington, London, or Silicon Valley.
Yet much of his work has emerged from Kolkata, a historic city in eastern India that rarely appears in global cybersecurity headlines.
Despite that, Mitra has spent years researching cyber fraud operations, phishing networks, ransomware tactics, and digital investigation techniques. His work has also intersected with cybercrime investigations and knowledge-sharing with law enforcement agencies.
A Bigger Vision for Cyber Defense
Beyond research and investigations, Mitra has been advocating for the creation of a regional cyber threat intelligence and digital forensics center in Eastern India.
The idea is to build a hub that can combine:
- cybercrime investigations
- threat intelligence analysis
- digital forensic research
- cybersecurity training for investigators and professionals
With cybercrime becoming increasingly global and organized, experts say such centers could become critical in helping law enforcement understand the evolving tactics of online criminal networks.