Let us know about Cyber Crime first.
cybercrime, also called computer crime, is the use of a computer as an instrument to further illegal ends, such as committing fraud, trafficking in child pornography and intellectual property, stealing identities, or violating privacy. Cybercrime, especially through the Internet, has grown in importance as the computer has become central to commerce, entertainment, and government.
Because of the early and widespread adoption of computers and the Internet in the United States, most of the earliest victims and villains of cybercrime were Americans. By the 21st century, though, hardly a hamlet remained anywhere in the world that had not been touched by cybercrime of one sort or another.
Cyber Laws
Cyber Law also called IT Law is the law regarding Information-technology including computers and the internet. It is related to legal informatics and supervises the digital circulation of information, software, information security, and e-commerce.
IT law does not consist of a separate area of law rather it encloses aspects of contract, intellectual property, privacy, and data protection laws. Intellectual property is a key element of IT law. The area of software license is controversial and still evolving in Europe and elsewhere.
We can categorize Cyber crimes in two ways
The Computer as a Target:-using a computer to attack other computers. e.g. Hacking, virus/Worm attacks, OS attacks, etc.
The computer as a weapon attack,:-using a computer to commit real-world crimes. e.g. Cyber Terrorism, IPR violations, Credit card frauds, EFT frauds, Pornographyreal-world.
Cyber law (also referred to as cyberlaw) is a term used to describe the legal issues related to using of communications technology, particularly "cyberspace", i.e. the Internet. It is less a distinct field of law in the way that property or contract as it is an intersection of many legal fields, including intellectual property, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction. In essence, cyber law is an attempt to integrate the challenges presented by human activity on the Internet with a legacy system of laws applicable to the physical world.
Why Cyberlaw in India ?
When using the Internet was developed, the founding fathers of the Internet hardly had any inclination that the Internet could transform itself into an all-pervading revolution that could be misused for criminal activities and which required regulation. Today, there are many disturbing things happening in cyberspace. Due to the anonymous nature of the Internet, it is possible to engage the the the all-pervading a variety of criminal activities with impunity and people with intelligence, have been grossly misusing this aspect of the Internet to perpetuate criminal activities in cyberspace. Hence the need for Cyber laws in India.
What is the importance of Cyberlaw?
Cyberlaw is important because it touches almost all aspects of transactions and activities on and concerning the Internet, the World Wide Webthatthat and Cyberspace. Initially it may seem that Cyber laws is a very technical field and that it does not have any bearing on many disturbing things that are happening in most activities in Cyberspace. But the actual truth is that nothing could be further than the truth. Whether we realize it or not, every action and every reaction in Cyberspace has some legal and Cyber legal perspectives.
Does Cyberlaw concern me,?
Yes, Cyberlaw does concern you. As the nature of Cyber laws, the internet is changing and this new medium is being seen as the ultimate medium ever evolved in human history, every activity of yours in Cyberspace can and will have a Cyberlegal perspective. From the time you register your Domain Name, to the time you set up your website, to the time you promote your website, to the time when you send and receive emails, to the time you conduct electronic commerce transactions on the said site, at every point of time, there are various Cyberlaw issues involved. You may not be bothered about these issues today because you may feel that they are very distant from you and that they do not have an impact on your Cyber activities. But sooner or later, you will have to tighten your belts and take note of Cyberlaw for your, Cyber lawson the website fit.
Area of Cyber Law: Cyber laws contain different types of purposes. Some laws create rules for how individuals and companies may use computers and the internet while some laws protect people from becoming the victims of crime through unscrupulous activities on the internet. The major areas of cyber law include:
Fraud: Consumers depend on cyber laws to protect them from online fraud. Laws are made to prevent identity theft, credit card theft, and other financial crimes that happen online. A person who commits identity theft may face confederate or state criminal charges. They might also encounter a civil action brought by a victim. Cyber lawyers work to both defend and prosecute against allegations of fraud using the internet.
Copyright: The internet has made copyright violations easier. In the early days of online communication, copyright violations were too easy. Both companies and individuals need lawyers to bring action to impose copyright protections. Copyright violation is an area of cyber law that protects the rights of individuals and companies to profit from their creative works.
Defamation: Several personnel uses the internet to speak their mind. When people use the internet to say things that are not true, it can cross the line into defamation. Defamation laws are civil laws that save individuals from fake public statements that can harm a business or someone’s reputation. When people use the internet to make statements that violate civil laws, that is called Defamation law.
Harassment and Stalking: Sometimes online statements can violate criminal laws that forbid harassment and stalking. When a person makes threatening statements again and again about someone else online, there is a violation of both civil and criminal laws. Cyber lawyers both prosecute and defend people when stalking occurs using the internet and other forms of electronic communication.
Freedom of Speech: Freedom of speech is an important area of cyber law. Even though cyber laws forbid certain behaviors online, freedom of speech laws also allows people to speak their minds. Cyber lawyers must advise their clients on the limits of free speech including laws that prohibit obscenity. Cyber lawyers may also defend their clients when there is a debate about whether their actions consist of permissible free speech.
Trade Secrets: Companies doing business online often depend on cyber laws to protect their trade secrets. For example, Google and other online search engines spend lots of time developing the algorithms that produce search results. They also spend a great deal of time developing other features like maps, intelligent assistance, and flight search services to name a few. Cyber laws help these companies to take legal action as necessary to protect their trade secrets.
Contracts and Employment Law: Every time you click a button that says you agree to the terms and conditions of using a website, you have used cyber law. There are terms and conditions for every website that are somehow related to privacy concerns.
Advantages of Cyber Law:
From the perspective of e-commerce in India, the IT Act 2000 and its provisions contain many positive aspects. Firstly, the implications of these provisions for the e-businesses would be that email would now be a valid and legal form of communication in our country that can be duly produced and approved in a court of law.
Companies shall now be able to carry out electronic commerce using the legal infrastructure provided by the Act.
Digital signatures have been given legal validity and sanction in the Act.
The Act throws open the doors for the entry of corporate companies in the business of being Certifying Authorities for issuing Digital Signatures Certificates.
The Act now allows Government to issue notification on the web thus heralding e-governance.
The Act enables the companies to file any form, application or any other document with any office, authority, body or agency owned or controlled by the appropriate Government in electronic form by means of such electronic form as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
The IT Act also addresses the important issues of security, which are so critical to the success of electronic transactions. The Act has given a legal definition to the concept of secure digital signatures that would be required to have been passed through a system of a security procedure, as stipulated by the Government at a later date.
Under the IT Act, 2000, it shall now be possible for corporates to have a statutory remedy in case if anyone breaks into their computer systems or network and causes damages or copies data. The remedy provided by the Act is in the form of monetary damages, not exceeding Rs. 1 crore.
Organizations are now able to carry out e-commerce using the legal infrastructure provided by the Act.
Digital signatures have been given legal validity and sanction in the Act.
It has opened the doors for the entry of corporate companies for issuing Digital Signatures Certificates in the business of being Certifying Authorities.
It allows Government to issue notifications on the web thus heralding e-governance.
It gives authority to the companies or organizations to file any form, application, or any other document with any office, authority, body, or agency owned or controlled by the suitable Government in e-form using such e-form as may be prescribed by the suitable Government.
The IT Act also addresses the important issues of security, which are so critical to the success of electronic transactions.
Cyber Law provides both hardware and software security.
Types of cyber crimes
The following are considered to be types of cyber-crimes:
Child pornography or child sexually abusive material (CSAM):
In its simplest sense, child sexual abuse materials (CSAMs) include any material containing sexual images in any form, wherein both the child being exploited or abused may be seen. There is a provision in Section 67(B) of the Information Technology Act which states that the publication or transmission of material depicting children in sexually explicit acts in an electronic form is punishable.
Cyberbullying:
A cyberbully is someone who harasses or bullies others using electronic devices like computers, mobile phones, laptops, etc. Cyberbullying refers to bullying conducted through the use of digital technology. The use of social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms, and mobile devices may be involved. Oftentimes, this involves repeated behaviour that is intended to scare, anger, or shame those being targeted.
Cyberstalking:
Cyberstalking is the act of harassing or stalking another person online using the internet and other technologies. Cyberstalking is done through texts, emails, social media posts, and other forms and is often persistent, methodical, and deliberate.
Cyber grooming:
The phenomenon of cyber grooming involves a person building a relationship with a teenager and having a strategy of luring, teasing, or even putting pressure on them to perform a sexual act.
Online job fraud:
An online job fraud scheme involves misleading people who require a job by promising them a better job with higher wages while giving them false hope. On March 21, 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) alerted people not to fall prey to job scams. By this, the RBI has explained the way in which online job fraud is perpetrated, as well as precautions the common man should take when applying for any job opportunity, whether in India or abroad.
Online sextortion:
The act of online sextortion occurs when the cybercriminal threatens any individual to publish sensitive and private material on an electronic medium. These criminals threaten in order to get a sexual image, sexual favour, or money from such individuals.
Phishing:
Fraud involving phishing is when an email appears to be from a legitimate source but contains a malicious attachment that is designed to steal personal information from the user such as their ID, IPIN, Card number, expiration date, CVV, etc. and then selling the information on the dark web.
Vishing:
In vishing, victims’ confidential information is stolen by using their phones. Cybercriminals use sophisticated social engineering tactics to get victims to divulge private information and access personal accounts. In the same way as phishing and smishing, vishing convincingly fools victims into thinking that they are being polite by responding to the call. Callers can often pretend that they are from the government, tax department, police department, or victim’s bank..
Smishing:
As the name suggests, smishing is a fraud that uses text messages via mobile phones to trick its victims into calling a fake phone number, visiting a fraudulent website or downloading malicious software that resides on the victim’s computer.
Credit card fraud or debit card fraud:
In credit card (or debit card) fraud, unauthorized purchases or withdrawals from another’s card are made to gain access to their funds. When unauthorized purchases or withdrawals of cash are made from a customer’s account, they are considered credit/debit card fraud. Fraudulent activity occurs when a criminal gains access to the cardholder’s debit/credit number, or personal identification number (PIN). Your information can be obtained by unscrupulous employees or hackers.
Impersonation and identity theft:
A person is impersonated or exposed to identity theft when they make fraudulent use of an electronic signature, a password, or any other unique identifier on another person’s behalf.
The Following is the Cyber Law.
The IT Act is prominent in the entire Indian legal framework, as it directs the whole investigation process for governing cyber crimes. Following are the appropriate sections:
Section 43: This section of the IT Act applies to individuals who indulge in cyber crimes such as damaging the computers of the victim, without taking the due permission of the victim. In such a situation, if a computer is damaged without the owner’s consent, the owner is fully entitled to a refund for the complete damage.
Section 66: Applies to any conduct described in Section 43 that is dishonest or fraudulent. There can be up to three years of imprisonment in such instances, or a fine of up to Rs. 5 lakh.
Section 66B: This section describes the penalties for fraudulently receiving stolen communication devices or computers, and confirms a possible three-year prison sentence. Depending on the severity, a fine of up to Rs. 1 lakh may also be imposed.
Section 66C: The focus of this section is digital signatures, password hacking, and other forms of identity theft. This section imposes imprisonment up to 3 years along with one lakh rupees as a fine.
Section 66D: This section involves cheating by personation using computer Resources. Punishment if found guilty can be imprisonment of up to three years and/or up to Rs 1 lakh fine.
Section 66E: Taking pictures of private areas, publishing, or transmitting them without a person’s consent is punishable under this section. Penalties, if found guilty, can be imprisonment of up to three years and/or up to Rs 2 lakh fine.
Section 66F: Acts of cyber terrorism. An individual convicted of a crime can face imprisonment of up to life. An example: When a threat email was sent to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, which challenged the security forces to prevent a terror attack planned on these institutions. The criminal was apprehended and charged under Section 66F of the IT Act.
Section 67: This involves electronically publishing obscenities. If convicted, the prison term is up to five years and the fine is up to Rs 10 lakh.
Section 66A: is considered to be in accordance with Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India since it does not define the terms ‘offensive’ and ‘menacing’. It did not specify whether or not these terms involved defamation, public order, incitement or morality. As such, these terms are open to interpretation.
Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC):
If the IT Act is not sufficient to cover specific cyber crimes, law enforcement agencies can apply the following IPC sections:
Section 292: The purpose of this section was to address the sale of obscene materials, however, in this digital age, it has evolved to deal with various cyber crimes as well. A manner in which obscene material or sexually explicit acts or exploits of children are published or transmitted electronically is also governed by this provision. The penalty for such acts is imprisonment and fines up to 2 years and Rs. 2000, respectively. The punishment for any of the above crimes may be up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs. 5000 for repeat (second-time) offenders.
Section 354C: In this provision, cybercrime is defined as taking or publishing pictures of private parts or actions of a woman without her consent. In this section, voyeurism is discussed exclusively since it includes watching a woman’s sexual actions as a crime. In the absence of the essential elements of this section, Section 292 of the IPC and Section 66E of the IT Act are broad enough to include offenses of an equivalent nature. Depending on the offense, first-time offenders can face up to 3 years in prison, and second-time offenders can serve up to 7 years in prison.
Section 354D: Stalking, including physical and cyberstalking, is described and punished in this chapter. The tracking of a woman through electronic means, the internet, or email, or the attempt to contact her despite her disinterest amounts to cyber-stalking. This offense is punished by imprisonment of up to 3 years for the first offense and up to 5 years for the second offense, along with a fine in both cases.
A victim in the case Kalandi Charan Lenka v. the State of Odisha(2017) has received a series of obscene messages from an unknown number that has damaged her reputation. The accused also sent emails to the victim and created a fake account on Facebook containing morphed images of her. The High Court, therefore, found the accused prima facie guilty of cyberstalking on various charges under the IT Act and Section 354D of IPC.
Section 379: The punishment involved under this section, for theft, can be up to three years in addition to the fine. The IPC Section comes into play in part because many cyber crimes involve hijacked electronic devices, stolen data, or stolen computers.
Section 420: This section talks about cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property. Seven-year imprisonment in addition to a fine is imposed under this section on cybercriminals doing crimes like creating fake websites and cyber frauds. In this section of the IPC, crimes related to password theft for fraud or the creation of fraudulent websites are involved.
Section 463: This section involves falsifying documents or records electronically. Spoofing emails is punishable by up to 7 years in prison and/or a fine under this section.
Section 465: This provision typically deals with the punishment for forgery. Under this section, offences such as the spoofing of email and the preparation of false documents in cyberspace are dealt with and punished with imprisonment ranging up to two years, or both. In Anil Kumar Srivastava v. Addl Director, MHFW (2005), the petitioner had forged signed the signature of the AD and had then filed a case that made false allegations against the same individual. Due to the fact that the petitioner also attempted to pass it off as a genuine document, the Court held that the petitioner was liable under Sections 465 and 471 of the IPC.
Section 468: Fraud committed with the intention of cheating may result in a seven-year prison sentence and a fine. This section also punishes email spoofing.
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