Legal Regulation of Cyber Crimes in India
Legal Regulation of Cyber Crimes in India
Legal Regulation of Cyber Crimes in India
Anurag Dash
Semester 6th, B.A.LL.B(H)
The advancement of technology has made man dependent on Internet for all his needs. Internet has
given man easy access to everything while sitting at one place. Social networking, online shopping,
storing data, gaming, online studying, online jobs, every possible thing that man can think of can be
done through the medium of internet. Internet is used in almost every sphere. With the development of
the internet and its related benefits also developed the concept of cyber crimes. Cyber crimes are
committed in different forms. A few years back, there was lack of awareness about the crimes that could
be committed through internet. In the matters of cyber crimes, India is also not far behind the other
countries where the rate of incidence of cyber crimes is also increasing day by day.
In a report published by the National Crime Records Bureau report (NCRB 2011), the incidence of cyber
crimes under the IT Act has increased by 85.4% in the year 2011 as compared to 2010 in India, whereas
the increase in incidence of the crime under IPC is by 18.5% as compared to the year 2010.
Visakhapatnam records the maximum number of incidence of cases. Maharashtra has emerged as the
center of cyber crime with maximum number of incidence of registered cases under cyber crimes.
Hacking with computer systems and obscene publication were the main cases under IT Act for cyber
crimes. Maximum offenders arrested for cyber crimes were in the age group 18-30 years. 563 people in
the age group 18-30 years were arrested in the year 2010 which had increased to 883 in the year 2011.
Web Defacement
The homepage of a website is replaced with a pornographic or defamatory page. Government sites
generally face the wrath of hackers on symbolic days.Provisions Applicable:- Sections 43 and 66 of
IT Act and Sections 66F, 67 and 70 of IT Act also apply in some cases.
Cyber Terrorism
Many terrorists are use virtual(GDrive, FTP sites) and physical storage media(USB’s, hard drives) for
hiding information and records of their illicit business.Provisions Applicable: Conventional terrorism
laws may apply along with Section 69 of IT Act.
Cyber Pornography
Among the largest businesses on Internet. Pornography may not be illegal in many countries, but
child pornography is.Provisions Applicable:- Sections 67, 67A and 67B of the IT Act.
CYBER LAWS:
Cyber crimes are a new class of crimes which are increasing day by day due to extensive use of internet
these days. To combat the crimes related to internet The Information Technology Act, 2000 was enacted
with prime objective to create an enabling environment for commercial use of I.T. The IT Act specifies
the acts which have been made punishable. The Indian Penal Code, 1860 has also been amended to take
into its purview cyber crimes.
List of crimes that are included under the IT Act, IPC, and Special Laws:
Under section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 the victim has the right to appeal in the
court for the compensation of the wrong done to him, as this section covers the penalties and the
compensations which involve the offences like “damage to the computer, computer system or computer
networks etc.”. Any body-corporate who is dealing with the sensitive data, information or maintaining it
of its own or of other’s and if negligently compromises with such data or information that such body
corporate will be liable under this section and will have to pay the compensation as per the discretion of
the court.
Section 65 of the Act covers the punishment for the offences which involve “tampering with computer
source documents”, where according to the section, “Whoever knowingly or intentionally conceals,
destroys or alters or intentionally or knowingly causes another to conceal, destroy, or alter any computer
source code used for a computer, computer program, computer system or computer network, when the
computer source code is required to be kept or maintained by law for the time being in force, shall be
punishable with imprisonment up to three years, or with fine which may extend up to two lakh rupees, or
with both”.
There are still various loopholes in this IT Act, 2008 as there are newly discovered and undiscovered
cyber-offences for which the law needs to stretch its arms and improve the strictness to deal with.
Also there are offences which are not governed by the IT Act as they are already covered under other
laws such as “Cyber-defamation” which is governed under Indian Penal Code, 1860, the term
“Defamation” and its punishment is defined under this Act therefore, no specific definition is covered
elsewhere because the impact of such online offence is the same as that of the offline.
Section 43 – Penalty and Compensation for damage to computer, computer system, etc
Related Case: Mphasis BPO Fraud: 2005
In December 2004, four call centre employees, working at an outsourcing facility operated by
MphasiS in India, obtained PIN codes from four customers of MphasiS’ client, Citi Group. These
employees were not authorized to obtain the PINs. In association with others, the call centre
employees opened new accounts at Indian banks using false identities. Within two months, they used
the PINs and account information gleaned during their employment at MphasiS to transfer money
from the bank accounts of CitiGroup customers to the new accounts at Indian banks.
By April 2005, the Indian police had tipped off to the scam by a U.S. bank, and quickly identified the
individuals involved in the scam. Arrests were made when those individuals attempted to withdraw
cash from the falsified accounts, $426,000 was stolen; the amount recovered was $230,000.
Verdict: Court held that Section 43(a) was applicable here due to the nature of unauthorized access
involved to commit transactions.
Section 66A – Punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service
Relevant Case #1: Fake profile of President posted by imposter On September 9, 2010, the imposter
made a fake profile in the name of the Hon’ble President Pratibha Devi Patil. A complaint was made
from Additional Controller, President Household, President Secretariat regarding the four fake
profiles created in the name of Hon’ble President on social networking website, Facebook.The said
complaint stated that president house has nothing to do with the facebook and the fake profile is
misleading the general public. The First Information Report Under Sections 469 IPC and 66A
Information Technology Act, 2000 was registered based on the said complaint at the police station,
Economic Offences Wing, the elite wing of Delhi Police which specializes in investigating economic
crimes including cyber offences.
Relevant Case #2: Bomb Hoax mail In 2009, a 15-year-old Bangalore teenager was arrested by the
cyber crime investigation cell (CCIC) of the city crime branch for allegedly sending a hoax e-mail to
a private news channel. In the e-mail, he claimed to have planted five bombs in Mumbai, challenging
the police to find them before it was too late. At around 1p.m. on May 25, the news channel received
an e-mail that read: “I have planted five bombs in Mumbai; you have two hours to find it.” The
police, who were alerted immediately, traced the Internet Protocol (IP) address to Vijay Nagar in
Bangalore. The Internet service provider for the account was BSNL, said officials.
The accused paid fine amount and he was lodged at Central Prison, Chennai. This is considered the
first case convicted under section 67 of Information Technology Act 2000 in India.
Conclusion:
With the ever increasing menace of cyber crime in our society, it is imperative to take curbing measures
for minimizing its impact and reducing the number of victims. Following measures could be taken:
Social awareness regarding the pros and cons of using internet services should be generated
among masses. It would help them to make informed decisions and take precautionary measures.
Strict implementation of laws and regularly updating the laws would do great advantage in
reducing cyber crimes incidence in India.
Capacity building of investigating agencies by making them familiar with latest technology
would not only help in resolving cyber crimes but also act as a deterrent effect on criminals.
Providing employment, reducing poverty, increasing literacy, etc would help in keeping youth
away from engaging in illegal activities.
In a country like India, where a large chunk of population is digitally illiterate, people are
prone to fall victim of cyber crime. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to generate awareness
among masses and also provide them basic training to deal with cyber crimes. Also, there is a need to
update Information Technology Act, 2000 as per the new developments and changes in the area of
cyber crime to provide stringent punishment to the persons involved in such crimes. All stakeholders
like government, people, media, etc should work in tandem to address the challenges of cyber crimes
in India and make our country a safe and secure place to live.