Cyber Security

This blog is inscribed by Swarnima Singh

“It’s only when you go wrong that machines remind you how strong they are”

Clive James

Introduction

The Internet as the global network was introduced to make the lives easier and faster. But who knew that would come with a whole lot of faults. One such defect of this was its overuse and crime that followed it. As technology continues to evolve so do the society has to face the opportunities and challenges that it throws on us. And likewise just as the technology brings with it, it battens so does it brings with the menace of cybercrime, cyber attack and industrial espionage. Recently a case that happened to be in Pune, India, where the hackers used an unidentified malware function to attack the server of Pune based Cosmos Bank. They cloned thousands of bank’s debit cards and debited an amount of almost 93 crores. The cloned cards were of Visa and Rupay. The absurd use of this has caused us to put our lives on show. Every now and then you read about the articles of an unknown username making millions by leaking the web passwords of vulnerable people because of the lack of awareness among them about cyber security, its advantages, procedures and uses. Also when we talk about the victims of cyber crime, there’s also an absence of the knowledge about seeking remedies from legal systems.

What is Cyber Crime?

Cyber crimes also known as computer oriented crimes are basically the crimes that are intended towards an individual or group of individuals to defame them or harm them either mentally or physically or cause loss to them. Threatening through cyber crime could be to either a person or a nation which would harm its security or financial health. Yes the criminals are to be blamed for the crime they do but don’t you think that it’s our fault too that we don’t use the technology wisely. The propagation of the internet is so fast and wide that we at times forget is cons. It is our careless attitude sometimes that they get an opportunity to take advantage of our lives. The Black’s Law Dictionary explains the term privacy as being free from intrusion of public attention with a person’s acts of intentions. . There is a certain way that the cyber criminals work in. It has made its way from a bedroom- bound geek to a whole chain of gangsters working through and channeling it.

Issues Related to Cyber Crime

There are certain issues relating to the cyber crime that are increasing on a daily basis:

1.     Sextortion-

As the young generation gets more and more accessible to the social media they tend to use it in a more absurd way and create sexual content and gets viral online. The risk of online sexual bullying and it’s live streaming increases. It’s important that we make the young aware about the pros and cons of the internet and social media before they are exposed to the virtual world.

2.     Hacking

It is the invasion into someone’s private data without their permission. Access to their personal data is basically called hacking. Now there are 3 types of hackers:

  1. White hat hackers: They are the people who believe that hacking one’s system and sharing its information with a good intention is right to do.
  2. Black hat hackers: They are the professionals who invade your data and steal them or corrupt them by inserting viruses into them. They are also called the crackers.
  3. Grey hat hackers: They are4 basically the hackers that are ethical but often would unethically hack your systems to spread some kind of information for just fun or their curiosity.

3.     Cyber stalking-

It is an activity where the stalker detects the information of a person from an online platform to stalk their daily activity.

4.     Cyber pornography-

This is a situation where mostly the women and children are sexually exploited. Pictures and videos in an exploitative way are shared and made viral.

5.     Cyber terrorism-

When the computer systems and the internet are used to threaten the government, the civilians or a group for the terrorist attacks in the area is called cyber terrorism. Even at times these terrorists blackmail people by hacking their systems and exploit the anonymous to threaten the government.

Statistical Data

Today we are more and more dependent on the technology that could be hacked easily. And there is some shocking analytical data about cyber crime. It has been stated that every 39 second there takes place a hacker attack, over 24,000 apps are blocked everyday that are malicious in nature, 21% of the files in the world that contain credit card records, personal information and health records aren’t protected.

  1. The research of 2018 states that almost 700 billion people were victims of cyber crime that year. That was because almost 20 countries had outdated laws or no cyber laws.
  2. The stereotypical mom’s basement industry that has now become a hub of professionalism generates almost $1.5 trillion annually out of the cyber crime.
  3. Not only the natural citizens but also the companies face the issues relating to hackers and cyber crime. Almost 16,500 times is no. of attacks that companies face in a year. This not only drains money in the lawsuits but also affects their client trust.

Cyber Security

Cyber security is a way which one could protect its personal data against the unauthorized and malfunctioned interruption and also theft of your virtual belongings. It is for defending your devices from getting hacked and exploited. Cyber security is well designed computer programs that are important for mobiles, computers, programs and networks. Cyber security is needed for everybody from a layman to big institutions like corporate and government institutions like defense and finance where the data is confidential and even a small amount of negligence could cause harm to the nation’s security.Cyber security majorly deals with the technology, the people who use the technology and the processes of technology. Now, for technology it is important that with advancement in technology there be an up gradation in the security. For the people who use the technology it’s necessary that people are made aware of cyber security and its advantages. As the global connectivity is increasing and the use of cloud services hype it important that we encompass our sensitive data and personal information from theft and hacking for malfunction.

Laws related to Cyber Crime in India

The IT revolution started in India under the tutelage of then prime minister Rajeev Gandhi but the Information Technology Act, 2000 came into existence on 9 May 2000. The original act consisted of 94 sections divided into 13 chapters and schedules. The Indian Information Technology Act 2000 is based on the Model Law on Electronic Commerce adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. As of 2017 7.4 billion people are using the internet that is half of the Global population. . Hence, code of regulation was the hour of need. India, being at the forefront of the Earth revolution rested no time and table in information technology act 2000 objectives.

  1. To save the critical information which are of national interest being leaked into the wrong hands.
  2. To protect the dignity of the human lives it was necessary to stand in the laws relating to privacy.
  3. To ensure that there is necessary infrastructure to secure the servers.

Following are some of the important sections of the IT Act, 2000.

  1. Trying to tamper with computer resources- Section 65
  2. Trying to hack into the data stored in the computer – Section 66
  3. Provision of penalties for misappropriation of information stolen from computer or any other electronic gadget – Section 66B
  4. Provision of penalties for stealing someone’s identity-Section 66C
  5. Provision of penalties for access to personal data of someone with the help of computer by concealing their identity- Section 66D

In the case of Shreya Singhal v. Union of India,[1]The judgement was made by a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India in 2015, regarding the issue of online speech in India. The Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the IT Act, 2000 relating to restrictions on online speech, as unconstitutional on grounds of violating the freedom of speech guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the constitution of India

In the case of K. Ramajyam v the Inspector of Police,[2] it was held that If an electronic record as such is used as primary evidence under Section 62 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 the same is admissible in evidence, without compliance with the conditions in Section 65B of the Evidence Act.

Conclusion

Cyber security has become the need of the hour and it has now become a necessity that we understand this need. Cyber technologies have given criminals a well made platform to commit crime in an easier way. . The IT Act, 2000 and provisions of Indian Penal Code, 1986 are all limited. They are limited and need to be enhanced. Also more cyber cells are needed to make so that people get speedy trials and justice.

REFERENCES

  1. https://www.financialexpress.com/
  2. https://www.dataconnectors.com/technews/21-terrifying-cyber-crime-statistics/
  3. https://safeatlast.co/blog/cybercrime-statistics/
  4. https://thebestvpn.com/cyber-security-statistics-2020/
  5. https://www.statista.com/topics/5054/cyber-crime-in-india/
  6. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/one-cybercrime-in-india-every-10-minutes/articleshow/59707605.cms
  7. https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2016/06/cyber-crime-rate-in-india/
  8. https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-malware-what-is-cybersecurity-what-you-need-to-know.html
  9. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/fundamentals_of_science_and_technology/cyber_crime_and_cyber_security.htm
  10. https://mind-core.com/5-types-of-cyber-security/
  11. 11.  https://www.manupatrafast.in/pers/Personalized.aspx

[1] MANU/SC/0329/2015

[2] MANU/TN/0112/2016

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