In cyberspace, there are no clear rules for what is and is not acceptable activity.
Data privacy
concerns and identity protection against online impersonation have grown increasingly important
due to the increase in cybercrime. In reality, with the development of modern technologies, disguise
and deceit are difficult to detect, and financial resources are constantly on target. Therefore, it is
important to evaluate what sorts of information should be regarded as network property.
Simply described, cyber crime refers to those unlawful actions that depend on computers and the
internet as a means for contact or communication. In reality, crime has never changed, but thanks to
the intervening online, it now has a new face. While technology is being used to perpetrate old
crimes, it is also making new forms of crimes easier to carry out. Examples of contributing factors
that eventually result in serious crimes include phishing scams, cyberterrorism, and malicious
viruses.
The increasing dependence on computers and networks has led to cyber crimes, particularly in
communication technologies. Cybersecurity focuses on protecting data from unauthorized access
and malware attacks. Authorities are now addressing cybersecurity and unauthorized surveillance
issues, emphasizing the need for justice for victims of cyber crime.
History of cyber crimes
The advent of the internet has significantly changed our lives, making it an effective mode of
communication and faster information exchange. Cyber crimes have a long history, dating back to
the 1870s when telephones were used for deception through telephone phreaking. The first
computer-facilitated crime occurred in the United States in 1969, with the Data Protection Act, 1970,
enacted to regulate cyber technology. Cyber pornography evolved by the end of the 1970s, and the
Inter Networking Working Group was founded in 1972 to regulate the standards of the Internet.
In the late 1980s to 1990s, cybertheft occurred when sensitive information possessed by the US air
force and NASA was broken into and accessed by hackers. The infamous R v. Thompson1 case
involved a computer programmer who defrauded a bank in Kuwait, transferring money from existing
accounts to newly created accounts. The case of R. v. Gold 2involved two alleged hackers who
modified data without proper authorization.
India's first brush with cyber crime was in 1999 with the case of Yahoo, Inc v. Akash Arora3, which
ruled that the Yahoo! trademark cannot be used by other businesses as it creates deception for
customers. Since 2000, the Indian Parliament passed the Information Technology Act (ITA), 2000,
with the aim of providing a proper legal framework for commercial transactions taking place on
cyberspace.
From 2004 to 2005, data breaches began to occur frequently, causing significant losses to
businesses. Cybercriminals began stealing data or gaining unauthorised access to customer
1
[(1984) 79 Cr App R 191]
2
([1988] 2 WLR 984)
3
[(1999) 19 PTC 229 (Delhi)]
information, with some engaging in it professionally. Post-2004, international credit card fraud
became the norm for cybercriminals, and the US Secret Service's Operation Firewall was conducted.
In 2010, a massive cyberattack took place, targeting search engine giant Google, major organizations
like Yahoo, Adobe Systems, and Symantec.4
Cyber laws in india
The Information Technology Act, 2000 was enacted to provide legal recognition for electronic
commercial transactions carried via electronic data interchange, facilitate electronic filing of
documents with government agencies, and amend existing criminal legislation in India. The Act
focuses on the legal recognition of electronic documents, justice dispensation systems for cyber
crimes, legal recognition of digital signatures, and offenses and contraventions.
Section 66 of the Act deals with computer-related offences, including hacking, data theft, identity
theft, impersonation, privacy violation, and cyber terrorism. Section 66A was struck down as
unconstitutional in 2015, but the amendments have since been discussed.
Sections 66B, 66C, 66D, 66E, 66F, and 66F are crucial sections of the Act, dealing with computer-
related offenses such as hacking, data theft, identity theft, impersonation, and privacy violation.
Section 66F deals with cyber terrorism, which is a significant concern for national security.
Sections 67 and 67A of the Act prevent the publishing or transmitting of obscene images or materials
in electronic form. The scope of Section 67 was widened under the Information Technology
(Amendment) Act, 2008, making child pornography illegal and the retention of records by
intermediaries included. Section 67A includes the prevention of publishing or transmitting sexually
explicit material in any electronic form.
The IT Act has amended several legislations, including the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Indian
Evidence Act (1872). The IT Act has brought electronic records and documents to the forefront of the
law, ensuring that even electronic false entries or documents are tried in court as they would have
been in physical form.
4
Ms Sankalpika Pal, Effectiveness of Cyber Laws in restricting Cyber Crimes vis-à-vis National Security
Concerns , https://blog.ipleaders.in/effectiveness-of-cyber-laws-in-
restricting-cyber-crimes-vis-a-vis-national-security-concerns/
#The_historical_aspect_of_cyber_crimes
The Bankers' Books Evidence (BBE) Act 1891 was also amended by the IT Act, allowing for the
storage of electronic ledgers, day-books, cashbooks, and account-books as evidence. This landmark
legislation has revolutionized the acceptability of electronic evidence in court.
Effectiveness of cyber law in restraining cyber crimes
The effectiveness of cyber laws in India is under discussion, and the Parliament is working to
establish a legislative framework to control and establish the minimum requirements for user
information. But there are still murky areas that make these regulations less effective. The lack of
significant projects on shared electronic evidence repositories is problematic since original evidence
may be held by a reliable third party, enabling the return of the original device whenever desired.
The original version of a document may be preserved with the use of third-party software like
"EnCase" and the Indian "C-DAC," which eliminates the need for pointless document maintenance.
Due to the lack of coverage of several growing cyber concerns, including spam emails, data
breaches, cybersquatting, copyright violations, and ISP responsibility, India's cyber laws are failing.
Because cybercriminals are not given enough protection under present law, it is useless. The
conviction rate for cybercrimes is quite low, and a higher conviction rate would show how effective
the law is as it stands.
Given that the internet has revolutionised our lives while simultaneously posing threats to national
security, national security concerns and broader issues are equally important. A cyber platform is
required by governments all around the world to receive and disseminate information, making
sensitive information more accessible. Cyber and national security of the nation are seriously
threatened by hacktivism, cyber espionage, and cyberstalking.
The Indian defense sector faces threats from outsiders who steal sensitive information or criminals
trading their own country. The Internet makes misdirection of attribution easier than before, and
computer network defense techniques and tactics primarily protect individual systems and networks
rather than critical operations. Cybersecurity modules must update themselves to keep up with the
evolving methods of cyberattacks.5
Conclution
The importance of cyber law is brought out by the fact that it affects almost every facet of business
transactions and sporting events using the internet, the global internet, and cyberspace. The first
impression of a cyber legislation may be that it is entirely technical and has no relevance to the
5
ibid
majority of actions taking place online. However, nothing can be more true than reality, thus that is
the actual case. Every action and response in our online environment has some potential criminal
and cyber legal ramifications, whether we are aware of it or not.
