AISHWARYA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION(LAW)
SESSION-2023-24
B.A.LL.B –VIIIth SMESTER
SUBJECT – CYBER LAWS
TOPIC- CYBER CRIME_- CONCEPT, NATURE AND KINDS
SUBMITTED TO - SUBMITTED BY -
Mrs.AMITA PARIHAR DUSHYANT SINGH BHATI
(ASS. PROFESSOR)
INDEX
Sr.No Content Page No.
1 Acknowledgement
2 Introduction
3 History and Evolution
4 Definations
5 Nature and Scope
6 Kinds of Cyber Crime
7 Reason for Growth of Cyber
Crime
8 Conclusion
9 Bibliograpy
ACKNOWLEGEMENT
On this great occasion of successful completion of my assignment
on Cyber Crime-Concept,Kinds and reason for Growth I would
like to thank my lecturer Mrs. Amita Parihar, Ma’am , who has
guided and assisted me to complete the assignment. Without his
support I would not have finished the assignment within time.
I would also like to take again this opportunity to thank our
Coordinator Mrs. Dr Neelima Arora , Ma’am and my friends and
family members, without them this assignment could not have
been completed in a short duration.
Introduction
Cyber crime is not an old sort of crime to the world. It is defined as any criminal activity
which takes place on or over the medium of computers or internet or other technology
recognised by the Information Technology Act. Cyber crime is the most prevalent crime
playing a devastating role in Modern India. Not only the criminals are causing enormous
losses to the society and the government but are also able to conceal their identity to a
great extent. There are number of illegal activities which are committed over the internet
by technically skilled criminals. Taking a wider interpretation it can be said that, Cyber
crime includes any illegal activity where computer or internet is either a tool or target or
both.
The term cyber crime may be judicially interpreted in some judgments passed by courts
in India, however it is not defined in any act or statute passed by the Indian Legislature.
Cyber crime is an uncontrollable evil having its base in the misuse of growing dependence
on computers in modern life. Usage of computer and other allied technology in daily life
is growing rapidly and has become an urge which facilitates user convenience. It is a
medium which is infinite and immeasurable.
Whatsoever the good internet does to us, it has its dark sides too.1 Some of the newly
emerged cybercrimes are cyber-stalking, cyber-terrorism, e-mail spoofing, e-mail
bombing, cyber pornography, cyberdefamation etc. Some conventional crimes may also
come under the category of cybercrimes if they are committed through the medium of
computer or Internet.
1
Prof. R.K.Chaubey, “An Introduction to Cyber Crime and Cyber law”, Kamal Law House, 2012
History and Evolution
During the period of 1950’s, it would be an astonished feeling for everyone who uses
palmtops and microchips today, to know that the first successful computer was built and
the size of the computer was so big that it takes the space of entire room and they were
too expensive to operate. The functioning of these computer were not understandable to
large number of people and only select people with expertise had direct access to such
computers, and has the knowledge to operate them. For obvious reasons, the computer
technology was extremely expensive and beyond the purchasing capacity of almost the
entire population until IBM’s came into being wherein it introduced its stand-alone
“personal computer” in 1981 and exposing many to the rewards of quick data access and
manipulation that, up to that time, had been realized by few.
In India the internet services started by the state-owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited
in year 1995 and in 1998 the government has ended the monopoly of VSNL and market
is opened to private operators. At that point, the internet users in India are 0.1% of total
population, and now India has become the 2 nd largest country in terms of internet users
after china with 33.22% people using internet.2.
The process of criminalization of human behaviour judged to be harmful the public is
typically one that builds slowly in common law jurisdictions. Momentum gained through
problem identification and pressures exerted mg special interest groups can easily span
decades before undesirable actions are classified as “crime”. In some instances, this
process is accelerated through the occurrence of certain “catalyst events” that capture
attention of the public and the attention of lawmakers.
As we advance towards the 21st century, it van be observed that the technological
innovations have laid the way for the entire population using computer technology today,
to experience new and wonderful conveniences in their daily life ranging from how to
educated, shop, entertain, to availing the understanding of the business strategies and work
flow. Our day to-day lives have been forever changed thanks to rapid advances made in
the field of computer technology. These changes allow us to communicate over great
distances in an instant and permit us, almost effortlessly, to gather and organize large
amounts of information, tasks that could, otherwise, prove unwieldy and expensive. The
technological treasures that have improved the quality of our lives, however, can
reasonably be viewed as a doubled-edged sword.
2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_Internet_users (Accessed on 3rd February, 2016)
Defination of Cyber Crime
The Indian Legislature doesn’t provide the exact definition of Cyber crime in any statute,
even the Information Technology Act, 2000; which deals with cyber crime doesn’t defined
the term of cyber crime. However in general the term cybercrime means any illegal
activity which is carried over or with the help of internet or computers.
Dr. Debarati Halder and Dr. K. Jaishankar define cybercrimes as: “Offences that are
committed against individuals or groups of individuals with a criminal motive to
intentionally harm the reputation of the victim or cause physical or mental harm, or loss,
to the victim directly or indirectly, using modern telecommunication networks such as
Internet (Chat rooms, emails, notice boards and groups) and mobile phones
(SMS/MMS)”3
We do not have any precise definition of cyber crime; however following is the general
definitions of term cyber crime: The oxford Dictionary defined the term cyber crime as
“Criminal activities carried out by means of computers or the Internet.”4
Professor S.T. Viswanathan has given three definitions in his book The Indian Cyber Laws
with Cyber Glossary is as follows –
1 Any illegal action in which a computer is the tool or object of the crime i.e. any crime,
the means or purpose of which is to influence the function of a computer.
2 Any incident associated with computer technology in which a victim suffered or could
have suffered loss and a perpetrator, by intention, made or could have made a gain,
3 Computer abuse is considered as any illegal, unethical or unauthorized behavior relating
to the automatic processing and transmission of data.
3
http://www.ripublication.com/irph/ijict_spl/ijictv4n3spl_06.pdf (Accessed on 4th January2016)
4
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/cybercrime (Accessed on 4th January, 2016)
Nature and Scope of Cyber Crime
Crime is a socially correlated phenomenon. No matter how much we try, we cannot
experience a society without cybercrime. In actual sense, when we are not yet able to
control the crime rate to the desirable minimum in the real world, how would it be possible
to curb the same in the virtual world, as the same is comparatively more unreal, everlasting
and legally less controllable. However with the time, nature and scope and definition of
crime changes in a given society.
Crimeless society is a myth and crime cannot be segregated from a society. Thus the nature
of the crime depends upon the nature of a society. Complexity of the society determines
the complexity of the crime that evolves’ around it. To understand the crime in a society,
it is essential and crucial to verify all the factors which influence and contribute to the
crime.
Computers have transformed the modern society beyond expectations in last three to four
decades. It has made life not only convenient but has also immensely helped different
sections of the world come closer socially, economically and culturally. The Computer
technology has made it possible to have access to all corners of the world while sitting in
a room. Modern technology has put an end to the barriers of time and space. However,
unlikely with the remarkable merits of having computers today, due to this the
jurisdictional issue has been created in legal system.
Jurisdiction is one aspect which is very difficult to determine in transnational transaction
over the internet. There was unmanageable ambiguity when courts were subjected to
questions pertaining to jurisdiction law and were unable to decide the proper forum to
entertain cases involving cyber crime as the cyberspace or virtual world is borderless if
we compare it with physical world and that is why it is very difficult to control cybercrime.
Cyber crime becomes a global phenomenon and hence the nationwide generalization of
crime cannot workable in present scenario. Our understanding and regulation of cyber
crime cannot be national but has to be international. We have to enact new laws and
prepare preventive and defensive mechanism globally, only then we can able to protect
our society from this evil called ‘Cyber Crime’.
Therefore, the threat of cyber terrorism throws serious challenge to world and its agencies.
The terrorist organizations using technology to spread hatred among people and using it
to recruit militants and train them using teaching tools. They are also launching websites
which show them how to use weapons make bombs etc.
Kinds of Cyber Crime
1. Phishing and Scam:
Phishing is a type of social engineering attack that targets the user and tricks them by
sending fake messages and emails to get sensitive information about the user or trying to
download malicious software and exploit it on the target system5.
2. Identity Theft
Identity theft occurs when a cybercriminal uses another person’s personal data like credit
card numbers or personal pictures without their permission to commit a fraud or a crime.
3. Ransomware Attack
Ransomware attacks are a very common type of cybercrime. It is a type of malware that
has the capability to prevent users from accessing all of their personal data on the system
by encrypting them and then asking for a ransom in order to give access to the encrypted
data.
4. Hacking/Misusing Computer Networks
This term refers to the crime of unauthorized access to private computers or networks and
misuse of it either by shutting it down or tampering with the data stored or other illegal
approaches.
5. Internet Fraud
Internet fraud is a type of cybercrimes that makes use of the internet and it can be
considered a general term that groups all of the crimes that happen over the internet like
spam, banking frauds, theft of service, etc.
5
Avnish Bajaj vs State (N.C.T.) of Delhi (2008)
6 Cyber Bullying
It is also known as online or internet bullying. It includes sending or sharing harmful and
humiliating content about someone else which causes embarrassment and can be a reason for the
occurrence of psychological problems. It became very common lately, especially among
teenagers.
7.Cyber Stalking
Cyberstalking can be defined as unwanted persistent content from someone targeting other
individuals online with the aim of controlling and intimidating like unwanted continued calls and
messages.
8.Software Piracy
Software piracy is the illegal use or copy of paid software with violation of copyrights or license
restrictions.
An example of software piracy is when you download a fresh non-activated copy of windows
and use what is known as “Cracks” to obtain a valid license for windows activation. This is
considered software piracy.
Not only software can be pirated but also music, movies, or pictures.
9.Social Media Frauds
The use of social media fake accounts to perform any kind of harmful activities like
impersonating other users or sending intimidating or threatening messages. And one of the easiest
and most common social media frauds is Email spam
10. Online Drug Trafficking
With the big rise of cryptocurrency technology, it became easy to transfer money in a secured
private way and complete drug deals without drawing the attention of law enforcement. This led
to a rise in drug marketing on the internet.
Illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, or marijuana are commonly sold and traded online,
especially on what is known as the "Dark Web".
11.Electronic Money Laundering
Also known as transaction laundering. It is based on unknown companies or online business that
makes approvable payment methods and credit card transactions but with incomplete or
inconsistent payment information for buying unknown products.
It is by far one of the most common and easy money laundering methods.
12.Cyber Extortion
Cyber extortion is the demand for money by cybercriminals to give back some important data
they've stolen or stop doing malicious activities such as denial of service attacks.
Reason for Growth of Cyber Crime
1. Increasing Internet Penetration
India has witnessed a remarkable surge in Internet penetration, driven by the availability
of affordable smartphones and low-cost data plans. While this digital revolution has
brought numerous benefits, it has expanded the potential target pool for cybercriminals.
2. Rapid Digital Transformation
Various sectors in India, including banking, e-commerce, healthcare, and government
services, have undergone rapid digital transformation. Adopting online platforms and
digital systems has created new opportunities for cybercriminals to exploit
vulnerabilities and launch attacks.
3. Financial Incentives
Cybercrime is often driven by financial gain. India’s growing economy, increasing
digital transactions, and adoption of digital payment systems have provided
cybercriminals with lucrative opportunities for financial fraud, including phishing
attacks, online scams, and credit card fraud.
4. Lack of Cybersecurity Awareness
Despite the increasing digital literacy, many individuals and organizations in India still
lack sufficient awareness of cybersecurity best practices. This lack of awareness leaves
them vulnerable to social engineering techniques, malware attacks, and other cyber
threats.
5. Data Privacy Concerns
With organizations’ increasing collection and storage of personal data, data privacy
concerns have risen. The unauthorized access, theft, or misuse of personal information
can lead to identity theft, financial fraud, and other forms of cybercrime.
Addressing these key aspects of the rise of cybercrime in India requires a multi-faceted
approach involving cybersecurity awareness campaigns, capacity building, legal
frameworks, public-private partnerships, and investments in cybersecurity infrastructure.
By addressing these challenges and promoting a cyber-resilient ecosystem, India can
mitigate the risks associated with cybercrime and protect individuals, organizations, and
critical digital infrastructure.
Conclusion
Cyber crimes need to be viewed from two broad perspectives. One is Individual and other
is at the International level. At the individual level, cyber space needs to be understood
well. It is the cyber space in which existence of cyber criminal thrives – based on computer
networks. The behavior of cyber criminal in cyber space is illustrated in Space Transition
Theory (Jaishankar, 2008). It is important to understand Space Transition Theory
(Jaishankar, 2008) because it explains the causes of criminal behavior in cyber space and
majority of people are vulnerable due to sharing their space with cyber criminals in cyber
space. It is essential to understand the kind of threats posed by cyber criminals who will
enable internet users to mitigate risk factors in day to day communication or interface in
computer networks (For a detailed explanation on Space Transition Theory, a specific
module is provided).
Secondly, looking at cyber crimes from the International perspective, the history of cyber
crime shows that statistics of cyber crimes at international level are growing with
emergence of advanced forms of criminal assaults in cyber space. The evolution of cyber
crimes has lot to do with legislative regulations. In addition to that cyber crimes needs to
be dealt with trans-border perspective as well – considering the volatile nature of
cyberspace that allows for potential offender a space to commit crime anonymously
without any restrictions across territories. In order to tackle the problem of cyber crime at
international level all the countries need to synergize their efforts in order to bring
uniformity in their cyber laws for adequately responding to threats posed by cyber
criminals sitting in remote parts of world.
Bibliography
Parthasarthi, P. (2012). Cyber Crime. In Paranjape, N. V., Criminology &
Penology with Victimology. Allahabad: Central Law Publications.
Punia, C. K. (2009). Cyber Laws. New Delhi: Sumit Enterprises.
www.ipleader.in
www.epathsala.org
