Cybercrime in India
Author:- Mitali Kasat, .A student at the Indian Law Society.
What is Cyber?
Cyber is everything involving computers or computer networks.
What is Cyber Law?
Law that deals with cyberspace, computers and the internet.
What is Cyber Crime?
Criminal activity that involves computers or computer networks. Cybercrime refers to criminal activity that uses computers or computer networks as a tool, a target, or a location for criminal activity, including everything from electronic theft to denial-of-service attacks. Cybercrime encompasses crimes such as phishing, credit card fraud, bank robbery, illegal downloading, industrial espionage, child pornography, child kidnapping through chat rooms, scams, cyberterrorism, creating and spreading viruses, spam, and more.
Types of Cybercrime:
1. DDoS Attacks
Distributed Denial-of-Service is used to make an online service unavailable and take the network down by overwhelming the site with traffic from a variety of sources.
2. Botnets
Botnets are networks from compromised computers that are controlled externally by remote hackers.
3. Identity Theft
This cybercrime occurs when a criminal gains access to a user’s personal information to steal funds, access confidential information, or participate in tax or health insurance fraud.
4. Cyberstalking
This kind of cybercrime involves online harassment where the user is subjected to a plethora of online messages and emails.
5. Social Engineering
Social engineering involves criminals making direct contact with you usually by phone or email.
6. PUPs
PUPS or Potentially Unwanted Programs are less threatening than other cybercrimes but are a type of malware.
7. Phishing
This type of attack involves hackers sending malicious email attachments or URLs to users to gain access to their accounts or computers.
8. Prohibited/Illegal Content
This cybercrime involves criminals sharing and distributing inappropriate content that can be considered highly distressing and offensive.
9. Online Scams
These are usually in the form of ads or spam emails that include promises of rewards or offers of unrealistic amounts of money.
10. Exploit Kits
Exploit kits need a vulnerability (bug in the code of software) in order to gain control of a user’s computer.
Cybercrime in India:
National Cybercrime Forensic Laboratory (NCFL) investigates cybercrime in India. According to the seventh schedule of the constitution, cybercrime comes under the state list.
The Challenges Related to Cyber Security in India?
Profit-Friendly Infrastructure Mindset:
Post-liberalisation, the Information Technology (IT), electricity and telecom sectors have witnessed large investments by the private sector.
Operators are not investing in protective infrastructure, rather they are focused on the profitable infrastructure only, because they think investment in cyber-attack preparedness may not generate good profits.
All operators are focused on profits and do not want to invest in infrastructure that will not generate profits (i.e. protective infrastructure).
Absence of Separate Procedural Code:
There is no separate procedural code for the investigation of cyber or computer-related offences.
Trans-National Nature of Cyber Attacks:
Most cybercrimes are trans-national in nature. The collection of evidence from foreign territories is not only a difficult but also a tardy process.
Expanding Digital Ecosystem:
In the last couple of years, India has traversed on the path of digitalizing its various economic factors and has carved a niche for itself successfully.
The latest technologies like 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) will increase the coverage of the internet-connected ecosystem.
With the advent of digitalisation, paramount consumer and citizen data will be stored in digital format and transactions are likely to be carried out online which makes India a breeding ground for potential hackers and cyber-criminals.
Limited Expertise and Authority:
Offenses related to crypto-currency remain under-reported as the capacity to solve such crimes remains limited.
Although most State cyber labs are capable of analysing hard disks and mobile phones, they are yet to be recognized as 'Examiners of Electronic Evidence' (by the central government). Until then, they cannot provide expert opinions on electronic data.
What Measures Can Be Taken to Tackle Cyber Crimes in India?
Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign:
Governments at various levels need to conduct massive cybersecurity awareness campaigns, regarding Cyber frauds, use strong, unique passwords, being careful using public Wi-Fi, etc.
Cyber Insurance:
Develop cyber insurance policies that are tailored to the specific needs of different businesses and industries. Customized policies will help ensure that organizations have coverage for the most relevant cyber risks they face.
Data Protection Law:
Data is referred to as the new currency, thus is a requirement for a stringent data protection regime in India.
In this context, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and India’s Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 are steps in the right direction.
Collaborative Trigger Mechanism:
For a country like India where the citizenry is more vulnerable to cybercrime, there is an urgent need for a collaborative trigger mechanism.
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