Cyber Laws and Cyber Crime

Presented by: Kale Sandeep N. Gaikwad Avinash R. S. E. (Comp) S. E. (I T) E-mail: [email  protected] com E-mail: avi. [email  protected] com Mob: 919970061442 Mob: 919960308551 G H Raisoni Institute of Engineering and Management, Jalgaon (M. S) Index Topics Page No. 1 Abstract 1 2 Introduction 2 3 Cyber crime 2 4 Classification of Cyber crime 2 5 Status of Cyber Crime 6 6 Cyber law 7 7 Cyber Law in India 8 8 Advantages of Cyber Law 9 9 General Suggestions and information 10 0 Suggestions for better security 10 11 Conclusion 11 12 Reference 12 Abstract: Cyber law and cyber crime is becoming an important issue for social and economical concerned. The use of computer, electronic devices and software is increased; the need to protect these devices and software properly is inherently appeared with this. To protect these, it becomes necessary to know about cyber crime and cyber law. Cyber crime is unlawful act in which computer is either tool or target. After development of internet ev ery computer is able access data and information from all over the world. This also lead to the misuse of computer and internet for Crime such as Financial crimes, Cyber pornography, Online gambling, Intellectual Property crimes, Forgery, Cyber Defamation, Cyber stalking, Email spoofing, Email bombing, Denial of Service attack, Salami attacks, Virus / worm attacks, Web jacking, Data diddling etc. Now days most of financial and non-financial activities are done with computer and computer related services such as Internet. Also the concept of e-Governance coming in picture, where the confidential document of an organization is process and stored. The need of protection Cyber security resulted into development of cyber law in India and all around the world. Cyber law is important because it touches almost all aspects of transactions and activities on and concerning the Internet, the World Wide Web and Cyberspace. The paper throw light on the brief types of cyber crime, status of cyber crime and cyber awareness in India, Cyber law in India , Advantages of it in brief. Also this paper suggests the precaution measures and tips for cyber security for the users of computer and internet. 1. Introduction The first recorded cyber crime took place in the year 1820! That is not surprising considering the fact that the abacus, which is thought to be the earliest form of a computer, has been around since 3500 B. C. in India, Japan and China. The era of modern computers, however, began with the analytical engine of Charles Babbage. Today, computers have come a long way, what with neural networks and nano-computing promising to turn every atom in a glass of water into a computer capable of performing a billion operations per second. Cyber crime is an evil having its origin in the growing dependence on computers in modern life. In a day and age when everything from microwave ovens and refrigerators to nuclear power plants is being run on computers, cyber crime has assumed rather sinister implications. 2. Cyber crime At the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders, cyber crime was broken into two categories and defined thus: 2. 1. Cyber crime in a narrow sense: Any illegal behavior directed by means of electronic operations that targets the security of computer systems and the data processed by them. 2. 2. Cyber crime in a broader sense: Any illegal behavior committed by means of, or in relation to, a computer system or network, including such crimes as illegal possession offering or distributing information by means of a computer system or network. As per Indian law, Crime has to be voluntary and willful, an act or omission that adversely affects a person or property. A simple definition of cyber crime would be â€Å"unlawful acts wherein the computer is either a tool or a target or both†. 3. Classification of Cyber crime Cyber Crime is classified into 4 major categories as (A) Cyber crime against Individual B) Cyber crime Against Property (C) Cyber crime Against Organization (D) Cyber crime Against Society 3. 1. Against Individuals 3. 1. 1. Email spoofing : A spoofed email is one that appears to originate from one source but actually has been sent from another source. E. g Avinash has an e-mail address [email  protected] com His enemy, Rohan spoofs his e-mail and sends obscene messages to all his acquainta nces. Since the e-mails appear to have originated from Avinash, his friends could take offence and relationships could be spoiled for life. 3. 1. 2. Spamming: Spamming means sending multiple copies of unsolicited mails or mass e-mails such as chain letters. 3. 1. 3. Cyber Defamation This occurs when defamation takes place with the help of computers and / or the Internet. E. g. someone publishes defamatory matter about someone on a website or sends e-mails containing defamatory information to all of that person’s friends. 3. 1. 4. Harassment and Cyber stalking: Cyber Stalking Means following the moves of an individual's activity over internet. It can be done with the help of many protocols available such at e- mail, chat rooms, user net groups. The Oxford dictionary defines talking as â€Å"pursuing stealthily†. Cyber stalking involves following a person’s movements across the Internet by posting messages (sometimes threatening) on the bulletin boards frequented by the victim, entering the chat-rooms frequented by the victim, constantly bombarding the victim with emails etc. 3. 2. Against Property: 3. 2. 1. Credit Card Fraud :You simply have to type credit card number into www page of vendor for online transaction. If electronic transactions are not secured the credit card numbers can be stolen by the hackers who can misuse this card by impersonating the credit card owner. . 2. 2. Intellectual Property crimes: These include Software piracy i. e. illegal copying of programs, distribution of copies of software ,Copyright infringement Trademarks violations ,Theft of computer source code 3. 2. 3. Internettimetheft: The usage of the Internet hours by an unauthorized person which is actually paid by another person. 3. 3. Against Organization 3. 3. 1. UnauthorizedAccessingofComputer: Accessing the computer/network without permission from the owner. This activity is commonly referred to as hacking. The Indian law has, however, given a different connotation to the term hacking, so we will not use the term â€Å"unauthorized access† interchangeably with the term â€Å"hacking†. It can be of 2 forms one is Changing/deleting data i. e. unauthorized change in data and other is Computer voyeur where the criminal reads or copies confidential or proprietary information, but the data is neither deleted nor changed. 3. 3. 2. Denial Of Service When Internet server is flooded with continuous bogus requests so as to denying legitimate users to use the server or to crash the server. Denial of service attack involves flooding a computer resource with more requests than it can handle. This causes the resource (e. g. a web server) to crash thereby denying authorized users the service offered by the resource. Another variation to a typical denial of service attack is known as a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack wherein the perpetrators are many and are geographically widespread. It is very difficult to control such attacks. Denial-of-service attacks have had an impressive history having, in the past, brought down website like Amazon CNN, Yahoo and eBay 3. 3. 3 Virusattack A computer virus is a computer program that can infect other computer programs by modifying them in such a way as to include a possibly evolved copy of it. Viruses can be file infecting or affecting boot sector of the computer. Worms, unlike viruses do not need the host to attach themselves to. 3. 3. 4. Email Bombing: Email bombing refers to sending a large number of emails to the victim resulting in the victim’s email account (in case of an individual) or mail servers (in case of a company or an email service provider) crashing. 3. 3. 5. Salami Attack: When negligible amounts are removed & accumulated in to something larger. These attacks are used for the commission of financial crimes. The key here is to make the alteration so insignificant that in a single case it would go completely unnoticed. 3. 3. 6. Logic Bomb : Its an event dependent program , as soon as the designated event occurs, it crashes the computer, release a virus or any other harmful possibilities This implies that these programs are created to do something only when a certain event (known as a trigger event) occurs. E. g. even some viruses may be termed logic bombs because they lie dormant all through the year and become active only on a particular date. . 3. 7. Trojan Horse A Trojan is an unauthorized program which functions from inside what seems to be an authorized program, thereby concealing what it is actually doing. There are many simple ways of installing a Trojan in someone’s computer. The Common Types of Trojan horse are †¢ Remote Administration Trojans (RATs) †¢ Password Trojans †¢ Privileges-Elevating Tr ojans †¢ Destructive Trojans †¢ Joke Programs 3. 3. 8. Data diddling This kind of an attack involves altering raw data just before it is processed by a computer and then changing it back after the processing is completed. Electricity Boards in India have been victims to data diddling programs inserted when private parties were computerizing their systems. 3. 4. Against Society 3. 4. 1. Forgery: Counterfeit currency notes, postage and revenue stamps, mark sheets etc can be forged using sophisticated computers, printers and scanners. Outside many colleges across India, one finds touts soliciting the sale of fake mark sheets or even certificates. These are made using computers, and high quality scanners and printers. 3. 4. 2. Cyber Terrorism: It is use of computer resources to intimidate or coerce others. Computer crime has hit mankind with unbelievable severity. Computer viruses, worms, Trojans, denial of service attacks, spoofing attacks and e-frauds have taken the real and virtual worlds by storm. The term â€Å"cyber terrorism† can be defined as â€Å"Cyber terrorism is the premeditated use of disruptive activities, or the threat thereof, in cyber space, with the intention to further social, ideological, religious, political or similar objectives, or to intimidate any person in furtherance of such objectives. 3. 4. 3 Web Jacking Hackers gain access and control over the website of another, even they change the content of website for fulfilling political objective or for money. This occurs when someone forcefully takes control of a website (by cracking the password and later changing it). The actual owner of the website does not have any more control over what appears on that website. 4. Status of Cyber Crime Ba ck in 1990, less than 100,000 people were able to log on to the Internet worldwide. Now around 500 million people are using the net around the globe. UK has the largest number of infected computers in the world followed by the US and China. The US is the leading source country for attacks. China is second and Germany is third. 4. 1. In India: i) During 2003, a total of 411 cases were registered under IPC Sections as compared to 738 such cases during 2002 thereby reporting a significant decline of 44 percent in 2003 over 2002. ii) A total of 475 persons were arrested in the country for Cyber Crimes under IPC during 2003. iii) The age-wise profile of the arrested persons showed that 45 percent were in the age-group of 30-45 years, 28. percent of the offenders were in the age-group of 45-60 years and 11 offenders were aged 60 years and above. Above figures doesn't mean that cyber crime is declining in India, the fact is that people in our country do not report cyber crimes for the following reasons: a) They don't want to face harassment by police. b) The fear of bad publicity which could hurt their reputation in society. Also, c) It becomes extremely difficult to convince the police to register any cyber crime, because of lack of awareness about cyber crime and cyber law and also about their registration and handling by the police. A recent survey indicates that for every 500 cyber crime incidents that took place, only 50 are reported to the police and out of that only one is actually registered. These figures indicate how difficult it is to convince the police to register a cyber crime. The establishment of cyber crime cells in different parts of the country was expected to boost cyber crime reporting and prosecution. However, these cells haven't quite kept up with expectations. 5. Cyber law The cyber world has no physical boundaries, no single authority who governs the internet. The Internet is the medium for freely sharing information and opinions; It provides everyone with round the clock access to information, credit and financial services, and shopping. Even network information systems are being adopted by the government worldwide, that's why the governments across the world are recognizing the need to securing & regulating the cyber world. 5. 1. Why Cyber law? When Internet was developed, the founding fathers of Internet hardly had any inclination that Internet could transform itself into an all pervading revolution which could be misused for criminal activities and which required regulation. Today, there are many disturbing things happening in cyberspace. Due to the anonymous nature of the Internet, it is possible to engage into a variety of criminal activities with impunity and people with intelligence, have been grossly misusing this aspect of the Internet to perpetuate criminal activities in cyberspace. Hence there is need for Cyber laws in India. Cyber law is important because it touches almost all aspects of transactions and activities on and concerning the Internet, the World Wide Web and Cyberspace. Whether we realize it or not, every action and every reaction in Cyberspace has some legal and Cyber legal perspectives. . 2 Who should concern about Cyberlaw? Everyone, Cyber law is of everyone’s concern. As the nature of Internet is changing and this new medium is being seen as the ultimate medium ever evolved in human history, every activity of yours in Cyberspace can and will have a Cyber legal perspective. From the time one register Domain Name, to the time one set up a web site, to the time one promote a website, to the time when one send and receive email, to the time one conduct electronic commerce transactions on the said site, at every point of time, there are various Cyber law issues involved. One may not be bothered about these issues today because one may feel that they are very distant from him/her and that they do not have an impact on Cyber activities. But sooner or later, you will have to tighten your belts and take note of Cyber law for your own benefit. 6. Cyber Law In India: Cyber Crimes are a new class of crimes to India. It is rapidly expanding due to extensive use of internet. India is among few countries in the world that have a separate law for cyber crimes. Recently Nepal has passed Bill against Cyber crime. Indian parliament has passed the legislation known as Information Technology Act 2000 drafted by the Ministry of Communication and Information. The Information Technology Act came into force on 17th October, 2000. IT Act amends some of the existing legislation, such as Indian Penal Code,1860 Indian Evidence Act, 1872 Bankers Book Evidence Act. 1891, Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 6. 1. Features of The IT Act 2000: i)Legal recognition of electronic contracts, digital signature, digital certificates. ii) Various types of cyber crime committed in India and outside India is covered alongwithpenalties. ii) Appointment of Certifying Authorities(CA) to issue digital signature, digital certificates. iv)Controller of Certifying Authorities to act as depository for all Certifying Authorities. v) Appointment of Adjudicating Officer for holding enquiries under this Act. vi) EstablishmentofCyberAppellateTribunal. vii) Cyber Regulations Advisory Committee who will advice the Central Government an d CA. Technology. The act is based on the â€Å"United Nations Commission on International Trade Law†(UNCITRAL) model on electronic commerce. 6. 2. IT Act 2000 does not include: ) Specific Definition of cyber crime is not given.. ii) Intellectual Property Rights such as trade Marks, Patents, Digital Copyright Issues. iii) Domain name disputes and their resolution, Data protection issues are not covered. iv)No provision is made for the Taxation issues arising due to e-commerce 7. Advantages of Cyber Laws The IT Act 2000 attempts to change outdated laws and provides ways to deal with cyber crimes. We need such laws so that people can perform purchase transactions over the Net through credit cards without fear of misuse. The Act offers the much-needed legal framework so that information is not denied legal effect, validity or enforceability, solely on the ground that it is in the form of electronic records. The IT Act 2000 and its provisions contain many positive aspects. Firstly, the implications of these provisions for the e-businesses would be that email would now be a valid and legal form of communication in our country that can be duly produced and approved in a court of law. Digital signatures have been given legal validity and sanction in the Act. The Act throws open the doors for the entry of corporate companies in the business of being Certifying Authorities for issuing Digital Signatures Certificates. The Act now allows Government to issue notification on the web thus heralding e-governance. It shall now be possible for corporates to have a statutory remedy in case if anyone breaks into their computer systems or network and causes damages or copies data. The remedy provided by the Act is in the form of monetary damages, not exceeding Rs. 1 crore. 8. General Suggestions against cyber crime †¢ Don't delete harmful communications (emails, chat logs, posts etc). These may help provide vital information about the identity of the person behind these. †¢ Try not to panic. †¢ If you feel any immediate physical danger of bodily harm, call your local police. †¢ Avoid getting into huge arguments online during chat or discussions with other users. †¢ Be extremely careful about how you share personal information about yourself online. †¢ Make sure that your ISP and Internet Relay Chart (IRC) network have an acceptable use policy that prohibits cyber-stalking. And if your network fails to respond to your complaints, consider switching to a provider that is more responsive to user complaints. If a situation online becomes hostile, log off or surf elsewhere. If a situation places you in fear, contact a local law enforcement agency. †¢ Save all communications for evidence. Do not edit or alter them in any way. Also, keep a record of your contacts with Internet System Administrators or Law Enforcement Officials. 9. Suggestion s for better security †¢ Use strong passwords. Choose passwords that are difficult or impossible to guess. Give different passwords to all other accounts. †¢ Make regular back-up of critical data. Back-up must be made atleast once in each day. †¢ Use virus protection software. Checking daily for new virus signature updates, and then actually scanning all the files on your computer periodically. Use a firewall as a gatekeeper between your computer and the Internet. †¢ Do not keep computers online when not in use. Either shut them off or physically disconnect them from Internet connection. †¢ Do not open e-mail attachments from strangers, regardless of how enticing the subject line or attachment may be. †¢ Regularly download security patches from your software vendors. 10. Conclusion Thus, the awareness of cyber crime and cyber law has become a necessity for persons in cyberspace. The study of cyber crime and its different aspects will be helping to individual in cyberspace to avoid and restrict the cyber crime around them and related to them. Also the study of cyber crime will keep them alert against cyber crime. Absence of Cyber security policy in organization may lead to critical problem for Management to maintain the data security of organization. Recent incidents relating to cyber crime have not just increased the vulnerability of various socio-economic constituents, but also brought forth the need for better managerial and operating capabilities of our legal framework in stopping this growing menace. Cyber law in India is nothing but the outcome of this need. Cyber law will be helpful to control the cases of cyber crime. IT act 2000 has given constitutional support to fight against cyber criminals. This act has also given legal status to e-business, digital signature cause to increase faith in online trading. The number of cases reported is much less than what it is in reality. This is because of unawareness of law. Awareness program on Cyber law and Cyber Crime should undertaken by Social Organisation. The program may include basic information of cyber law, internet security, and minimum hardware and software security measures required for an individual or organisation. Reference: (1) Cyber and Information Technology –Article By Talwant Singh (Judge) (2) Perspective of Cyber crime in India – Kernila Seth (3) Cyber law ,Data Protection in India – Article by Gurpreet Singh (4) www. cuil. com (5) www. cyberlawsindia. net (6) www. cybersmart. in (7) www. indlii. org (8) www. asianlaws. org (9) www. report cyber crime. com (10) www. scribd. com