This Article is written by Anurag Singh (a law student from GGSIPU, New Delhi)
Decades ago when the first mobile phone was launched, the world was in awe of the device. Presently, everything can be done at the click of a button in that 6inch device. Hunger, travel, payments, education, sports, games. You name it. The comfort brought in our life by the technological transformation driven not only by mobile phones but also by other electronic devices like computers, laptops, wireless cellular networks (Wi-Fi), etc. has also brought with it a ton of crimes and such crimes form the crux of the word ‘cybercrime’. In simple words, cybercrimes relate to those crimes which can harm the financial, physical or even emotional status of a person through electronic means. ‘Electronic means’ here is not just limited to mobile phones only; instead, it also includes the use of any modern methods of telecommunication to harm the victim. The impact of these cyber crimes is so humongous that according to a study conducted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in collaboration with McAfee (a leading cyber security firm), about $600 billion[1] (nearly 1% of the global GDP) is lost to pertaining to cybercrimes every year.
The main statute governing laws regarding technology in our country is the Information and Technology Act, 2000. It covers various types of cybercrimes like-
- Hacking-Section 66 of the IT Act defines it as –
Hacking with Computer System. –(1) Whoever with the intent of cause or knowing that is likely to cause wrongful loss or damage to the public or any person destroys or deletes or alters any information residing in a computer resource or diminishes its value or utility or affects it injuriously by any means, commits hacking.
(2) Whoever commits hacking shall be punished with imprisonment up to three years, or with fine which may extend up to two laky rupees, or with both.[2]
- Breach of Confidentiality and Privacy– It is provided in Section 72 of the act as-
Save as otherwise provided in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, any person who, in pursuant of any of the powers conferred under this Act, rules or regulations made thereunder, has secured access to any electronic record, book, register, correspondence, information, document or other material without the consent of the person concerned discloses such electronic record, book, register, correspondence, information, document or other material to any other person shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to one laky rupee, or with both.[3]
- Cyberterrorism– It refers to using electronic means for terrorism activates or even to wage war against a country. These types of crimes are not only targeted against the government but also can be aimed to cause grievous hurt against a group of individuals. Section 66-F of the IT Act, 2000 states that any person committing cyber terrorism shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to imprisonment of life.[4]
Cyber Crimes in the Indian Penal Code
Though the IT Act, 2000 has various other provisions dealing with cybercrimes, certain crimes also attract liability under the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Some of these are-
- Sale of obscene materials– Section 292 of the IPC deals with the sale of obscene or vulgar materials. Though, the primary motive of the section was to prevent dissemination of vile books in the market, it also punishes people if the same is done in any electronic form, i.e. via mails, photos, videos, etc. Any person who is guilty of the offence is punishable with imprisonmentup to2 years and a fine of Rs.2000.[5]
- Theft- It is mentioned in Section 379 of the IPC.The object of theft need not necessarily be a physical thing, even online sensitive details like debit card details, password of social media accounts, breach of software and data, also come under the purview of this section. However in the case of Gagan Harsh Sharma and another vs. State Of Maharashtra and another[6]the apex court made it clear that if the provisions of IPC and IT Act clash in an issue relatingdigital theft, IT act rules will have an overriding effect.
- Receiving Stolen Property-Section 411 of the IPC reads as-[7]
Whoever dishonestly receives or retains any stolen property, knowing or having reason to believe the same to be stolen property, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
The term ‘property is not only confined to anything which is tangible. Confidential data, stolen mobile phones, hacking in someone’s computer system to steal their passwords, etc. also come under the purview of this section and hence will be dealt with accordingly.
National Cyber Security Policy
In a country like India where technological literacy is improving but at a staggering rate, it is important to have a national-level policy in order to prevent future cyber-attacks in the country. The coronavirus induced pandemic has taught everyone to be friendly with technology for their daily work routines. Work from home models and online classes have increased the usage of the internet across the globe but it has come at a devastating cost of cyber-attacks. According to India’s Computer Emergency Response Team, our country faced over 6 lakh cyber-attacks in the first half of this year. To prevent these disheartening attacks, a National Cyber Security Policy was formed by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. It was formed in the year 2013 to build secure and resilient cyberspace for citizens, businesses and Government. The objectives of the policy are-[8]
- Helping the country to develop indigenous security protocols regarding technology to prevent cyber-attacks in the future.
- Creating a workforce of 500,000 professionals skilled in cyber security in the next 5 years.
- Invitingforeign players in the technology sector to improve the relationships with various countries and also working coherently to develop a safe cyberspace.
- Creating an assurance framework for the design of security policies and for the promotion and enabling actions for compliance with global security standards and best practices through conformity assessment.
Conclusion
Therefore, it would be prudent enough to say that the laws governing cybercrimes in our country are well defined and made keeping in mind the various aspects of the technological world. To increase the efficiency of these laws it is necessary that people are made aware of them through extensive exercises with a special focus on cyber security and cyber laws. Dependence on technology was initially viewed as a helping hand but with the passage, this helping hand has become an inseparable part of our body. With the increasing number of electronic goods in the market, various cyber crimes have also cemented their place in the mobile phones of the common people. Hence, it would be advisable to keep reviewing the laws regarding cybercrime and constantly making changes in order to avert future loss of money, respect, the status of every human being.
[1]Cybersecurity in India: situation and future strategy | Orange Business Services (orange-business.com)
[2]Information Technology Act, 2000 | Bare Acts | Law Library | AdvocateKhoj
[3]Section 72 of IT Act 2000: Breach of confidentiality and privacy. | Cyber Crime Lawyers in Delhi,India (wordpress.com)
[4]Section 66F of the Information Technology Act, 2000 — The Centre for Internet and Society (cis-india.org)
[5]Section 292 in The Indian Penal Code (indiankanoon.org)
[6]2019 Cri LJ 1398
[7]Section 411 in The Indian Penal Code (indiankanoon.org)
[8]National Cyber Security Policy: Need, Vision, Mission and Objectives (byjus.com)
