Self Study Course I : MBM 104

CYBERLAW
Dayalbagh Educational Institute
(Deemed University)
Introductory background for Cyberlaw :
Of all the significant advances made by mankind from
the beginning till date, probably the important of them is
the development of Internet
In 1969, America's Department of Defense
commissioned the construction of a Super network called
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
(ARPANET), basically intended as a military network of
40 computers connected by a web of links & lines. This
network slowly grew and the Internet was born
Internet places at an individual's hands the immense and
invaluable power of information and communication

Introductory background for Cyberlaw :
According to International Data Corporation ("IDC"),
approximately 163 million individuals or entities will use
the Internet by the end of this year as opposed to 16.1
million in 1995
If left to its own measure, it is highly unlikely that such a
trend can reverse itself
Given this present state of the Internet, the necessity of
Cyberlaws becomes all the more important

2000
73% of teens use
internet
~8% with broadband at
home
<30% own a cell phone
?? connect to internet
wirelessly
= slow and stationary
connections
2010
94% of teens use
internet
81% with broadband at
home
89% own a cell phone
~84% connect to
internet wirelessly
= fast and mobile
connections


People using Internet-then and now
Terms to know prior to Cyberlaw
Hacking : Stealing of the private information of any
authority via use of internet
Hackers : can be called as thieves of the computer
world which is also known as Cyberworld
Cyberspace : the data, information, music, movies,
games, advertisements that are displayed, conveyed,
shared and transferred through various networked
information devices and technologies like computers
using internet is called as cyberspace.
Cybercrime : Committing illegal actions through or on
the internet or networked devices
Cyberlaw : In order to regulate and govern the valid use
of information available on internet the regulatory law
that is made is called as Cyberlaw


Why is there a need for Cyberlaw ?
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

Why is there a need for Cyberlaw ?
Cyberspace is an intangible dimension that is
impossible to govern and regulate using conventional
law
Cyberspace has complete disrespect for
jurisdictional boundaries. A person in India could break
into a banks electronic vault hosted on a computer in
USA and transfer millions of Rupees to another bank in
Switzerland, all within minutes. All he would need is a
laptop computer and a cell phone
Cyberspace handles gigantic traffic volumes every
second. Billions of emails are crisscrossing the globe
even as we read this, millions of websites are being
accessed every minute and billions of dollars are
electronically transferred around the world by banks
every day



Why is there a need for Cyberlaw ?
Cyberspace is absolutely open to participation by all.
A ten year- old in Bhutan can have a live chat session
with an eight year-old in China without any regard for the
distance or the mystery between them
Cyberspace offers enormous potential for anonymity
to its members
Cyberspace offers never-seen-before economic
efficiency. A software worth billions of dollars can be
traded over the Internet without the need for any
government licenses, shipping and handling charges and
without paying any customs duty



Why is there a need for Cyberlaw ?
Electronic information has become the main object of
cyber crime. It is characterized by extreme mobility,
which exceeds by far the mobility of persons, goods or
other services. International computer networks can
transfer huge amounts of data around the globe in a
matter of seconds
A software source code worth crores of rupees or a
movie can be pirated across the globe within hours of
their release
Electronic records are copied quickly, unassumingly and
often via telecommunication facilities. Here the original
information, so to say, remains in the possession of the
owner and yet information gets stolen


Importance of Cyberlaw

It touches almost all aspects of transactions and
activities on and concerning the Internet, the World Wide
Web and Cyberspace

Cyberlaw provides respect for jurisdictional boundaries

It creates a fear-free environment



What is Cyberlaw ?
Internet is believed to be full of disorder and a system of
law and regulation therein seems contradictory
However, cyberspace is being governed by a system of
law and regulation called Cyberlaw
Cyberlaw is a generic term which refers to all the legal
and regulatory aspects of Internet and the World Wide
Web
Anything concerned with or related to or emanating from
any legal aspects or issues concerning any activity of
society and others, in Cyberspace comes within the
domain of Cyberlaw




What is Cyberlaw ?
Cyberlaw is not a single law but it includes all the legal
issues related to the use of communicative,
transactional, and distributive aspects
of networked information devices and technologies
All these regulatory mechanisms and legal
infrastructures come within the ambit of Cyberlaw
Ex : Banking transactions through personal computers
using internet, online shopping, online books, online
music, databases of companies and other networked
data and information of various organizations
Hence it is a domain covering many areas of law and
regulation



Features of Cyberlaw
A single transaction may involve the laws of at least three
jurisdictions:

the laws of the state/nation in which the user resides,
the laws of the state/nation that apply where the server
hosting the transaction is located, and
the laws of the state/nation which apply to the person or
business with whom the transaction takes place

So a user in one of the Indian States conducting a
transaction with another user in US through a server in
Britain could theoretically be subject to the laws of all
three countries as they relate to the transaction at hand.





Features of Cyberlaw
Cyber law encompasses laws relating to:

Cyber Crimes
Electronic and Digital Signatures
Intellectual Property
Data Protection and Privacy



Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Cyber crimes are unlawful acts where the computer is
used either as a tool or a target or both. It refers to all the
activities done with criminal intent in cyberspace. These
could be either the criminal activities in the conventional
sense or could be activities, newly evolved with the
growth of the new medium.




TYPES OF CYBER CRIMES
Credit card frauds
Cyber pornography
Sale of illegal articles-narcotics, weapons,
wildlife
Online gambling
Intellectual Property crimes- software piracy,
copyright infringement, trademarks violations,
theft of computer source code
Email spoofing
Forgery
Defamation
Cyber stalking (section 509 IPC)
Phising
Cyber terrorism

Crime against persons
Crime against Government
Crime against property
Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Cyber crimes can be basically divided into 3 major
categories being :

Cybercrimes against Persons

Cybercrimes against Property

Cybercrimes against Government

Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Cybercrimes against Persons :
Cybercrimes committed against persons include various
crimes like transmission of child-pornography,
harassment of any one with the use of a computer such
as e- mail, and cyber-stalking. The transferring,
distribution, posting, and dissemination of obscene
material including pornography, indecent exposure, and
child pornography, constitutes one of the most important
Cybercrimes known today. The potential harm of such a
crime to humanity can hardly be overstated. This is one
Cybercrime which threatens to undermine the growth of
the younger generation as also leave irreparable scars
and injury on the younger generation, if not controlled.


Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Cybercrimes against Property :

These crimes include unauthorized computer
trespassing through cyberspace, computer damage,
transmission of harmful programs, and unauthorized
possession of computerized information.

Hacking and cracking are amongst the gravest
Cybercrimes known till date. It is a dreadful feeling to
know that a stranger has broken into your computer
systems without your knowledge and consent and has
tampered with precious confidential data and information


Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Cybercrimes against Property :

Similarly, the creation and dissemination of harmful
computer programs or viruses which do irreparable
damage to computer systems is another kind of
Cybercrime.

Software piracy is also another distinct kind of
Cybercrime which is perpetuated by many people online
who distribute illegal and unauthorized pirated copies of
software


Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Cybercrimes against Government :
Cyber Terrorism is one distinct kind of crime in this
category. The growth of Internet has shown that the
medium of Cyberspace is being used by individuals and
groups to threaten the international governments as also
to terrorize the citizens of a country. This crime manifests
itself into terrorism when an individual "cracks" into a
government or military maintained website.

Eg : Al-Qaeda

CYBER CRIMES
Some Facts
Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Electronic signatures are used to authenticate
electronic records.
Digital signatures are one type of electronic
signature. Digital signatures satisfy three major legal
requirements
signer authentication,
message authentication and
message integrity.

The technology and efficiency of digital signatures makes them
more trustworthy than hand written signatures


Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Intellectual Property refers to a number of distinct types
of creations of the human mind for which a set
of exclusive rights are recognized and the corresponding
fields of law. Under intellectual property law, owners are
granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible
assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works;
discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases,
symbols, and designs.

Common types of intellectual property rights include
copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design
rights and trade secrets in some jurisdictions




Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Copyright : A copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to the creator
of an original work or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for public
disclosure of the work. For the fair use, one does not require permission from the
copyright owner. All other uses require permission. Copyright owners can license or
permanently transfer or assign their exclusive rights to others. Initially copyright law
applied to only the copying of books. But now Copyright covers a wide range of works
listed below:

Literary works including computer programs and test questions.
Musical works both tune and lyrics.
Dramatic words including soundtracks.
Choreography.
Translations and derivative works
Maps
Motion pictures
Architectural drawings
Pictures ( photographs,cartoons,paintings,drawings),graphics and sculptures.
Films and other audiovisual works.
Sound Recordings
Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Trademark: A word, name, symbol or device used by a
manufacturer or seller to identify and distinguish his or her goods
from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the
source of the goods
Examples: The apple on Mac computers, the curvy shape of a Coke
bottle.

Trademark Law prevents the trademark from :
Infringement: Use of a trademark by someone other than the
trademark holder, which could confuse consumers.
Dilution : Use of a trademark in an unwholesome or degrading
context. Like a person A is fan of vehicles of Tata Motors and so he
puts the trademark of Tata Motors in his Facebook profile linking to
some unfair data or any other website. This can be called as dilution
of a trademark.




Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Misappropriation : The unauthorized taking of
someone elses investment of time, effort and money is
called misappropriation, also called piracy. Examples:
Copying of companys software, maps, architectural
drawings, movies, songs from original storage device on
another storage device



Areas of Law and Regulation
Coverd by Cyberlaw
Data protection and privacy laws aim to achieve a fair
balance between the privacy rights of the individual and
the interests of data controllers such as banks, hospitals,
email service providers etc. These laws seek to address
the challenges to privacy caused by collecting, storing
and transmitting data using new technologies



Frequency of Incidents of Cyber crimes in India
Source: Survey conducted by ASCL
Denial of Service: Section 43
Virus: Section: 66, 43
Data Alteration: Sec. 66
U/A Access : Section 43
Email Abuse : Sec. 67,
500, Other IPC Sections
Data Theft : Sec 66, 65
Some Facts
Some Facts
Some Facts
Complaint Characterstics :
Some Facts
Evolving law of linking
5 types of links have caused legal problems for Web site
owners:
Framing links : Framing is the technique that lets Web
page designers split Web pages into multiple regions that
can be scrolled independently. Framing when used by
Web page A to link to and display the content of Web
page B inside a frame or border that makes it look as if A
generated the content that was actually produced by B
Deep links : Linking to a page other than the home page,
in other words to a page deep within the Web site
Inline links : Links to image files cause a problem when
they are used to bring into a Web page images that are
copyrighted by some other person or entity


Evolving law of linking
Links to third-party material : Connections made between
one Web page or trademark and some online content by
someone not affiliated with the company that owns the
trademark or the online content
Links to content that infringes copyright : Links to Web
sites that contain content that, typically, infringes on
someone's copyright


Cyberlaw in India
The primary source of cyber law in India is the
Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) which came
into force on 17 October 2000
The primary purpose of the Act is to provide legal
recognition to electronic commerce and to facilitate filing
of electronic records with the Government
The IT Act also penalizes various cyber crimes and
provides strict punishments (imprisonment terms up to
10 years and compensation up to Rs 1 crore)
An Executive order dated 12 September 2002 came
into force which prescribe provisions relating to secure
digital signatures and secure electronic records.

Cyberlaw in India
An important order relating to blocking of websites
was passed on 27th February, 2003. Computer
Emergency Response Team (CERT-IND) can instruct
Department of Telecommunications (DOT) to block a
website
The Indian Penal Code (as amended by the IT Act)
penalizes several cyber crimes. These include forgery of
electronic records, cyber frauds, destroying electronic
evidence etc
Digital Evidence is to be collected and proven in court as
per the provisions of the Indian Evidence Act (as
amended by the IT Act)
Cyberlaw in India
In case of bank records, the provisions of the Bankers
Book Evidence Act (as amended by the IT Act) are
relevant
Investigation and adjudication of cyber crimes is done in
accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal
Procedure and the IT Act
The Reserve Bank of India Act was also amended by
the IT Act.
Cyberlaw Agencies in India
Cyber Crime Police Station, Bangalore. India's first
exclusive Cyber Crime enforcement agency
Cyber Crime Investigation Cell of India's Mumbai Police
Cyber Crime Police Station of the state Government of
Andhra Pradesh. This Police station has jurisdiction over
the entire state of Andhra Pradesh, and functions from
the Hyderabad city
In South India, the Crime Branch of Criminal
Investigation Department, Tamilnadu police, India, has a
Cyber Crime Cell at Chennai
In East India, Cyber Crime Cells have been set up by
the Kolkata Police as well as the Criminal Investigation
Department, West Bengal
Some Glaring Examples
The most recent case of the virus "I love you"
demonstrates the need for having Cyberlaws concerning
Cybercrimes in different national jurisdictions.
At the time of the web publication of this feature,
Reuters has reported that "The Philippines has yet to
arrest the suspected creator of the 'Love Bug' computer
virus because it lacks laws that deal with computer
crime, a senior police officer said".
The fact of the matter is that there are no laws
relating to Cybercrime in the Philippines. As a matter of
fact the National Bureau of Investigation is finding it
difficult to legally arrest the suspect behind the 'Love
Bug' computer virus.
Email spoofing:
Pranab Mitra , former executive of Gujarat Ambuja
Cement posed as a woman, Rita Basu, and created a
fake e-mail ID through which he contacted one V.R.
Ninawe an Abu Dhabi businessmen . After long cyber
relationship and emotional massages Mitra sent an e-
mail that she would commit suicide if Ninawe ended
the relationship. He also gave him another friend
Ruchira Senguptas e-mail ID which was in fact his
second bogus address. When Ninawe mailed at the
other ID he was shocked to learn that Mitra had died and
police is searching Ninawe. Mitra extorted few lacs
Rupees as advocate fees etc. Mitra even sent e-mails as
high court and police officials to extort more money.
Ninawe finally came down to Mumbai to lodge a police
case.

Some Glaring Examples
Some Glaring Examples
Forgery :

Andhra Pradesh Tax Case
In the explanation of the Rs. 22 Crore which was
recovered from the house of the owner of a plastic firm
by the sleuths of vigilance department, the accused
person submitted 6000 vouchers to legitimize the
amount recovered, but after careful scrutiny of vouchers
and contents of his computers it revealed that all of them
were made after the raids were conducted . All vouchers
were fake computerized vouchers.


Some Glaring Examples
Cyber Stalking :

Ritu Kohli (first lady to register the cyber stalking
case) is a victim of cyber-stalking. A friend of her
husband gave her phone number and name on
a chat site for immoral purposes. A computer
expert, Kohli was able to trace the culprit. Now,
the latter is being tried for "outraging the
modesty of a woman", under Section 509 of IPC.

Some Glaring Examples
Cyber defamation :

SMC Pneumatics (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. J ogesh Kwatra: Indias first
case of cyber defamation was reported when a companys employee
(defendant) started sending derogatory, defamatory and obscene e-
mails about its Managing Director. The e-mails were anonymous and
frequent, and were sent to many of their business associates to
tarnish the image and goodwill of the plaintiff company.

The plaintiff was able to identify the defendant with the help of a
private computer expert and moved the Delhi High Court. The court
granted an ad-interim injunction and restrained the employee from
sending, publishing and transmitting e-mails, which are defamatory
or derogatory to the plaintiffs.

Some Glaring Examples
FIR NO 76/02 PS PARLIAMENT STREET

Mrs. SONIA GANDHI RECEIVED THREATING E-
MAILS

E- MAIL FROM
[email protected]
[email protected]
THE CASE WAS REFERRED

ACCUSED PERSON LOST HIS PARENTS DURING
1984 RIOTS

Organizational Perspective
Many Organizations form their own policy to
encounter the problem of Cybercrime within the
organization. Some key steps are :

Blocking of websites within organizations

All transactions route through the single server

All data sending and retrieval within organization is
trackable

Blocking of USB ports




Steps We Need To Take Care Of
Don't frame someone elses content in a way that makes
it look like its yours
Be careful about linking from a commercial Web site to a
point deep inside a commercial Web site
Dont plant inline links to copyrighted images on your
Web page
Dont tarnish a trademark by indirectly linking it with
distasteful content
Dont link to illegal content
Keep your private information private
Never open e-mail from strangers or click on any
attachments





Fight Against Cybercrime
We all must remember that Cyberspace is a common
heritage of ours which we have inherited in our life times
from the benefits of ever growing technologies. This
Cyberspace is the lifeline of the entire universe and
given its irreversible position today, it is the duty of every
native to contribute toward making the said cyberspace
free of any trouble or cybercrime. To rephrase the
famous words of RabindraNath Tagore in today's
context,
"Where the Cyberspace is without fear or crime
and the head is held high, where knowledge is free,
where tireless striving stretches its arms towards
perfection, .. into that cyber heaven of freedom, O
my father, let our humanity awake."






THANK
YOU