Cyber Laws and Ethics

Introduction:

The technological advancement of humankind has made it dependent on the internet. Nowadays, almost every job whether it is a household or an office job can be done on the internet using mobiles, laptops, computers, etc. Most of us daily use these gadgets therefore we should know how protected these devices are.

Not only jobs one can do anything on the internet from ordering food online to buying their favorite clothes and also due to much more available and affordable rates almost everyone around the world can access the internet.  And seeing the prevailing condition of COVID 19 around the world, it is a lot safer and convenient to use the internet for jobs and studies rather than being present there physically.  As a lot of people nowadays use the internet and web, it is very important to make laws so that people are not cheated and robbed and also for punishing criminals who commit cybercrime.

Definition

Cyber Crime is a crime where a computer (or any digital device) is targeted or it is used as a tool criminal activity to commit unlawful acts. Cyber Crime involves various crimes like child pornography, bank frauds, virus attack, scams, hacking, etc.

Some Major Cyber Crimes that are increasing day by day:

1) Hacking: It happens when the attacker accesses other’s computer without permission or unethically. 

2) Web Hijacking: It happens when one person forcefully takes control of one’s website or computer.

3) Child Pornography: Internet nowadays is being highly used as an intermediary to abuse children sexually. Children are the most vulnerable and easy to target. This is because they do not have enough knowledge or

4)  Virus attacks: Viruses are malevolent software that attach themselves to other software programs and can infect other programs by multiplying itself and then spreading across the whole network very quickly.

5) Sale of illegal items: A lot of illegal items and products such as narcotics, various animal species, auctioning of stolen articles, weapons, etc. take place on the internet.

Why are we vulnerable?

The open-sourced Vulnerability information (OSVDB) project maintains a master list of digital devices – security vulnerabilities, freely accessible to be used by security professionals, and comes across the world. Vulnerability information is vital for the protection data|of data|of knowledge} systems everywhere: in enterprises and different organizations, on non-public networks and intranets, and the public web.

Indian Scenario

The major cybercrimes that are reported, in India, are denial of services, disfiguration of internet sites, SPAM, computer virus and worms, pornography, cybersquatting, cyberstalking, and phishing. Given the fact that almost $ 120 million price of mobiles are being lost or purloined within the country each year, the users ought to shield their data, contact details and contact numbers as these may well be misused. Nearly 69% of data felony is carried out by current and ex-employees and the remaining by hackers. India needs to go an extended approach in protecting vital information.

Symantec shares the numbers from its 1st systematic survey disbursed on the Indian internet Security scene: The country has the best quantitative relation within the world that is 76 %, of outgoing spam or direct mail, to legitimate email traffic. India’s laptop, computer, or mobile phone owners are the primary targeted sector. Over 86% of all attacks, most were done via ‘bots’.

Causes of Cybercrime in India

Here are some reasons that provide a loophole in our internet or computer systems. These loopholes are used by cybercriminals to commit crimes:

• Easily accessible: One major problem in all computer networks is that they are very easy to access. Any unauthorized access can be granted by the computer system by doing some basic coding. Also, hackers can steal our biometrics or access code as used to get to our system.

• Data storing capacity: Computer has a very limited data storing space and it very easy for professional hackers to access this storage

• Negligence: This has nothing to do with computers rather it is related to humans. Negligence is one of the characteristics of humans. This provides an upper hand to cybercriminals.

• Lack of Evidence: The data related to crime or offense is easily destroyed. So, it becomes relatively hard to find the real criminals behind crimes.

What are Cyber Laws?

Cybercrime is a new type of crime that has increased over the last few years and is continuing to increase day by day. Therefore, to fight such crimes that are related or caused due to internet The Information Technology Act, 2000 was enacted. Its objective is to make the internet a safe place where individuals can use the internet without the fear of being duped or cheated. The IPC pr the Indian Penal Code, 1860 has also been amended to take action against cyber bullies to keep an eye on cybercrimes. It also lays down some restrictions and penalties and punishment for cybercrime in India.

1. Cyber Crimes under IPC and Special Laws:

• Sending threats via email – Sec 503 IPC
• Sending defamatory messages by using emails – Sec 499 IPC
• Stealing or unauthorized access of electronic records – Sec 463 IPC
• Fraud or fake websites – Sec 420 IPC
• Abuse through email – Sec.500 IPC

2. Cyber Crimes which come under the Information Technology Act, 2000 are:

• Tampering with electronic or virtual source documents – Sec.65
• Hacking Computer systems and Data alteration – Sec.66
• Publishing obscene information – Sec.67
• Unauthorized or unethical access to protected system Sec.70
• Breach of Privacy and Confidentiality – Sec.72
• Publishing false digital signature certificates – Sec.73

3. Cyber Crimes under the Special Acts:

• Online sale of Drugs under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act
• Online sale of Arms Act

How to report Cyber Crime in India?

For reporting cybercrime in India, we must first file a complaint at the cybercrime cell in a police station which is near to the crime scene (where the crime has taken place). We can file our complaint in two ways:

1. Offline: We can directly go to the nearest police station and file our complaint in the cybercrime cell
2. Online: We can also file our complaint online on a registered government portal for cybercrime.

What are Cyber Ethics?

Cyberethics is the study relating to ethics pertaining to computers, covering user behavior and what computers are programmed for, and how it affects individuals and society. Nowadays, governments of various countries are trying to include cyber ethics in their education policies to promote ethical hacking, as it has now a very broad scope and a very bright future.

How to keep our devices safe?

Here are a few ways that we can do on an individual level to ensure that our devices are safe from virtual fraudsters:

1. Secure our Mobile Devices: Many people often forget to secure their computers, laptops, phones, etc. We should always secure them with antivirus and keep checking its performance or any other possible threat.
2. Keep our devices updated: We should regularly keep checking if any updates are available because outdated devices are very easy to hack.
3. Using Strong Passwords: This is the most basic and effective way to tackle cyber crimes. Our passwords should be strong enough. If our passwords are very strong it is very difficult for hackers to hack into our computer system. We should use different combinations of letters and numbers which are complex.
4. Keeping our social media accounts private: We must be sure that social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc are private and public. If it is public we must immediately turn it into private because if it is public anyone can access our personal information.

Conclusion

We all are dependent on technology around us. Most functions cannot take place without the use of the internet. The Internet has become our lifeline and it cannot be replaced.

Though people are committing cyber thefts and crimes, we cannot use that as an excuse for not using the internet. Everyone must be aware of their surroundings and its happening.

It is our duty as a responsible citizen to take all precautionary measures which prevent and helps us in fighting cybercrime. We should also try to spread as much awareness as we can by organizing various programs, seminars, etc. And on an individual level, we must keep our devices safe and secure so that our devices could not be hacked. Also, we should help others who are incapable of understanding the usage of their devices. We should also promote ethical hacking which helps in fighting cybercrimes.  We must not act negligently and always be aware of spoof emails and messages.