Laws against cyber crimes have been formulated by the Federal Government of India to strengthen their resolve to prevent and curb cybercrime. These laws were brought in to address the growing issues of cybercrime and related criminal activities. The federal government has formulated different cybercrime laws based on various objectives. The primary objective is to define the same as an offence with criminal repercussions. The Federal Government of India passed laws to reinforce cyber safety and protection by addressing the growing issues related to cybercrime.
How have Laws Against Cybercrimes become effective? The Federal Government of India enacted several laws through different legislations to address the growing issues related to cybercrime and related criminal activities. When did these laws come into existence? According to some of the representative bodies and senior executives of the Indian government, the major reason behind legislation to make these laws is the rising problems of cybercrime and the related criminal activities which are committed with the help of the Internet.
The need for Laws Against Cybercrimes came into being when several cases were reported about hacking, phishing, fraud etc. These criminal activities resulted in huge monetary losses to different people and organizations. Various companies had to bear the loss in terms of business deals, loans, advertisements, and even in some cases lives of those people who had installed the virus on their systems. It was found that these criminal gangs had done the criminal activities in the name of ‘cyber attacks’ were also cited by various victims as the main reasons for their loss. To maintain the existing situation and bring about a radical change in this deteriorating situation, the Government has taken many major steps and formulated different legislations.
It must be kept in mind that cybercrimes are different from conventional crimes. Cybercrime is considered to be a violation of an individual’s right to privacy. Cybercriminals hacked into the personal computers of different people and transferred confidential information based on passwords and other usernames. Most of the time, the hackers used such information to hack into different corporate networks and stole the company’s important data and information. The main purpose of such criminal activities was to sabotage the businesses and also causing financial loss and damage to the organizations. The presence of Laws Against Cyber Crime was very necessary to bring a drastic change in this deteriorating situation.
There are many major players involved in cybercrime cases. The common offenders include malevolent computer criminals, such as virus writers, hackers, Trojans, spyware thieves, malware developers and the like. On the other hand, there are many innocent victims, who have been put to great loss due to these criminals and their activities. All these criminals have to be punished under the present laws of the country. The best way to bring about a rapid and significant change in the behaviour of these criminal elements is to enforce the usage of the criminal cybercrimes laws against them.
The federal government has taken the initiative of bringing several cybercrimes laws in India. Different states are now becoming aware of the serious consequences of these crimes, which can cause irreparable damage to the reputation of the country. The states are now passing stringent laws against such criminal activities. According to the new legislation, these criminal activities will be a punishable act, which will provide not only financial penalties but also let the victims get justice.
How Is The Law Against Cybercrime?
The Internet and its various activities have been the subject of intense debates ever since it was introduced but it is only now with the advent of cybercrime that these debates are becoming more intense. The problem of cybercrime is not a new one but it is only until recently that cybercrime has been made illegal by the federal government. But still, as defined in the existing laws there are many limitations to what authorities can do to stop cyber crimes and hence there has been an increase in the cases of cybercrime being reported to law enforcement authorities.
There have been several cybercrimes reported in the news over the last few years that shocked the country. But the worst case of cybercrime is probably the hacking of government or corporate databases to obtain information about Americans. Cybercriminals have been using their skills to get access to highly confidential information including but not limited to information on defence programs, information on nuclear weapons plans and the details of any unlisted phone number. In the hands of malicious hackers even legitimate businesses such as financial institutions and large retailers have been the victim of cybercrimes that have resulted in the stealing of information.
So the question remains, how is the law against cybercrime applied to people who commit criminal acts via the Internet? There are certain actions that cybercriminals cannot indulge in. For instance, they cannot operate a website that collects the personal information of other people. Similarly, they cannot use their sites to post any material that would be harmful to the general public. It means that if someone posts something online then the website that hosts that post is at risk of a cybercrime complaint from the police and the Federal Trade Commission.
But even though the above limitations are in place the situation is not as simple as it seems. Other types of cybercrime have not been mentioned here and that is where the government is acting tough to combat the growing criminal activities on the Internet. Recently the government has enacted tougher anti-cybercrime laws which are being used to curtail the criminal activities of cybercriminals. Amongst the different laws that are in operation, some of them are:
The Internet itself has been the cause for several incidences of cybercrime but the problem does not only lie with the Internet. There are several instances where Internet frauds are also on the rise and this has resulted in the increase in data leakage which also results in the misuse of the data. To curb these activities, these laws are being implemented. These laws are also applicable to those companies which provide Internet access.
The authorities have been successful in curbing cybercriminals using their power as well as their resources. They have been using Internet monitoring tools and they have been raiding cybercafes where illegal activities are taking place. Apart from that, the police department has also been put on alert to detect and record any incidences of criminal activity which may take place using Internet technology. It is essential for every person who uses the Internet to be aware of cyber laws so that they can lawfully use their privacy. Strict laws are being imposed so that cybercriminals can be punished for their criminal activities and this is happening gradually.