Cyber Crime in India and its Prevention
‘CYBER CRIME IS THE WAY TO JAIL AND CYBER SECURITY IS THE WAY TO AVAIL’
Keywords:- Cyber Crime, India, Laws, Cyber Security, internet, technology, computer
Written By: Tanishka Ranjan
INTRODUCTION
With the widespread adoption of computers and the internet in society, cybercrime has become a prime concern. A person through the medium of the internet can do every possible thing that he or she thinks of while sitting in one place. The advancement of technology has made man dependent on the internet for all his needs. Unlike other crimes, cybercrime has no geographical boundaries. Also it is majorly affecting all the stakeholders and business citizens as most of their data are stored online, which is becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber thieves.
In India cybercrime is simultaneously increasing with the increased use of information and communication technology (ICT).
WHAT IS CYBER CRIME?
Cybercrime is an illegal activity that involves unlawful access to computer systems. Either, we can say that it is a broad term that is used to define criminal activity in which computer or computer networks are a tool. A target or a place of criminal activity as well as include everything from electronic wracking to denial of service attacks.
Cybercrime is an attack on information about individuals, corporations as well as the government. It covers crimes like phishing, credit card fraud, bank robbery, illegal downloading, industrial espionage, child pornography, kidnapping children via chat rooms, scams, cyber terrorism, creation and or distribution of viruses, spam and so on.
Cybercrime has become a new way of earning money through fraud calls and is also used for taking revenge on others through hacking their systems or accounts.
TYPES
Cybercrime ranges across a spectrum of activities. It can be committed in different forms. Also can be divided into three major categories:
Cyber crimes against persons like harassment occur in cyberspace or through the use of cyberspace. Crimes against persons include:
- Defamation
- Cyber-stalking
- Hacking
- E-mail spoofing
- SMS spoofing
- Carding
- Cheating and fraud
- Child pornography
- Assault by threat
- Dissemination of obscene material
Cyber crimes against property like computer wreckage (destruction of another’s property), the transmission of harmful programs, unauthorised trespassing, as well as unauthorised possession of computer information. There are certain offences which affect a person’s properties which are as follows :
- Intellectual property crimes
- Cybersquatting
- Cyber vandalism
- Hacking computer systems
- Transmitting virus
- Cyber trespass
- Internet time thefts
Cyber crimes against the government are like cyber terrorism. There are certain offences done by a group of persons intending to threaten the international government by using internet facilities including:
- Cyber terrorism
- Cyber welfare
- Distribution of pirated software
- Position of unauthorised information
ANALYSIS Of CYBER CRIME IN INDIA
The internet is becoming the town Square for the global Village of tomorrow. We are all now connected by the internet, like neurons in a giant brain. The Internet has become a boon as well as a bane for society. The Internet is used in almost every sphere. A few years back, there was a lack of awareness about the crimes that could be committed through the internet. In the matter of cyber crimes, India is not far behind the other countries where the rate of incidence of cyber crimes is increasing daily.
According to the latest government data, India has also recorded a massive increase of 63.5% in cybercrime cases. The national crime records bureau (NCRB) data stated that 44546 cases of cybercrime were registered in 2021 as compared to 28248 in 2020. The highest number of cybercrime cases were registered in Karnataka (12020) closely followed by Uttar Pradesh (11416), Maharashtra (4967), Telangana (2691) and also Assam (2231). Also among the union territories, Delhi accounted for 78% of cybercrime.
ORIGIN OF CYBER CRIME
At the beginning of the 1970s, criminals regularly committed crimes via telephone lines. The perpetrators were called Phreakers. They also discovered that the telephone system in America functioned based on certain tones. They were going to imitate the stones to make free calls.
John Draper was a well-known phreaker who worked on it daily. He told America in his van and made use of public telephone systems to make free calls.
The real cyber crimes started in the 1980s. The first person to be found guilty of cybercrime was Ian Murphy, also known as Captain zap. He had the American telephone company manipulate its internal clock, to charge the hourly rate at peak times. He received a thousand hours of community service and 2.5 years of probation.
Although telephone companies were the first target, banks, and even private individuals quickly followed suit.
CYBER LAWS
When the internet was developed, the founding fathers of the internet did not incline that the internet could transform itself into an all-pervading revolution which could be misused for criminal activities which required regulation. Due to the anonymous nature of the internet, it is possible to engage in 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.
To combat the crimes related to the Internet Information Technology Act, 2000 was enacted with the primary objective to create an enabling environment for commercial use of IT. The IT act specifies the acts which have been made punishable. The Indian Penal Code, 1860 has also been amended to take into its purview cyber crimes.
PREVENTION
Cybercrime is a real threat to the integrity and security of the data of internet users. Although the internet offers endless possibilities for internet users, there are risks associated with it. Some measures can be kept in mind which will be helpful in the prevention of such crimes. Some are listed below:
- A VPN service is an excellent way to reduce such types of risks, by surfing anonymously and does drastically improve the security of personal data.
- Never disclose personal information publicly on websites.
- Always avoid sending any photographs online, particularly to strangers and chat friends as there have been cases of misuse of photographs.
- Never enter a credit card number to any site that is not secured.
- Use a full-service internet security suite.
- Keep your software updated, also
- Keep up to date on major security breaches.
CONCLUSION
We are living in the digital age and cyberspace is not limited to one’s boundaries. As a result, cyber crime is increasing day by day in all countries including India. The biggest challenge that leads to cybercrime is its dynamic nature because of the ongoing evolution of digital technology. As a result, new cyber crime methods and techniques come into practice.
With the growing need for the internet, protecting our information and data has become necessary. Therefore cyber crimes should not be taken lightly; rather, they should be given importance as other crimes in a society. Everybody should make sure that they have the cyber tools and knowledge to defend themselves from such crimes.
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