Can Google And Facebook Be Blocked In India?

Recently we covered an article titled should Wordpress be blocked in India? The article was a result of the increasingly denial of US based and foreign companies to comply with Indian laws like copyright law and cyber law of India. As matters of fact foreign companies are openly violating the intellectual property rights and cyber law of Indians and even if contacted they are not willing to remedy the situation.

Techno legal experts in India have even suggested that US must change its policy towards foreign IP infringements and must stay away from getting involved in controversial laws and actions. However, it seems foreign companies are not listening and experts in India have suggested taking drastic steps like reasonable judicial blocking of such offending websites in India.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India, Websites Blocking in India by Judiciary must be Just, Reasonable and Fair. There should not be an “Unreasonable” or “Casual Approach” towards Blocking of Websites in India by Indian Courts. If Websites are “Violating” Laws of India and they have been “Notified” to this effect and still they “do not Remedy the Situation”, then the Safe Harbour Protection under Indian Information Technology Act, 2000 is “Lost” and such Websites/Owners can be Prosecuted in India, informs Praveen Dalal.

This explains the prosecution part of such websites. However, what happens if the prosecuted websites fail to comply with court’s directions? Such Websites can be “Legally Blocked” in India if they fail to “Comply” with Court’s Directions or Directions of Indian Government Agencies like Computer Emergency Response Team, India (CERT-IN) that are duly ordered in this regard by a Designated Officer, informs Praveen Dalal.

The way foreign websites are refusing to comply with Indian laws, blocking of such websites in India is going to increase. In fact, US has proposed laws like Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (PIPA) and the "Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that are primarily targeted toward foreign websites blocking, including those of India. India must also enact such law that can block foreign websites if they do not comply with Indian laws.

While pre screening of contents is not possible yet there is nothing that prevents foreign companies from removing objectionable contents. In fact, they are legally bound to remove such offending contents once they become aware of such contents. Cyber due diligence for India companies and foreign websites is now well established and websites owners cannot deny the same.

In fact, the Delhi High Court has today reiterated this position that websites of social networking site Facebook India and search engine Google India can be "blocked" like in China if they fail to devise a mechanism to check and remove objectionable material from their web pages.

The court proceedings against Google and Facebook would continue before the magistrate's court and it would decide the fate of these two companies as per Indian laws. The arguments put forward on behalf of Google and Facebook seem to be weak and they must come up with something really brilliant to show that they are compliant with Indian laws.

Cyber Crimes And Role of Media In India

Cyber crimes in India are increasing rapidly. With the proliferation of social media websites in India, cyber crimes have not spared even such social media websites. A lot of cyber crimes, cyber contraventions, intellectual property rights (IPRs) violations, etc are committed due to lack of awareness about cyber law of India.

Further, there are very low cyber crimes convictions in India. This is because the cyber crime investigations in India are not proper due to lack of cyber law and cyber forensics knowledge. There is an urgent need to ensure cyber skills development in India so that cyber crimes can be prosecuted successfully.

Even judiciary needs to reform its practices and working style. Presently civil and criminal cases take decades to resolve and this frustrate the cause of justice. Technological innovations like e-courts, online dispute resolution (ODR), digital evidencing, e-discovery, cyber forensics, etc are still missing from Indian courts. These technological innovations can greatly reduce the time taken by Indian courts to decide cases.

Similarly the role of media in expediting the trials in courts is also well known. Media highlights the societal issues and this force the courts to speed up the matter. While media trial must be avoided yet public awareness must be spread by media so that cases can be debated among Indian masses. Cyber crime cases generally do not attract media attention.

Social media websites are popular places for building new relationships and contacts. However, social media websites are also becoming a place for cyber criminals to indulge in various cyber crimes.

We have no dedicated social media laws in India although guidelines for social media contents monitoring in India may be prescribed. Although we have a cyber law in India in the form of information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) yet we have no dedicated social networking laws in India. The cyber law for social media in India needs to be strengthened further keeping in mind a balance between civil liberties and law enforcement requirements.

Internet Censorship In India

This article has raised very pertinent points regarding internet censorship in India. Internet censorship in India should not be a norm in a democratic country like India. Better solutions exist to address this crucial issue. Censorship of internet in India by bypassing the constitutional mandates amount to anarchy that should not be the norm in India.

Internet in India is under potential threat of censorship and e-surveillance. Internet censorship in India has increased a lot. Similarly, e-surveillance in India has also increased to intolerable limits.

India has a draconian but cyber criminals’ friendly cyber law in the form of information technology act, 2000 (IT Act 2000). It was amended in 2008 to confer unregulated e-surveillance, Internet censorship and website blocking powers to Indian government and its agencies. The present cyber law of India is an unconstitutional one in the absence of procedural safeguards that can prevent these abusive draconian powers under the IT Act 2000. It requires an urgent repeal.

On top of it we have the proposed central monitoring system (CMS) project of India that has been proposed without any parliamentary oversight. Further, stress upon Internet kill switch is also given by India without realising that Internet kill switch is not a solution to cyber threats. Anti Internet kill switch measures are needed to prevent Indian government from taking recourse of any such unconstitutional and draconian action.

Website blocking and Internet censorship should be resisted as far as possible in India. This fight should be techno legal in nature where both technical and legal measures must be adopted to thwart surveillance and censorship activities of Indian government and its agencies. Proactive self defence in cyberspace is needed not only against alien enemies but also against our own Orwellian government.

Self defence in cyberspace is a concept whose time has come at both national and international level. At the national level of India self defence is required not only against cyber criminals but also against our own over zealous and e-surveillance oriented Indian government. Suggestions have been given in the past that United Nations (UN) must protect human rights in cyberspace as well. However, UN is not serious about protecting human rights in cyberspace.

At the national level, Indian government acquired itself unregulated, illegal and unconstitutional e-surveillance, Internet censorship and website blocking powers with no procedural safeguards. The information technology act, 2000 (IT Act 2000) was amended through the information technology amendment act 2008 (IT Act 2008) and this amendment gave unconstitutional and illegal powers to Indian government and its agencies. With the notification of the IT Act, 2008, the journey from welfare state to a police state was completed for India.

Instances of website blocking in India and Internet censorship in India have increased a lot. What is more worrisome is the fact that e-surveillance and Internet censorship in India have increased without any lawful interception law in India. Lawful interception law in India is missing and phone tapping in India is done in an unconstitutional manner.

Of all e-surveillance project, nothing is worst than the Aadhar project of India and its implementing unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) headed by Nandan Nilekani. Irrespective of what Nandan Nilekani and Indian government says, Aadhar project and UIDAI are serving a very vicious, evil and nefarious objective of e-surveillance without procedural safeguards. Surprisingly, even Google is censoring results pertaining to Aadhar project and UIDAI and is messing up with search placement results.

Now Internet intermediaries in India have been asked to pre screen contents before they are posted on their platforms by the account holders. India wants companies like Google and Facebook to censor users’ contents. In fact, Goggle web censorship has greatly increased in the past. Perhaps somebody at Google was already doing the pre screening of some web contents in India, with or without knowledge of Google.

Google has been in controversies from time to time. Whether it is illegal data gathering, censorship of Google news searches, manipulation of search results, etc, Google has been doing it all. In fact, it seems Google was actively helping Indian government and its agencies for messing up with Aadhar project, UIDAI, World Bank or any other similar post that questions the wrong practices of Indian government. During that period Google continued its censorship drive in India and many posts failed to appear in news, blogs and search segments.

What Internet intermediaries are facing now is a direct result of their succumbing to Indian government pressure and unconstitutional laws like IT Act 2008. They should have challenged the constitutional validity of IT Act 2008 that is the root cause of all these troubles. Fortunately Yahoo took Indian government to court over e-surveillance and more such litigations are expected in the near future. Let us see how cyber law of India would develop in this regard.

Source: PTLB Blog

International Cyber Crime Treaty And India

Cyber law is no more confined to the limits of a nation alone. Being extra territorial in nature, the cyber law of a nation often travels far beyond the territorial jurisdictions of a nation. Realising the practical difficulties of this extra territorial nature of various cyber law, an International cyber law treaty was formulated at the international level.

However, there is no relationship between this international cyber crime treaty and India as India is not a signatory to the same. India is still governed by its distinct cyber law incorporated in the information technology act, 2000 (IT Act 2000).

Recently, efforts were made at the United Nations (UN) to adopt a “more comprehensive” and “truly global” International cyber crime treaty, informs Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. However, the proposal was rejected by UN and till now there is no globally acceptable cyber crime treaty in existence, informs Dalal.

Even the Indian cyber law is far from perfect and it has decayed. It has been amended by the information technology amendment act 2008 (IT Act 2008) that made the sole cyber law of India a big mess. There are no stringent provisions to punish cyber criminals as almost all the cyber crimes have been made bailable by this amendment.

Presently, India is neither following a good model cyber law based upon international standards nor is legislating an effective law that can meet the challenges of contemporary digital economy.

The present cyber law of India is worst than no cyber law at all and it must be repealed as soon as possible. This is more so when India has decided not to sign any international cyber crime treaty and stick to its own domestic legislation.

Securing Critical National Infrastructure From Cyber Attack

Cyber security in India has started gaining attention of Indian government. However, the cyber security initiatives of Indian government are still far from satisfactory. We do not have a cyber security policy in India that clearly stipulates the cyber security strategy of India.

Cyber security of India is also an essential part of National ICT Policy and Strategy of India. However, despite some very good suggestions by experts, India has not taken cyber security seriously. On the other hand, the International Community is focusing really hard to make cyber security an essential part of their day to day lives.

Internationally, it is an accepted fact that to ensure effective cyber security, there must be a coordinated and collaborative approach, metrics and assessment tools must be developed, an effective legal and policy framework for security must be created and the human dimension of security must be addressed.

Although there are numerous aspects of Cyber Security Policy of India yet Critical Infrastructure Protection in India is one of the most important aspects of the same, informs Praveen Dalal, leading techno legal expert of India and managing partner of New Delhi based techno legal law firm Perry4Law. The Critical National Infrastructure of India is under constant cyber attacks and India must urgently do something in this regard, informs Dalal.

Experts like Praveen Dalal also feel that India does not have strong and effective cyber laws to deal with issue pertaining to Critical Infrastructure. India is blind towards cyber law, cyber security and cyber forensics requirements. The IT Act, 2000 is a poorly drafted law and badly implemented legislation. It is weak and ineffective in dealing with growing Cyber Crimes in India as it is the most Soft and Cyber Criminal Friendly Legislation of the World.

Thus, on all the fronts of policy, legal framework and effective cyber security initiatives, India has failed to give proper attention. In these circumstances, critical national infrastructures of India are at grave cyber security risks. They are vulnerable to cyber threats and cyber attacks. India must urgently do something in this regard as soon as possible.

E-Discovery For Due Diligence By Banks In India

Banking sector of India is passing through a reformative phase. Lots of banking reforms are under process and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is playing a major role in the same. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has been extending his full support for banking and financial sector reforms as well.

Even in the fields of cyber law, cyber security, cyber due diligence, prevention of cyber banking frauds, etc RBI has issued many guidelines through its information technology vision document 2011-17. Some of the mandatory guidelines now require banks of India to appoint chief information officers (CIOs) and steering committees on information security at the board level at the earliest.

In the past, lack of cyber due diligence and absence of CIOs and steering committee has resulted in many cyber crimes and banking frauds. Techno legal experts like Praveen Dalal believe that if a proper cyber due diligence was at place, it could have prevented the recent fraud that was committed at the Gurgaon based branch of Citibank.

Banks in India must understand the importance of e-discovery practices, incidence response, first responder’s roles, cyber due diligence, etc. If banks have a sound e-discovery mechanism, many frauds can be anticipated and prevented before they occur.

E-discovery law in India has still to be enacted. Although India has the cyber law of India incorporated in the form of information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) yet it is far from being sufficient for cyber forensics and e-discovery purposes.

Government of India must immediately enact some good technology laws that can cater the requirements of present times. Presently, the IT Act, 2000 needs a complete overhaul as it is not meeting the needs of the hour.

Cyber Law Of India Is Cyber Criminals Friendly

Cyber law of India is incorporated in the information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000). It was amended through information technology amendment act 2008 (IT Act 2008) and from here started the real problem.

The retrograde amendment in the cyber law of India was the first step in the direction of inducing complete cyber anarchy in India. A good account of this cyber anarchy has been provided by Praveen Dalal, managing partner of Perry4Law and the leading techno legal expert of India.

The amended cyber law also made almost all the cyber crimes and cyber contraventions “bailable” thus making India a safe heaven for cyber criminals all over the world. Cyber crimes in India are increasing at an alarming rate due to this careless attitude of Indian government.

The cyber law of India carries many loopholes and has many lacunas. Cyber stalking is one such lacuna that must be addressed as soon as possible. Children and juveniles are especially vulnerable to cyber stalking and many times this stalking process result in committing of suicide by them.

A good initiative for protection of children in cyberspace has been launched by the HRPIC initiative spearheaded by Praveen Dalal. Similarly, to make the Indian cyber space more secure and robust, cyber security and cyber forensics initiatives have also been undertaken by Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) and Perry4Law.

The ultimate call is for the Parliament of India to take that is escaping from its responsibilities towards Indians cyberspace either due to purpose and design or out of sheer lack of information technology related knowledge.

Cyber Crimes Are Increasing In India

Cyber crimes in India are increasing at an alarming rate and Indian government and department of information technology (DIT), India are doing nothing in this regard. In fact, the DIT proposed very weak, ineffective and counter productive amendments to the already weak cyber law of India in the past.

The information technology amendment act 2008 (IT Act 2008) amended the information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) and made it a base for committing various cyber crimes openly.

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading techno legal experts of India, India has been experiencing an increase in cyber crimes like hacking, spamming, phishing, etc due to many factors. The first and foremost factor among them is the lack of an effective and stringent cyber crime law in India.

The cyber law in India is not effective instead it is counterproductive. India is the only country in the world that has the provision of bail in cyber crime cases. It means even if a person commits cyber crimes like phishing, hacking or any similar cyber crime or contravention and is somehow caught by the Police force, he would be released on bail as a matter of right. This provision of cyber crime has made India a safe place for cyber criminals, warn Dalal.

Besides, there is a lack of adequate cyber forensics and cyber security capabilities in India that helps in the growth of cyber crimes. Irrespective what the government of India and DIT say, the position is really worrisome.

Time has come for the Indian government to amend the IT Act 2000 so that cyber criminals can not only be caught by the police but also get severe punishment.

India Needs An Improved Cyber Security

Cyber security is an area that cannot be ignored by any technology driven society. The importance of cyber security has been felt in India though after many security breaches. However, the government has still not done the needful in this regard. As a result Indian cyberspace and government computer systems are still vulnerable to cyber attacks.

The first and foremost problem with the Indian cyber jurisprudence is a weak and ineffective cyber law. India has enacted information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) as the sole cyber law of India. The same was amended by the information technology act 2008 (IT Act 2008). The IT Act 2008 made almost all cyber crimes bailable. Now the cyber criminals have no deterrent that can prevent them from committing cyber crimes in India.

The problem has been further complicated due to absence of cyber security in India. The cyber criminals can attack Indian computer systems remotely without and fear and hesitation. This is so because firstly they would not be caught in the absence of cyber security and cyber forensics capabilities. Even if they are somehow magically caught, they have to be set free due to the weak cyber law of India.

India must not only enact strong cyber law but must also make its cyber security more robust.

SOURCE: CIO

Cyber Security Of India Is In Poor State

India urgently needs techno-legal cyber security. Perry4Law is managing the exclusive techno-legal cyber security research, training and educational centre in India. India must urgently come up with good crisis management policy and strategy regarding cyber security.

In recent times cyber security has taken a centre stage all over the world. This is due to the fact that networks all over the world are interconnected through Internet. The vulnerability in the networked systems can prove fatal in various circumstances. Recently, it was alleged that China broke into Indian computer systems and compromised crucial data and information of secret and confidential nature.

There is an emergent need for strengthening cyber security of India. However, till now the government of India has not taken cyber security seriously. India needs a dedicated cyber security research and training centre at the national level. Although there are few good cyber security initiatives in India, yet Indian government must take the initiative and work in this direction.

Another aspect that has to be kept in mind is the enactment of strong and efficient cyber laws in India. Although Indian has enacted information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) yet it is far from perfect. The recent amendments in the same have made almost all the cyber crimes bailable. According to Praveen Dalal, the leading techno-legal expert of India, by making the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” India has made its cyberspace a “free zone” and “safe heaven” for cyber criminals and cyber offenders. It seems the problems of Indian cyber security are multi facet in nature. We do not have sufficient laws, we lack proper strategies and policies, and we do not care much about cyber security, says Praveen Dalal.

India must urgently train its government officials holding crucial posts and departments, law enforcement officials, judges, lawyers, etc. In the absence of sufficient training, we may risk crucial information leaking out of governmental computers and departments. The sooner we take cyber security seriously the better it would be for the national interest of India.

SOURCE: MERINEWS

Indian Cyber Security Must Be Strengthened

In recent times cyber security has taken a centre stage all over the world. This is due to the fact that networks all over the world are interconnected through Internet. The vulnerability in the networked systems can prove fatal in various circumstances. Recently, it was alleged that China broke into Indian computer systems and compromised crucial data and information of secret and confidential nature.

There is an emergent need for strengthening cyber security of India. However, till now the government of India has not taken cyber security seriously. India needs a dedicated cyber security research and training centre at the national level. Although there are few good cyber security initiatives in India, yet Indian government must take the initiative and work in this direction.

Another aspect that has to be kept in mind is the enactment of strong and efficient cyber laws in India. Although Indian has enacted information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) yet it is far from perfect. The recent amendments in the same have made almost all the cyber crimes bailable. According to Praveen Dalal, the leading techno-legal expert of India, by making the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” India has made its cyberspace a “free zone” and “safe heaven” for cyber criminals and cyber offenders. It seems the problems of Indian cyber security are multi facet in nature. We do not have sufficient laws, we lack proper strategies and policies, and we do not care much about cyber security, says Praveen Dalal.

India must urgently train its government officials holding crucial posts and departments, law enforcement officials, judges, lawyers, etc. In the absence of sufficient training, we may risk crucial information leaking out of governmental computers and departments. The sooner we take cyber security seriously the better it would be for the national interest of India.

SOURCE: CIO

Technology Crimes Are Increasing In India

Cyber-crime has hit India with a vengeance, thanks to lax local laws and apathy on the part of the government. The rapidly technologically advancing nation is seeing a jump in cyber-crime like the developed world as more and more of the country is moving online.But whereas Western nations have implemented serious punishment for those convicted of online criminal activities, India’s sole cyber law, the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000), has been weakened by recent amendments.

As a result of this laxity, more serious problems are now arising. With an increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) for various public purposes, public safety and security is also at risk.

Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, has sent an open letter to the government of India including the Prime Minister, the President, the Supreme Court of India, and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to bring to their attention the increasing threat of cyber-crimes in the country.

Reacting immediately, the Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily announced the enactment of separate laws and the formation of a specialized agency to handle cyber-crimes, although no further progress has been made in that direction so far.

According to experts, Indian law enforcement lacks the necessary training to deal with cyber-crimes. As a result, they have been known to avoid registering and investigating such crimes. Similarly, cyber law has not yet picked a pace wit the lawyers and judges as well.

India must urgently do something about the growing cyber crimes. The first step must be to enact strong and effective cyber laws. Further, the government must also provide suitable training to the police officers, lawyers and judges in India. The netizens must also take proper precautions while dealing online to avoid being victim of cyber crimes.

SOURCE: TECHJOURNAL

Cabinet Committee On Security Of India Accepted Expert’s Suggestions On Natgrid

Recently the proposal to establish national intelligence grid (NATGRID) in India was considered by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of India. However, the CCS was advised in advanced by techno-legal experts like Praveen Dalal regarding the possible political misuse and violation of civil liberties of the Indian citizens. As a result, the CCS withheld its nod and asked the Home Ministry to come back after further consultation with all stakeholders.

In the past Praveen Dalal has suggested that NATGRID is an essential requirement for robust and effective intelligence agencies and law enforcement functions in India. The only requirement is to ensure that its abuses can be anticipated, prevented and remedied.

The Home Ministry of India would now start fresh discussions with various stakeholders to ensure that NATGRID may not be abused in future. The task is difficult and it would be beneficial to consult good techno-legal experts in this regard.

The most important aspect that must be kept in mind by the government of India is that it must reconcile the national security aspects of India with human rights protection in cyberspace. This is a difficult task especially in the absence of a dedicate privacy law and data protection law in India, says Praveen Dalal.

A “dedicated resource” in this regard has been launched by Perry4Law [http://perry4law.com/hr/index.html] in this regard that may be helpful for the Indian government while implementing projects like Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) Project (CCTNS Project), National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) of India, E-Surveillance under the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000) and other laws, etc.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Cyber Crimes In India Are Growing Incessantly

Cyber crimes in India are increasing at a rapid rate. The matter is made worst by a weak and ineffective cyber law of India. Though the law minister of India had declared for a separate enactment to deal with growing cyber crimes yet the proposal seems to have been dumped for the time being.

In India cyber crime are tried under both the traditional Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act 2000). However, police is not aware of the minutiae of the cyber law of India. This makes it extremely difficult to prove most cyber crimes, says leading techno-legal expert of India Praveen Dalal.

Even under the IT Act 2000, cyber crimes investigations in India are not up to the mark. This is because of lack of “cyber forensics” capabilities. The collection and presentation of electronic evidence to prove cyber crimes have posed a challenge to investigation, prosecution agencies and the judiciary in the absence of legal enablement of ICT systems in India.

Cyber-related techno-legal acumen and knowledge are not well developed in India. These require a sound working and practical knowledge of information technology as well as relevant legal knowledge. Cyber laws, international telecommunications laws, cyber forensics, digital evidencing and cyber security pose difficult and sometimes hard to understand legal challenges to the courts. This explains why there are almost no convictions of cyber criminals in India. Judges in India must fill in this legal gap.

India needs a good combination of laws and technology, in harmony with the laws of other countries and keeping in mind common security standards. In the era of e-governance and e-commerce, a lack of common security standards can create havoc for global trade as well as military matters.

Information technology is a double-edged sword that can be used for destructive as well as constructive work. It has now created a fifth dimension in addition to land, sea, air and space, though unlike the other four dimensions, it is completely made and controlled by humans. Till now India has absolutely failed to control this fifth element. Let us hope that the Indian government would do the needful as soon as possible.

SOURCE: GROUND REPORT

Urgent Measures Are Needed To Curb Cyber Crimes In India

India has finally shown some concerns towards the growing menace of cyber crimes in India. The government of India has shown an absolute apathy towards growing cyber crimes in India by making almost all the cyber crimes in India “bailable”. Through this process the government made India a safe heaven for cyber criminals. The cyber criminals are virtually free to do whatever they want because at best they can be caught and then have to be set free because Indian cyber law is toothless in this regard. Even these cyber criminals would be very difficult to nab as Indian law enforcement is not well trained to deal with cyber crimes.

India is confused regarding its cyber law and the same has resulted in cyberspace anarchy in India. The Indian political thinking is marred by gross confusion. There are growing incidences of exploitation of Indian cyberspace by cyber criminals and foreign powers. Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India sent an open letter to the Government of India including the Prime Minister of India, President of India, Supreme Court of India, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, etc and brought to their attention the growing menace of cyber crimes in India.

Reacting immediately, the Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily announced the enactment of separate laws and creation of a specialised agency to deal with the menace of cyber crimes. Cyber crimes in India are increasing in the absence of a strong and stringent cyber law i.e. Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000). The ICT Trends of India 2009 have proved that India has failed to enact a strong and stringent Cyber Law in India. On the contrary, the Information Technology Act 2008 (IT Act 2008) has made India a “safe heaven” for cyber criminals, say cyber law experts of India.

The problem seems to be multi-faceted in nature. Firstly, the cyber law of India contained in the IT Act, 2000 is highly deficient in many aspects. Thus, there is an absence of proper legal enablement of ICT systems in India. Secondly, there is a lack of cyber law training to the police, lawyers, judges, etc in India. Thirdly, the cyber security and cyber forensics capabilities are missing in India. Fourthly, the ICT strategies and policies of India are deficient and needs an urgent overhaul. Fifthly, the Government of India is indifferent towards the “ICT reforms” in India. This results in a declining ranking of India in the spheres of e-readiness, e-governance, etc. While International communities like European Union, ITU, NATO, Department of Homeland Security, etc are stressing for an enhanced cyber security and tougher cyber laws, India seems to be treading on the wrong side of weaker regulatory and legal regime, says Praveen Dalal.

At last, somebody in the government has shown some concern regarding the growing menace of cyber crimes in India. However, the task is difficult since we do not have trained lawyers, judges and police officers in India. However, at least a step has been taken in the right direction by the law minister of India.

SOURCE: GROUND REPORT

The Confused Indian Political Thinking Regarding Cyber Law Of India

The Parliament of India is either not willing to enact suitable laws in a timely manner or it makes absurd laws like the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008 (IT Act 2008). India is already struggling hard to tackle cyber crimes and cyber contraventions. However, what is more confusing is why Indian government made India a Safe Heaven for cyber criminals? Further, with the IT Act 2008 India became an E-Surveillance State. The E-Surveillance may be crucial for Indian National security and Internal Security vis-à-vis information technology but even these crucial capabilities are missing. The cyber warfare capabilities of India are still decades far away. The net result due to the Irrational Cyber Law of India is that there is a complete Cyber Anarchy existing in India.

Realising the gravity of the situation, Mr. Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, sent a communication to the Government of India including the Prime Minister of India, President of India, Supreme Court of India, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, etc in this regard. The government reciprocated through media by showing its concern regarding the rising number of cyber crimes in India. Now the Centre is planning to assign the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate cases registered under the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000) in the country. This is the irony of Indian political thinking. On the one hand they made almost all the cyber crimes in India “Bailable” whereas on the other hand they are “showing concern” for the very same cyber crimes that have been committed due to the lax cyber law of India that they enacted, says Praveen Dalal.

The Centre has in a letter to the State Governments requested them to issue general consent for the handing over of such cases to the CBI. The CBI cannot proceed till the States grant it permission to do so. This step of the Centre may be a compulsion as Indian law enforcement needs Techno-Legal Training to solve cyber crimes effectively. Surprisingly, the Centre is aware that cyber crimes are affecting the life of the general public and cases of phishing, online credit card fraud, hacking, pornography and theft of data, source code and identity are on the rise. It also believes that these cases have national and international ramifications and affect national security. What is not understandable is why such serious crimes have been made bailable and why India has been made a cyber heaven for cyber criminals, questions Praveen Dalal.

The only explanation to this strange behaviour of Indian government may be that it is “confused” regarding its cyber law. Further, Indian government cannot enact strong and stringent cyber law because the “industry lobbying” of Indian companies would not allow it to do so. Till India acquires good “legislative skill” and shows its will to provide a robust cyber law of India, the confusion will keep on marring the government’s decision making power.

AUTHOR: SHAYAM PRASAD

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Cyber Crime Police Stations Of India In Bad Shape

The ICT Trends of India 2009 have proved that India has failed to enact a strong and stringent Cyber Law in India. On the contrary, the Information Technology Act 2008 (IT Act 2008) has made India a “safe heaven” for cyber criminals, say cyber law experts of India.

India has a very poor cyber crime conviction rate. As per DG of Corps of Detectives (CoD) D V Guruprasad the reason behind this is the officers themselves are clueless about cyber crime. It is of no use setting up cyber crime labs when the cyber criminals cannot be convicted. As for training judiciary and prosecutors this process should have initiated a long time back when the cyber-law was passed. The cyber crime police stations/cells/labs established by NASSCOM have absolutely failed to make any difference in this regard.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “This was bound to happen as the government of India is not at all serious about tackling the menace of cyber crimes in India. Rather than strengthening the cyber law of India, it has diluted the same and made it criminal friendly through the Information Technology Act 2008”.

In the absence of a stringent cyber law of India and lack of proper techno-legal training of lawyers, judges and police officers not much can be expected from Indian legal and judicial system of India. A special emphasis must be given to the training of police officers, lawyers and judges in the field of cyber forensics.

India must engage in good capacity development initiatives rather than merely opening cyber crimes cells and achieving cyber crimes tackling capacities on papers alone. The first step must be to strengthen cyber law of India and then steps must be taken to provide adequate training to the players involved in dealing with cyber crimes in India, says Praveen Dalal.

What Made India A Safe Heaven And Cyber Crime Harbour For Cyber Criminals?

Cyber Law in India is an essential part of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) regulations in India. ICT has brought before the government of India (GOI) certain challenges that it was not willing to accept and rectify. The worst among them are coming in the form of technology-assisted terrorism and cyber terrorism.

Cyber crimes in India are also increasing in the absence of a strong and stringent cyber law i.e. Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000). The ICT Trends of India 2009 have proved that India has failed to enact a strong and stringent Cyber Law in India. On the contrary, the Information Technology Act 2008 (IT Act 2008) has made India a “safe heaven” for cyber criminals, say cyber law experts of India.

Even cyber law enforcement is a big challenge in India. The law enforcement and intelligence agencies in India seem to be helpless in front of modern technological crimes like cyber crimes in India, terrorism and cyber-terrorism. India needs to tackle this problem as soon as possible. However, nothing concrete is happening in this direction. So where does the problem lie?

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India “The problem seems to be multi-faceted in nature. Firstly, the cyber law of India contained in the IT Act, 2000 is highly deficient in many aspects. Thus, there is an absence of proper legal enablement of ICT systems in India. Secondly, there is a lack of cyber law training to the police, lawyers, judges, etc in India. Thirdly, the cyber security and cyber forensics capabilities are missing in India. Fourthly, the ICT strategies and policies of India are deficient and needs an urgent overhaul. Fifthly, the Government of India is indifferent towards the “ICT reforms” in India. This results in a declining ranking of India in the spheres of e-readiness, e-governance, etc. While International communities like European Union, ITU, NATO, Department of Homeland Security, etc are stressing for an enhanced cyber security and tougher cyber laws, India seems to be treading on the wrong side of weaker regulatory and legal regime.”

Although, the IT Act 2000 was not deterrent enough to prevent cyber crimes in India, yet with the IT Act 2008 the things have become worst. The IT Act 2008 made almost all the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” It means that even after committing hacking or practically any other and all cyber crimes in India, there is no deterrent effect to prevent them. There is nothing that would prevent India from becoming the cyber crime heaven of the World in these circumstances unless a suitable amendment in the IT Act 2000 is made as soon as possible, says Praveen Dalal.

We need to stress upon sound cyber laws with effective law enforcement. We need to train police, lawyers, judges, etc for ICT-related laws and procedures. However, nothing is going to happen till the matters are taken care of at the national policy level.

Weak Cyber Law Of India Is Resulting In Increased Cyber Crimes In India

Cyber crimes in India are increasing in the absence of a strong and stringent cyber law i.e. Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000). The ICT Trends of India 2009 have proved that India has failed to enact a strong and stringent Cyber Law in India. On the contrary, the Information Technology Act 2008 (IT Act 2008) has made India a “safe heaven” for cyber criminals, say cyber law experts of India. Even cyber law enforcement is a big challenge in India.

Although, the IT Act 2000 was not deterrent enough to prevent cyber crimes in India, yet with the IT Act 2008 the things have become worst. The IT Act 2008 made almost all the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” It means that even after committing hacking or practically any other and all cyber crimes in India, there is no deterrent effect to prevent them.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, by making the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” India has made its cyberspace a “free zone” and “safe heaven” for cyber criminals and cyber offenders.

He says that now even after committing hacking in India a person would be entitled to “bail” as a matter of right. There is nothing that prevents such cyber criminals from committing cyber crimes in India in the absence of a deterrent law.

It is clear that by succumbing to “industrial lobbying” the government of India has done great damage to the national security of India and cyber security of India.

There is nothing that would prevent India from becoming the cyber crime heaven of the World in these circumstances unless a suitable amendment in the IT Act 2000 is made as soon as possible, says Praveen Dalal.

The worst part is that India has also enhanced e-surveillance to further aggravate the problem. The netizens are not safe from cyber crimes and now even the State would infringe their Human Rights and Fundamental Rights. The increased e-surveillance along with unregulated censorship powers has made India cyber law an instrumentality of cyberspace exploitation of netizens rights in India.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Cyber Crimes In India Must Be Taken Seriously

Cyber law of India was originally enacted in the year 2000 in the form of Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act 2000). The same was dealing with certain specific (not all) cyber crimes including hacking.

Although, the IT Act 2000 was not deterrent enough to prevent cyber crimes in India, yet with the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008 (IT Act 2008) the things have become worst.

The IT Act 2008 made almost all the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” It means that even after committing hacking or practically any other and all cyber crimes in India, there is no deterrent effect to prevent them.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, by making the offences and cyber crimes “bailable” India has made its cyberspace a “free zone” and “safe heaven” for cyber criminals and cyber offenders. He says that now even after committing hacking in India a person would be entitled to “bail” as a matter of right. There is nothing that prevents such cyber criminals from committing cyber crimes in India in the absence of a deterrent law.

It is clear that by succumbing to “industrial lobbying” the government of India has done great damage to the national security of India and cyber security of India. There is nothing that would prevent India from becoming the cyber crime heaven of the World in these circumstances unless a suitable amendment in the IT Act 2000 is made as soon as possible, says Praveen Dalal.

SOURCE: GROUND REPORT