Civil Liberties Protection Or Commercial Gain: What Is Google’s Objective?

Google has been “cooperating” with law enforcement and security agencies all over the World. To perform its cooperating task more adequately it is making every possible effort to get the relevant data of its users. As a result, the privacy and anonymity of its users is more vulnerable to legal and illegal disclosures. At last Google objected to the omnipresent censorship by Chinese authorities and declared that it would withdraw from China. This situation may also arise at other places of the World, including India. However, the bigger questions are whether Google would cease to operate from China and if it does not cease its operations than whether it would no longer censor the results from Chinese netizens, says Praveen Dalal. If Google does not exercise either of these options than the entire episode would be branded as a “gimmick” to increase “commercial gain” in China and nothing more. Recently, Google was in controversy for showing Indian Territory differently in three different parts of the World. So much so that Indian Government decided to ban Google maps in India. Some observers have remarked that by showing different results in different parts of the World Google is trying to make happy all concerned. This smacks “double standards” on the part of Google and only shows that it is more interested in commercial gains than all other practices objected to by it.

The rules of expression of political thoughts and activities on the Internet are pretty simple and very complex at the same time. You are free to dance the way you like America. Play as long and as much as you want in the fabric of the net but don’t brush away national security.

In the Middle East, as in some South American dictatorships and China, the ubiquitous censors monitor every word what you write. In India we are a very sensible and sensitive democracy. We do willy-nilly try to follow the game of golden-mean. Information Technology Act of 2008 gives the following guidelines:

(a) Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has the power to block sites and remove content to maintain "public order," as well as for national security and to preserve friendly relations with foreign states.
(b) It requires companies to have a point of contact to receive government blocking requests.
(c) A committee of Indian officials with representatives from ministries such as Law and Home Affairs would review blocking requests.
(d) The accused party/company would have 48 hours to present a case.
(e) Company officials who don't assist the government when blocking is mandated would face a fine and up to seven years in jail.
(f) India's Penal Code, Section 295A

So far the things are almost running smoothly and there have been no evidence of any major violations from any horizon. However, the recent confrontation between China and Google does make an interesting story.

A worldwide company DIT was founded in 2001 to provide low-cost, reliable Internet services for people living under repressive regimes. DIT's DynaWeb is a constantly updated, free proxy network designed to circumvent Internet blocking. On 15 September, a volunteer working with DynaWeb, observed that Google's Chinese news was giving one result in China and another in the United States. Bill Xia, CEO of Dynamic Internet Technology (DIT) said, "We were able to confirm this report through proxies in China. Search results inside China do not contain news from blocked sites."

Google tried to water down the issue and made the following response: "In order to create the best possible news search experience for our users, we sometimes decide not to include some sites, for a variety of reasons. They may display improperly in our service, or be inaccessible to users. We have not included links to a number of sources that are not accessible to mainland China Internet users."

Xia remained unconvinced. "The Chinese government controls the media and the military and through them, is able to create a 'Matrix' that hides web sites that relate to civil rights and opinions the Chinese authorities don't want people to see. I condemn it and urge the public to demand that Google explains how it's able to justify the practice." Xia also said that he has demonstrated that Google is using geographical differentiation to display different results to different locations.

Baidu. com is a largest Chinese search engine and Google also has a minority share in it. Two years ago, Baidu infuriated many Chinese Internet users as China's censors had installed new filtering software to keep unwanted information out of the country.
Despite the intellectual flexibility and discretion shown by Google it found that the hackers had attacked 33 other companies, including American companies like Adobe and others. The sophistication of attacks strongly suggests that this operation was either launched by the Chinese government’s agencies, or was approved by them at the least. US Government still cannot do much about it, as Google is unable to prove the allegation on the 100 per cent involvement of the Chinese government.

Google went for a strong retaliation against these hackers by hacking them right back. There are many more moves that might follow in this cyber war between the titans. Let us see how the Google navigates the Animal Farm.

AUTHOR: NAIM NAQVI

SOURCE: MERINEWS

Google Hack Code Is In Public

The code used by China-based hackers in cyber attacks against Google and at least 20 other companies has been published on the internet. Code that exploits the yet-to-be-patched Microsoft Internet Explorer vulnerability has appeared on at least one website, according to researchers at security firm McAfee.

Microsoft published a blog post about the vulnerability after it was identified by McAfee researchers investigating the attacks. The public release of the exploit code increases the possibility of widespread attacks using the IE vulnerability, said McAfee chief technology officer George Kurtz in a blog post.

"The now public computer code may help cybercriminals craft attacks that use the vulnerability to compromise Windows systems," he said. According to McAfee, the attack is especially deadly on older systems running Window XP and IE 6, although versions 7 and 8 are also vulnerable. This is the largest and most sophisticated cyber attack in years targeted at specific corporations, said Kurtz. "What really makes this a watershed moment in cybersecurity is the targeted and coordinated nature of the attack, with the main goal appearing to be to steal core intellectual property," he said.

The attacks prove these threats are no longer the stuff of science fiction, and should be taken seriously by the public and private sectors alike, according to security advisors. Hopefully, the attacks will prompt organisations to review their security and perhaps even discover breaches that have remained hidden for some time, said Tony Dyhouse, director of the UK's Cyber Security Knowledge Transfer Network (CSKTN). "The problem is organisations are often unaware they have been infiltrated and do not take seriously threats they cannot see," he said.

SOURCE: COMPUTER WEEKLY

India Is Suffering From Cyber Anarchy: An Open Letter To Government Of India

India is presently plagued by cyber anarchy. Issues like stringent cyber law, good cyber forensics capabilities, efficient cyber security, etc have still not attracted the attention of government of India.

There are growing incidences of exploitation of Indian cyberspace by cyber criminals and foreign powers. Mr. Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India has send 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.

We hope the Government of India would do the needful and all political parties would join hands to rescue Indian cyberspace from cyber crimes and cyber contraventions.

This work is analysing some of the suggestions given by Mr. Praveen Dalal to the Government of India regarding the strategic and policy lacunas of Indian Government in the fields of Cyber Law, Cyber Security, Cyber Forensics, etc.

As a result India has not only become a safe heaven for cyber criminals but also a “soft target” for hackers and cyber war criminals worldwide. This work is summarising his suggestions and recommendations (with his approval) and we hope the Government of India in general and the Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh in particular would consider and act upon these suggestions as soon as possible in the larger interest of India.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Cyber Terrorism In India: A Government Nightmare

Cyber Terrorism in India is a serious national security problem. India must not take the threats of Cyber war and Cyber Terrorism lightly and should take active steps to prevent the same. The Home Ministry of India must take some serious steps to ensure a robust cyber security in India so that threats of cyber war and cyber terrorism can be prevented and cured at an earlier stage. Even the cyber laws all over the World must be stringent and reasonable so that these nefarious activities can be curbed.

Cyber terrorism is the premeditated use of disruptive activities, or the threat thereof, in cyber space, with the intention to further social, ideological, religious, political or similar objectives, or to intimidate any person in furtherance of such objectives.

Computers and the internet are becoming an essential part of our daily life. They are being used by individuals and societies to make their life easier. They use them for storing information, processing data, sending and receiving messages, communications, controlling machines, typing, editing, designing, drawing, and almost all aspects of life.

The most deadly and destructive consequence of this helplessness is the emergence of the concept of “cyber terrorism”. The traditional concepts and methods of terrorism have taken new dimensions, which are more destructive and deadly in nature. In the age of information technology the terrorists have acquired an expertise to produce the most deadly combination of weapons and technology, which if not properly safeguarded in due course of time, will take its own toll. The damage so produced would be almost irreversible and most catastrophic in nature. In short, we are facing the worst form of terrorism popularly known as “Cyber Terrorism”.

The law dealing with cyber terrorism is, however, not adequate to meet the precarious intentions of these cyber terrorists and requires a rejuvenation in the light and context of the latest developments all over the world.

Terrorist prefer using the cyber attack methods because of many advantages for it. These are:-

1. It is Cheaper than traditional methods.
2. The action is very difficult to be tracked.
3. They can hide their personalities and location.
4. There are no physical barriers or check points to cross.
5. They can do it remotely from anywhere in the world.
6. They can use this method to attack a big number of targets.
7. They can affect a large number of people.

Forms of cyber terrorism

(I) Privacy violation: Law of privacy is the recognition of the individual’s right to be let alone and to have his personal space inviolate. The right to privacy as an independent and distinctive concept originated in the field of Tort law, under which a new cause of action for damages resulting from unlawful invasion of privacy was recognized.

(II) Secret information appropriation and data theft: The information technology can be misused for appropriating the valuable Government secrets and data of private individuals and the Government and its agencies.

(III) Demolition of e-governance base: The aim of e-governance is to make the interaction of the citizens with the government offices hassle free and to share information in a free and transparent manner. It further makes the right to information a meaningful reality. In a democracy, people govern themselves and they cannot govern themselves properly unless they are aware of social, political, economic and other issues confronting them. This, right to receive information is, however, not absolute but is subject to reasonable restrictions which may be imposed by the Government in public interest.

(IV) Distributed denial of services attack: The cyber terrorists may also use the method of distributed denial of services (DDOS) to overburden the Government and its agencies electronic bases. This is made possible by first infecting several unprotected computers by way of virus attacks and then taking control of them. Once control is obtained, they can be manipulated from any locality by the terrorists. These infected computers are then made to send information or demand in such a large number that the server of the victim collapses.

(V) Network damage and disruptions: The main aim of cyber terrorist activities is to cause networks damage and their disruptions. This activity may divert the attention of the security agencies for the time being thus giving the terrorists extra time and makes their task comparatively easier. This process may involve a combination of computer tampering, virus attacks, hacking, etc. The intention of a cyber terrorism attack could range from economic disruption through the interruption of financial networks and systems or used in support of a physical attack to cause further confusion and possible delays in proper response.

Effects of Cyber Terrorism on economic & social life

Direct Cost Implications

• Loss of sales during the disruption
• Staff time, network delays, intermittent access for business users
• Increased insurance costs due to litigation
• Loss of intellectual property – research, pricing, etc.
• Costs of forensics for recovery and litigation
• Loss of critical communications in time of emergency.

Indirect Cost Implications

• Loss of confidence and credibility in our financial systems
• Tarnished relationships& public image globally
• Strained business partner relationships – domestic and internationally
• Loss of future customer revenues for an individual or group of companies
• Loss of trust in the government and computer industry


The following are notable incidents of cyber terrorism:

• In 1998, ethnic Tamil guerrillas swamped Sri Lankan embassies with 800 e-mails a day over a two-week period. The messages read “We are the Internet Black Tigers and we’re doing this to disrupt your communications.” Intelligence authorities characterized it as the first known attack by terrorists against a country’s computer systems.

• During the Kosovo conflict in 1999, NATO computers were blasted with e-mail bombs and hit with denial-of-service attacks by hacktivists protesting the NATO bombings. In addition, businesses, public organizations, and academic institutes received highly politicized virus-laden e-mails from a range of Eastern European countries, according to reports. Web defacements were also common.

• Since December 1997, the Electronic Disturbance Theater (EDT) has been conducting Web sit-ins against various sites in support of the Mexican Zapatistas. At a designated time, thousands of protestors point their browsers to a target site using software that floods the target with rapid and repeated download requests. EDT’s software has also been used by animal rights groups against organizations said to abuse animals. Electrohippies, another group of hacktivists, conducted Web sit-ins against the WTO when they met in Seattle in late 1999.

The Interpol, with its 178 member countries, is doing a great job in fighting against cyber terrorism. They are helping all the member countries and training their personnel. The Council of Europe Convention on Cyber Crime, which is the first international treaty for fighting against computer crime, is the result of 4 years work by experts from the 45 member and non-member countries including Japan, USA, and Canada. This treaty has already enforced after its ratification by Lithuania on 21st of March 2004. The Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) has set plans for sharing information on computer security. They are going to create a regional cyber-crime unit by the year 2005.

The protection of I.T.A can be claimed for:

a) Preventing privacy violations,
(b) Preventing information and data theft,
(c) Preventing distributed denial of services attack (DDOS), and
(d) Preventing network damage and destruction.

Here are few key things to remember to protect from cyber-terrorism:

1. All accounts should have passwords and the passwords should be unusual, difficult to guess.
2. Change the network configuration when defects become know.
3. Check with venders for upgrades and patches.
4. Audit systems and check logs to help in detecting and tracing an intruder.
5. If you are ever unsure about the safety of a site, or receive suspicious email from an unknown address, don’t access it. It could be trouble.

The problems associated with the use of malware are not peculiar to any particular country as the menace is global in nature. The countries all over the world are facing this problem and are trying their level best to eliminate this problem. The problem, however, cannot be effectively curbed unless popular public support and a vigilant judiciary back it. The legislature cannot enact a law against the general public opinion of the nation at large. Thus, first a public support has to be obtained not only at the national level but at the international level as well. The people all over the world are not against the enactment of statutes curbing the use of malware, but they are conscious about their legitimate rights. Thus, the law to be enacted by the legislature must take care of public interest on a priority basis. This can be achieved if a suitable technology is supported by an apt legislation, which can exclusively take care of the menace created by the computers sending the malware. Thus, the self-help measures recognized by the legislature should not be disproportionate and excessive than the threat received by the malware. Further, while using such self-help measures the property and rights of the general public should not be affected.

Referred Works

1. Praveen Dalal, Cybercrime and cyberterrorism: Preventive defense for cyberspace violations

2. Praveen Dalal, Private defence in cyberspace

3. Wikipedia, Cyberterrorism

4. Praveen Dalal, Techno-Legal Compliance In India: An Essential Requirement

India Caught On The Wrong Foot Of Cyber Anarchy

This work is analysing the strategic and policy lacunas of Indian Government in the fields of Cyber Law, Cyber Security, Cyber Forensics, etc. As a result India has not only become a safe heaven for cyber criminals but also a “soft target” for hackers and cyber war criminals worldwide. A dominant majority of work, suggestions and recommendations in these crucial directions have been done/provided by Mr. Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India. This work is summarising his suggestions and recommendations (with his approval) and we hope the Government of India in general and the Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh in particular would consider and act upon these suggestions.

Cyber law enforcement and regulation passing through a bad phase in India. It is evident from the recent attack by the Chinese Hackers to the computers in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The sinister attempt was made around December 15 last year. Investigators are still coming to terms with the depth of the damage. There is hardly any conviction of cyber criminals in India. On the one hand India has bad and weak cyber law whereas on the other hand law enforcement is hardly aware about the basics of cyber law and cyber forensics. India has become a safe heaven for cyber criminals. The hackers had aimed high - their targets were the cream of India's national security set-up: National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar, PM's Special Envoy Shyam Saran and Deputy National Security Advisor Shekhar Dutt. The four and up to 26 others were squarely in the crosshairs of the hacking attempt.

A top PMO official, whose e-mail account was cracked by the Chinese hackers, confirmed the espionage bid, saying: These kind of hacking attempts are made. To think they are not made is wrong. The internet or intranet is not used for official purposes. As per the India Today, According to Bharat Karnad, a strategic affairs analyst, "China wants war by all means. It doesn't believe in peacetime. For China, it's always rivals, always competition." R.S.N. Singh, a former RAW officer, says: "China wants to dominate and control this space. This cyber army has soldiers not in uniform but anybody and everybody, maybe college students. It's very serious as cyber warfare can bring a country to a crippling halt."

The timing of the espionage attempt has investigators suspecting that the Chinese hackers were desperately trying to access any data on India's position at the Copenhagen Climate Summit. Until Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Copenhagen on December 17, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and PM's Special Envoy Shyam Saran were singing different tunes. While Ramesh was in favour of scrapping the Kyoto Protocol, Saran was against the move. On December 15 when India's final stand was still shrouded in mystery, the Chinese hackers targeted the PMO computers.

But what has disturbed investigators the most is that the Chinese hackers quite likely had inside help. The possibility of a mole within the Indian establishment helping a foreign adversary is staring investigators in the face. And the technology being used is preoccupying the Indian sleuths no end. The espionage attempt was highly evolved and well-researched. The mail was routed through several multi-proxy servers thus obliterating the trail. The hacking spyware itself was embedded in a PDF document. And the trojan was programmed to carry out an array of functions, including downloading files, accessing emails and passwords and also accessing the desktop from a remote location.

The police officers, lawyers and judges must be trained in cyber law aspects so that cyber criminals may be suitably punished. In the absence of proper training, there is almost no conviction of cyber criminals in India. To fight the cyber crimes the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) Project has been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Govt. of India. It has a financial cushion of Rs.2000 Crores as per the 11th Five Year Plan. The Project would be initiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs and implemented by the National Crime Records Bureau. The CCTNS project is to be implemented in a manner where the major role would lie with the State Governments in order to bring in the requisite stakes, ownership and commitment, and only certain core components would be in the hands of the Central Government, apart from the required review and monitoring of project implementation on a continuing basis.

The broad objectives of the CCTNS project are streamlining investigation and prosecution processes, strengthening of intelligence gathering machinery, improved public delivery system and citizen-friendly interface, nationwide sharing of information across on crime and criminals and improving efficiency and effectiveness of police functioning. The Project aims to fulfill various specified objectives over a period of three years. cases registered at Police Stations; obtaining copies of FIRs, post-mortem reports and other permissible documents etc. An indicative list of e-services expected from CCTNS to citizens would be filing of complaints / information to concerned Police Station; obtaining status of complaints.

The information technology is a double edge sword, which can be used for destructive as well as constructive work. For instance, a malicious intention forwarded in the form of hacking, data theft, virus attack, etc can bring only destructive results unless and until these methods have been used for checking the authenticity, safety and security of the technological device which has been primarily relied upon and trusted for providing the security to a particular organisation.

In fact, a society without protection in the form of "self help" cannot be visualised in the present electronic era. Thus, we must concentrate upon securing our ICT and e-governance bases before we start encashing their benefits. The same can be effectively achieved if we give due importance to this fact while discussing, drafting and adopting policies decisions pertaining to ICT in general and e-governance in particular. The same is also important for an effective e-commerce base and an insecure and unsafe ICT base can be the biggest discouraging factor for a flourishing e-commerce business. The factors relevant for this situation are too numerous to be discussed in a single work. Thus, it would be better if we concentrate on each factor in a separate but coherent and holistic manner. The need of the hour is to set priority for a secure and safe electronic environment so that its benefits can be reaped to the maximum possible extent.

The ubiquitous use of computers and other electronic devices is creating a rapidly rising wave of new and stored digital information. The massive proliferation of data creates ever-expanding digital information risks for organizations and individuals. Electronic information is easy to create, inexpensive to store, and virtually effortless to replicate. As a result, increasingly vast quantities of digital information reside on mass storage devices located within and without corporate information systems. Information risks associated with this data are many. For example, electronic data can often show — with a high degree of reliability — who said, knew, took, shared, had and did what, and who else might be involved in the saying, knowing, taking, sharing, having, and doing. For the corporation, the free flow of digital information means that the backdoor is potentially always open to loss.

It is best to state up-front that the emphasis in any cyber forensic examination must be on the forensic element, and it is vital to understand that forensic computing, cyber forensics, or computer forensics is not solely about computers. It is about rules of evidence, legal processes, the integrity and continuity of evidence, the clear and concise reporting of factual information to a court of law, and the provision of expert opinion concerning the provenance of that evidence: Companies are very concerned about the notion that anything they write electronically can be used again at any time. If you have to discipline yourself to think, "can this be misconstrued?" that greatly hampers your ability to communicate and introduces a huge level of inefficiency.

One such improvement that is urgently required to be adopted, implemented and inculcated by the Judges of District Courts, High Courts and Supreme Court of India pertains to Techno-Legal acumen and knowledge. Techno-Legal acumen is difficult to acquire as it requires a sound working and practical knowledge of both technical as well as legal aspect of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related aspects. Issues like Cyber Law, International Telecommunications Laws, Cyber Forensics, Digital Evidencing, Cyber Security, etc pose difficult and sometimes non-understandable legal issues before the Courts. The Judges in India must fill in this much needed and unnoticed legal gap that has not yet been explored by them.

The establishment of E-Courts in India requires certain prerequisites. These are: E-Courts Policy, Data Keeping, and Payment Gateway. Simplicity And User Friendly Connectivity, Scope, Authentication, Integrity, Security. However, if the courts have to keep in step and play their part in restoring public confidence in the legal system then they must find new ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. Information and Communication technology (ICT) can be a panacea for the dying judicial system of India. We can effectively use ICT for establishment of E-Courts in India so that E-Judiciary in India can be a reality. However, the task is really difficult to achieve because of lack of expertise and absence of time bound performance. Every year in the month of February, the tenure of E-Courts Committee is extended for another year. This shows there is a lack of Political Will to achieve the task as merely extending time for another year without performance report and accountability is just a pretext to avoid the ultimate accomplishment, i.e. establishment of E-Courts in India.

The fact remains that despite all glamorous conferences and public announcements, we do not have even a single E-Court in India and there is not even a single case that has been filed, contested and finally adjudicated through an E-Court System in India. Where those claimed E-Courts are and what cases they had adjudicated is still a big mystery. It seems India is just making press statements years after years and courts after courts about establishment of E-Courts in India without actually establishing and operationalising them. The task of their establishment and operationalising cannot be accomplished till we honestly and dedicatedly try to achieve the same. Till now India is just adopting the half hearted efforts and evasive approach.

The Cyber Forensics has given new dimensions to the Criminal laws, especially the Evidence law. Electronic evidence and their collection and presentation have posed a challenge to the investigation agencies, prosecution agencies and judiciary. The scope of Cyber Forensics is no more confined to the investigation regime only but is expanding to other segments of justice administration system as well. The justice delivery system cannot afford to take the IT revolution lightly. The significance of cyber forensics emanates from this interface of justice delivery system with the Information Technology.

Evidence must be gathered by law enforcement in accordance with court guidelines governing search and seizure. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Computer crime is escalating.

The growing use of IT has posed certain challenges before the justice delivery system that have to be met keeping in mind the contemporary IT revolution. The contemporary need of Cyber Forensics is essential for the following reasons: The traditional methods are inadequate: The law may be categorised as substantive and procedural. The substantive law fixes the liability whereas the procedural law provides the means and methods by which the substantive liability has to contended, analysed and proved. The procedural aspects providing for the guilt establishment provisions were always there but their interface with the IT has almost created a deadlock in investigative and adjudicative mechanisms. The challenges posed by IT are peculiar to contemporary society and so must be their solution. The traditional procedural mechanisms, including forensic science methods, are neither applicable nor appropriate for this situation. Thus, "cyber forensics" is the need of the hour. India is the 12th country in the world that has its own "Cyber law" (IT Act, 2000). However, most of the people of India, including lawyers, judges, professors, etc, are not aware about its existence and use. The traditional forensic methods like finger impressions, DNA testing, blood and other tests, etc play a limited role in this arena.

The changing face of crimes and criminals: The use of Internet has changed the entire platform of crime, criminal and their prosecution. This process involves crimes like hacking, pornography, privacy violations, spamming, phishing, pharming, identity theft, cyber terrorisms, etc. The modus operendi is different that makes it very difficult to trace the culprits. This is because of the anonymous nature of Internet. Besides, certain sites are available that provides sufficient technological measures to maintain secrecy. Similarly, various sites openly provide hacking and other tools to assist commission of various cyber crimes. The Internet is boundary less and that makes the investigation and punishment very difficult. These objects of criminal law will become a distant reality till we have cyber forensics to tackle them.

There is a dire need to compare the traditional crimes and criminals with the crimes and criminal in the IT environment. More specifically, the following must be the parameters of this comparison: Nature of the crime; Manner/Methods of commission of the crime; Purpose of the crime; Players involves in these crimes, etc.

Thus, Cyber Forensics is required to be used by the following players of criminal justice system: Investigation machinery- Statutory as well as non-statutory; Prosecution machinery, and; Adjudication machinery- Judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative; Jurisdictional dilemma: The Internet is not subject to any territorial limits and none can claim any jurisdiction over a particular incidence. Thus, at times there is conflict of laws. The best way is to use the tool of Cyber Forensics as a "preventive measure" rather than using it for "curative purposes.

Cyber Forensics is different from E-Discovery, Digital Recovery or other synonymous terms. Cyber Forensics primarily caters the "Legal Requirements" whereas E-Discovery meets the requirements of private individuals and organizations.

The management of the organisation decides to trace the origin of this breach. After proper analysis they come to know about the source of that breach. Till this stage it is only an E-Discovery. The management can take whatever preventive or remedial measure as it may deem fit.

If the management decides to take a "Legal Action" against the offender, it has to prove the acquired digital evidence before the Court of Law. Mere E-Discovery may not be enough to prove the guilt of the accused as legal requirements regarding evidence and procedural laws must also be complied with. When the E-Discovery is "Law Compliant" it becomes "Cyber Forensics".

Similarly, there are certain laws that require individuals and organisation to exercise "Due Diligence" and "Statutory Compliances". These requirements may fall either in the category of E-Discovery or Cyber Forensics as per the facts and circumstances of each case. The contemporary practice is to perform live analysis to get useful volatile data that is lost the moment a computer is turned off or after the pulling of the plug.

Computer Forensics deals with the preservation, identification, extraction, and documentation of computer evidence. The field is relatively new to the private sector but it has been the mainstay of technology-related investigations and intelligence gathering in law enforcement and military agencies since the mid- 1980s. Like any other forensic science, computer forensics involves the use of sophisticated technology tools and procedures that must be followed to guarantee the accuracy of the preservation of evidence and the accuracy of results concerning computer evidence processing.

It is extremely important to realize that evidence must have been gathered and that computer-generated evidence is considered "hearsay" with some exclusion. Depending on your role or responsibility in the computer forensics investigation, you may be subject to differing sets of rules and regulations. Internal investigators. Typically, computer forensic tools exist in the form of computer software.

Computer forensic specialists guarantee accuracy of evidence processing results through the use of time-tested evidence processing procedures and through the use of multiple software tools, developed by separate and independent developers. The use of different tools that have been developed independently to validate results is important to avoid inaccuracies introduced by potential software design flaws and software bugs. The introduction of the personal computer in 1981 and the resulting popularity came with a mixed blessing. Society in general benefited, but so did criminals using personal computers in the commission of crimes. Today, personal computers are used in every facet of society to create and share messages, compute financial results, transfer funds, purchase stocks, make airline reservations, and access bank accounts and a wealth of worldwide information on essentially any topic. Computer forensics is used to identify evidence when personal computers are used in the commission of crimes or in the abuse of company policies. Computer forensic tools and procedures are also used to identify computer security weaknesses and the leakage of sensitive computer data. In the past, documentary evidence was typically stored on paper and copies were made with carbon paper or photocopy machines.

Most documents are now stored on computer hard disk drives, floppy diskettes, Zip disks, and other forms of removable computer storage media. Computer forensics deals with finding, extracting, and documenting this form of "electronic" documentary evidence. Along the way, prior to formally pursuing a cyber forensics investigation, several important and critical questions must be asked:

The growing use of ICT for administration of all the spheres of our daily life cannot be ignored. Further, we also cannot ignore the need to secure the ICT infrastructures used for meeting these social functions. The threat from "malware" is not only apparent but also very worrisome. There cannot be a single solution to counter such threats. We need a techno-legal "harmonised law". Neither pure law nor pure technology will be of any use. Firstly, a good combination of law and technology must be established and then an effort must be made to harmonise the laws of various countries 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 the global trade in goods and services. The tool of Cyber Forensics, which is not only preventive but also curative, can help a lot in establishing a much needed judicial administration system and security base.

Referred Works

1. Praveen Dalal, Cyber Security In India: An Ignored World

2. Praveen Dalal, Cybercrime and cyberterrorism: Preventive defense for cyberspace violations

3. Praveen Dalal, Cyber Forensics In India

4. Shayam Prasad, Law Enforcement In India Needs Techno-Legal Training

5. Techtalk, Home Ministry Of India Is Taking Wrong Cyber Security Measures

6. Techtalk, Crime and Criminal Tracking Network And Systems Of India

7. Praveen Dalal, TECHNO-LEGAL SUPPORT AND TRAINING FOR CRIME AND CRIMINAL TRACKING NETWORK AND SYSTEMS (CCTNS) PROJECT OF INDIA

8. Praveen Dalal, TECHNO-LEGAL JUDICIAL TRAINING IN INDIA

9. Praveen Dalal, E-COURTS IN INDIA: AN ESSENTIAL JUDICIAL REFORM

10. University of California at Berkeley, School of Information Management and Systems, October 2000, http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/how-much-info/.

11. Designing a Document Strategy: Documents…Technology…People. Craine, K., MC2 Books, 2000.

12. http://www.cyber-forensic-analysis.com/CyberForensicsIndex.pdf

13 Praveen Dalal, "Securing cyberspace by private defence",

14. Praveen Dalal, "ICT strategy in India: The need of rejuvenation.

15 http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/79215/India/Chinese+hackers+target+PMO+computers+.html

16. Tabrez Ahmad, Lessons for India in the Backdrop of Chinese Hackers Attack on PMO

The Irrational Cyber Laws Of The World

The Google’s episode regarding China’s censorship shows the growing hunger of various nations for Internet censorship and e-surveillance. India is no different from China when it comes to “Internet Censorship” and “E-Surveillance”, though the extent and degree may be somewhat lesser. The Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000) is the sole cyber law of India that was amended by the Information Technology Act 2008 (IT Act 2008). From here starts the real problem.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “The IT Act 2008 made India a “Safe Heaven” for cyber criminals on the one hand and an “Endemic E-Surveillance Society” and “Internet Censorship State” on the other hand. It seems the main aim of the proposed IT Act 2008 was to strengthen the “Internet Censorship” and “E-Surveillance Capabilities” of India.

With the passage of IT Act 2008 India has now officially become an endemic e-surveillance society. The amendments have provided unregulated, unconstitutional and arbitrary e-surveillance and Internet censorship powers to Government of India and its agencies and instrumentalities, says Praveen Dalal. The fact is that India has become an E-Police State, states the ICT Trends of India 2009.

Surprisingly, Minister of State for Communication Sachin Pilot believes that Indian cyber law is strong enough to meet the challenges posed by technology-assisted terrorism and cyber-terrorism. It seems he has not gone through the present IT Act 2000 after its 2008 amendments.

Some observers in India have rejoiced the exit of Google from China believing that it may be a good opportunity for India. However, they fail to understand the “ground reality” that India is no different from China when it comes to Internet Censorship and E-Surveillance. If India does not abdicate its alliance to Internet censorship and e-surveillance similar incidence may happen in India as well.

Cyber Security Initiatives Of Home Ministry Of India Are Insufficient

Cyber security in India has always remained an “ignored world” and the same must be strengthened as soon as possible. India is also suffering from the menaces of cyber war and cyber terrorism. Nobody cares about any of these threats in India. In April 2008, Indian intelligence agencies detected Chinese hackers breaking into the computer network of the Ministry of External Affairs. Similarly, for about 3 months the e-mail communications from PMO got affected as the e-mail system was affected by a virus program. With the highest offices of India being so indifferent and adopting wrong cyber security strategies not much can be expected in this crucial direction in future as well.

Recently it was reported that the Chinese intelligence agencies may have planted computer malware and broken into the headquarters of 33 Corps, the army formation looking after most of the north-eastern border with China. The break-in included the planting of trojan viruses which may have given Chinese operatives remote access to the computer network at the 33 Corps headquarters in Sukhna, near Siliguri, West Bengal.

The Union Home Ministry is considering the option to ban the use of Internet by the lower rank staff up to section officers. Many computers of the Home Ministry were found infected with different kinds of computer viruses. However, does this step increase the cyber security of Indian offices?

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “Home Ministry is barking the wrong tree as security through obscurity and non-access in itself and without further steps is a bad choice. The Government of India must concentrate upon “Capacity Development” of not only its employees but also its core Departments and Offices”.

Another crucial aspect related to a secure and strong cyber security in India pertains to critical ICT infrastructure protection in India. Critical infrastructure is becoming increasingly dependent upon ICT these days. If we are unable to secure an ICT system we are also risking critical ICT infrastructure as well, says Praveen Dalal.

Indian government must concentrate upon many crucial aspects of cyber security. The task is difficult and time consuming hence it must start seeking the help of the right and capable manpower as soon as possible.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Indian National Security Needs Information Warfare Capabilities

Information Warfare and Cyber Terrorism are issues that cannot be taken lightly by any country. From these threats emerge the necessity of having a robust cyber security for defense forces in India. These issues are important as they strike at the very root of the critical ICT infrastructure protection in India. However, India is not doing the needful in this regard. Cyber War Capabilities should be an Integral Part of Indian National Defense and Security says India’s leading Techno-Legal Expert Praveen Dalal.

Today countries all over the World are actively engaged in some form or other of Cyber war/Information warfare. For instance, the US Air Force has had Information Warfare Squadrons since the 1980s. In fact, the official mission of the US Air Force is now, "To provide sovereign options for the defense of the United States and its global interests. To fly and fight in Air, Space, and Cyberspace", with the latter referring to its Information Warfare role.

As the Air Force often risks aircraft and aircrews to attack strategic enemy communications targets, remotely disabling such targets using software and other means can provide a safer alternative. In addition, disabling such networks electronically (instead of explosively) also allows them to be quickly re-enabled after the enemy territory is occupied. Similarly, counter information warfare units are employed to deny such capability to the enemy. The first application of these techniques was used against Iraqi communications networks in the first Gulf War.

Also during the 1991 Gulf War, Dutch hackers stole information about U.S. troop movements from U.S. Defense Department computers and tried to sell it to the Iraqis, who thought it was a hoax and turned it down. In January 1999, U.S. Air Intelligence computers were hit by a coordinated attack, part of which appeared to come from Israeli and French hacking. These are some of the examples how Internet is becoming an essential part of modern warfare.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “India needs a sophisticated and robust technological command centre to defend its global network of computer systems. It must develop both offensive and defensive capabilities under one roof. Strategic information and tactical inputs are essential part of modern warfare that can be lost or gained through Cyber war methods”.

There is no doubt that India needs good cyber war capabilities to meet the growing threats of information warfare. It would be a good idea to have a “Centralised ICT Command Center” in this regard as suggested by Perry4Law for intelligence agencies of India.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

India Needs Good Cyber War Capabilities

Cyber War and Cyber Terrorism are matters of grave concern to all countries. Equally important are the issue pertaining to cyber security of defense forces in India. These issues are important as they strike at the very root of the critical ICT infrastructure protection in India. While countries like US and Russia are negotiating to limit the impact of cyber wars, India is not doing the needful in this regard. Cyber War Capabilities should be an Integral Part of Indian National Defense and Security says India’s leading Techno-Legal Expert Praveen Dalal.

The military version of cyber war has the potential to be as serious as a nuclear war in terms of creating chaos. It could crash power and water supplies, as well as trashing the global financial systems and information systems. Russia is in favour of an internet disarmament treaty, but the practical aspects are tougher than nukes ever were.

Malware are posing significant threat to India yet there is no attention towards cyber security in India. For instance, we need express provisions and specified procedures to deal with issues like denial of service (DOS), distributed denial of services (DDOS), bot, botnets, trojans, backdoors, viruses and worms, sniffers, SQL injections, buffer overflows etc. Till now India has done nothing in this crucial direction.

India is also suffering from the menaces of cyber war and cyber terrorism. Nobody cares about any these threats in India. Media reports claim that China’s intensified cyber warfare against India is becoming a serious threat to national security. In October 2007, Chinese hackers defaced over 143 Indian websites.

In April 2008, Indian intelligence agencies detected Chinese hackers breaking into the computer network of the Ministry of External Affairs forcing the government to think about devising a new strategy to fortify the system.

As a countermeasure, the Indian armed forces are trying to enhance their C4ISR capabilities, so that the country can launch its own cyber offensive if the need arises.

Similarly, Pakistan is taking steps to intensify its cyber war propaganda against India with the help of its intelligence outfit, the ISI by carrying reports of alleged communal fissures taking place on the Indian side of Kashmir. Issues like these have to be resolved as well.

India must immediately start working upon the issues like cyber war, cyber terrorism, critical infrastructure protection, etc in the larger national interest and national security.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Supreme Court Of India Must Be More Transparent And Fair

The Supreme Court is Supreme not because it is right but it is right because it is Supreme, says Praveen Dalal. According to him there are very few occasions when the trust and respect for the Indian Judiciary were at its nadir. During the infamous emergency imposition by the Center in the late 70s such public outrage was shown. Presently as well with the corruption in judiciary, slow speed of disposal of cases and adoption of double standards by the judiciary in matters like transparency and right to information, public trust and respect for judiciary has been on the lower side once again. However, the Delhi High Court has shown a great “Judicial Courage” by upholding the values of Constitution of India. It would be ironic if the Supreme Court becomes a “Judge of its own Cause” and negates the entire “Constitutional Philosophy” and “Administrative Law” of India, says Praveen Dalal.

Of late the Delhi High Court has shown tremendous judicial capabilities and strength by upholding the values of Constitution of India (COI). One after another it gave landmark judgments that were expected from the Supreme Court of India. At a time when the trust in the judicial system of India is falling to the lowest level this attitude of the Delhi High Court has emerged as a ray off hope in the dark clouds of judicial incapabilities.

While the District level courts are working more than good Delhi High Court has also joined this race and has become the sentinel of constitutional rights of Indian citizens. However, it cannot substitute the Supreme Court for many reasons. Although Delhi High Court is a court of law and a constitutional court, it has a major limitation. Its jurisdiction is confined to the limits of Delhi alone. On the other hand the Supreme Court of India is a “National Court” having wider powers and supreme authority.

The recent judgement of the Delhi High Court regarding declaration of assets by the Supreme Court is one of the best judgments it has ever given. Unfortunately, the same must have come from the Supreme Court itself. Having failed to do so, the Supreme Court must not now challenge the decision of Delhi High Court to itself in the Supreme Court. It would only undermine the dignity and trust of Supreme Court further. Instead the Supreme Court must now concentrate more upon damage recovery than further aggravating the situation, opined Praveen Dalal.

Time has come when the Supreme Court must change its mindset and attitude and gain more respect and dignity in the eyes of Indians. After all, it must remove the general perception prevalent among the Indian masses that the “Supreme Court is Supreme not because it is right but it is right because it is Supreme”.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Judicial Standards Are Rising Again In India

There are very few occasions when the trust and respect for the Indian Judiciary were at its nadir. During the infamous emergency imposition by the Center such public outrage was shown. Presently as well with the corruption in judiciary, slow speed of disposal of cases and adoption of double standards by the judiciary in matters like transparency and right to information, public trust and respect for judiciary has been on the lower side once again. However, the Delhi High Court has shown a great “Judicial Courage” by upholding the values of Constitution of India, says Praveen Dalal.

In a landmark verdict against the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court today held that the office of the Chief Justice of India comes within the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) law, saying judicial independence is not a judge’s privilege but a responsibility cast upon him.

The 88-page judgement is being seen as a personal setback to CJI K. G. Balakrishnan, who has been opposed to disclosure of information relating to judges under the RTI Act.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice A. P. Shah and Justices Vikramjeet Sen and S. Muralidhar dismissed a plea of the Supreme Court which contended that bringing the CJI’s office within the RTI Act would “hamper” judicial independence.

“The judicial independence is not a privilege to a judge but a responsibility,” the High Court said, adding that the CJI cannot be said to have fiduciary relationship (between a trustee and a beneficiary) with other judges.

Taking a step further to bring transparency in judiciary, the bench while pronouncing the verdict in a packed courtroom, said its judges will be making their assets public within a week.

The CJI has consistently been maintaining that his office does not come within the ambit of the RTI Act and the information including the declaration of assets of its judges cannot be made public under it.

SOURCE: HINDU

Is UIDAI A Privacy Violation And E-Surveillance Instrumentality?

The security and privacy issues of UIDAI have been raised times and again. The real problem seems to be that neither UIDAI nor its functions are legally valid and constitutionally sound. In its present form they are violative of not only the sacrosanct Human Rights but also the Fundamental Rights conferred by the Constitution of India (COI), says Praveen Dalal.

The first and foremost evil of UIDAI without a proper legal framework is that it would violate the “Right to Privacy” as conferred under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is not expressly mentioned in it but the same has been enunciated by way of judicial interpretation by the Supreme Court of India. India is a signatory to the International covenant on civil and political rights, 1966. Article 17 thereof provides for the “right of privacy”. Article 17 of the international covenant does not go contrary to any part of our municipal law. Article 21 has, therefore, to be interpreted in conformity with the international law.

Even the “Data Protection” requirements would pose big challenge before India. The amount of data collected for by UIDAI would be tremendous. Presently, India does not have either a legal framework or technical capabilities to accommodate the demands of the proposed functions of UIDAI.

The main aim of the proposed project by UID Project seems to be to strengthen the “E-Surveillance Capabilities” of India. With the passage of IT Act 2008 India has now officially become an endemic e-surveillance society. The amendments have provided unregulated, unconstitutional and arbitrary e-surveillance powers to Government of India and its agencies and instrumentalities. The fact is that India has become an E-Police State, states the ICT Trends of India 2009.

Privacy rights are valuable and must not be violated by the government under the garb of national security. An important question that has been raised in the past is whether the citizens have a right to self-defense against the State if the latter is violating their rights illegally? Private or self defense is a Human Right, Constitutional Rights as well as Statutory Right. The Indian citizens have a right to exercise self defense even against the State. This is more so in the sphere of ICT where there are least possibilities of human injuries. However the same can be exercised by law abiding citizens alone and criminals cannot claim this Constitutional Protection. The UIDAI Project must keep all these aspects in mind before being finally implemented in India.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Wordpress Must Change Its Policy Regarding Copyright Violations

A recent copyright violation of an article on E-Courts in India by a person named Tabrez Ahmad has resulted in the analysis of copyright protection policy of Wordpress. Similar copyright violation was also notified to Google that duly removed the infringed material from respective Blogs of the infringer. However, Wordpress/ Automattic have failed to do the needful as per the Indian laws like Indian Copyright Act, 1957 and Information Technology Act 2000. This may raise serious legal issues in the near future vis-à-vis copyright violation issues in the cyberspace in India.

Wordpress is a fantastic blogging community. It has, however, a serious problem when it comes to preventing copyright violation of other users. The main problem lies with its “Policy” to deal with such copyright violation notices. Wordpress deals with copyright violation notices through its Digital Millennium Copyright Act Notice (DMCA Notice) page. It requires sending an emailed notice (“Infringement Notice”) providing the information described at the DMCA Notice page.

If Automattic takes action in response to an Infringement Notice, it will make a good faith attempt to contact the party that made such content available by means of the most recent email address, if any, provided by such party to Automattic. The Infringement Notice may also be forwarded to the party that made the content available or to third parties such as ChillingEffects.org.

All Infringement Notices need to be sent to prescribed e-mail as plain text emails without attachments (email attachments are discarded) and include the following or they will be deemed invalid:

(a) An electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorised to act on their behalf,

(b) An identification of the copyright claimed to have been infringed,

(c) A description of the nature and exact location of the infringing content,

(d) The name, address, telephone number and email address of the complainer,

(e) A statement by the complainer that he believe in good faith that the use of the content that he claims to infringe his copyright is not authorised by law or by the copyright owner or such owner’s agent and under penalty of perjury, that all of the information contained in his Infringement Notice is accurate, and that the complainer is either the copyright owner or a person authorised to act on his behalf.

If a DMCA notice is valid, Wordpress/ Automattic is required by law to respond to it by disabling access to the allegedly infringing content. What is frustrating is to know that Wordpress would not do anything even if it is a clear and obvious case of copyright violation. Wordpress must not force the entire population of the World to comply with the conditions of DMCA even if these provisions may not be applicable in a totally different jurisdiction. As per the amended Cyber law of India (through Information Technology Act 2008), an intermediary like Wordpress is liable for due diligence and other cyber crimes/copyright violations if it has actual knowledge. A simple notice is the only requirement under the Indian laws to invoke the jurisdiction of Indian courts.

Since the copyright violator is residing in Indian jurisdiction, Indian courts have jurisdiction to try issues arising out of violation of copyright as well as cyber law of India. There is no need for the Wordpress/ Automattic to insist upon fulfilling DMCA requirements in a very clear and apparent case of copyright violation. It would be interesting to observe how things would develop from this stage.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Police In India Needs Techno-Legal Training

Cyber law enforcement is passing through a bad phase in India. There is hardly any conviction of cyber criminals in India. On the one hand India has bad and weak cyber law whereas on the other hand law enforcement is hardly aware about the basics of cyber law and cyber forensics.

The cyber forensics knowledge level of the police officers in India is much below the required level. On many occasions when the police teams have been asked to confiscate the computer found at the crime scene, they have ended up bringing the monitor only with them. Even they are not aware in which part of the computer does information resides. The police officers of cyber cells of various State police departments are not aware of the basics of computers. During a training session discussing Internet and other basics one of the constables enquired where the Internet building is located.

Recently Director-General of Police (Criminal Investigation Department and Training) D.V. Guruprasad confessed that the police have no clue how to handle cyber crime. In a marketing fraud case, the police had dumped desktops and laptops of the accused in a storeroom without realising they did not have the hard disks in them. When the head constable was asked about the hard disks, he did not know what they were. If this is the situation, there can be no cyber crimes conviction in India. With a weak cyber law, India has already become a safe heaven for cyber criminals, say experts.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “The police officers, lawyers and judges must be trained in “Techno-Legal” aspects so that cyber criminals may be suitably punished. In the absence of proper training, there is almost no conviction of cyber criminals in India”.

Time has come to take help of good techno-legal experts who can train the police officers, lawyers, judges, etc in this regard. Also the Information Technology Act 2000 must be suitable updated to so that it may cease to be a “criminal friendly legislation”.

SOURCE: MERINEWS

Online Exams In India In Legal Tussles

Educational reforms in India are urgently required. However, the progress in this regard is far from satisfactory despite the best efforts of Ministry of Human Resource Development through Union Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal. The position is worst when it comes to online education in India. The educational reforms in India are victim of “Political Nepotism”, say experts like Praveen Dalal. Unless Government of India adopts an open mind approach and utilise the expertise of knowledgeable people, Indian educational reforms would always remain in doldrums.

Educational reforms in India are urgently required to maintain quality of education in India. The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can achieve this arduous task provided we acquire the expertise to use the same.

Online education requires both state of the art technologies as well as effective laws. Even if we have all the favorable condition still there may be technical glitches or legal wrangles. But what would happen if we have inadequate technical capabilities coupled with criminal friendly cyber laws? The net result would be a demise of the e-learning and online education capabilities. The same is happening in India due to myopic insight and criminal friendly nature of government of India. Even the ICT Trends In India 2009 gave a negative report in this regard.

Indian online education system is very bad in shape. On the one hand we lack technical capabilities whereas on the other hand cyber criminals are on a ride without any deterrent law to desist them from attacking the server and other computer resources of educational institutions providing online education and exams facilities. The natural outcome was very obvious, i.e. legal disputes.

A CAT candidate has filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court, asking for the cancellation of the online CAT 2009 and re-introduce the paper-and-pencil format of the exam. The petition states that even though the method of computerised test is claimed to be foolproof, there were several cases of cheating, mismanagement, leaks, rampant reboots, viruses and general all-round mismanagement.

If the GOI still does not wake up, it must forget about attracting foreign universities and their opening of campuses in India. In fact, such foreign universities must not open any centre in India till India is ready, both technically as well as legally.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Law Enforcement And Cyber Forensics Training In India

The cyber forensics knowledge level of the police officers in India is much below the required level. On many occasions when the police teams have been asked to confiscate the computer found at the crime scene, they have ended up bringing the monitor only with them. Even they are not aware in which part of the computer does information resides. The police officers of cyber cells of various State police departments are not aware of the basics of computers. During a training session discussing Internet and other basics one of the constables enquired where the Internet building is located.

Recently Director-General of Police (Criminal Investigation Department and Training) D.V. Guruprasad confessed that the police have no clue how to handle cyber crime. In a marketing fraud case, the police had dumped desktops and laptops of the accused in a storeroom without realising they did not have the hard disks in them. When the head constable was asked about the hard disks, he did not know what they were. If this is the situation, there can be no cyber crimes conviction in India. With a weak cyber law, India has already become a safe heaven for cyber criminals, say experts.

According to Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, “The police officers, lawyers and judges must be trained in “Techno-Legal” aspects so that cyber criminals may be suitably punished. In the absence of proper training, there is almost no conviction of cyber criminals in India”.

Time has come to take help of good techno-legal experts who can train the police officers, lawyers, judges, etc in this regard. Also the Information Technology Act 2000 must be suitable updated to so that it may cease to be a “criminal friendly legislation”.

SOURCE: MYNEWS