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.

Private Defense Against Indian E-Surveillance State

By

Ram K Kaushik

Privacy rights were never considered seriously by India. Indian government instead of enacting suitable privacy legislations for India preferred exactly the opposite by making India an e-police State. India achieved this unconstitutional objective through the instrumentality of information technology amendment act 2008 that coffered upon it unfettered, unreasonable, unregulated and unconstitutional e-surveillance powers. Through this amendment the sole cyber law of India was not only made criminal friendly but also a tool of e-surveillance in India.

Realising that India would remain committed to its endemic e-surveillance status and priorities; Praveen Dalal launched a platform for human rights protection in cyberspace in India. It is the exclusive platform of its type not only in India but also world wide. It provides legal and constitutional techno-legal methods and defenses against an over zealous and endemic e-surveillance Indian State. It also provides a methodology where a law abiding citizen or organisation can exercise “private defense” against State for violation of their human rights. The fears and basis of launching this platform have proved to be correct by the recent developments of human rights violations by Indian State through phone tapping and otherwise.

India has also launched some more serious and fatal e-surveillance projects since the abovementioned initiative by Praveen Dalal was launched in 2009. For instance projects like Natgrid, Aadhar, CCTNS, etc have apparent and certain privacy violation and other human rights violations potential. To meet the growing threats from these initiatives of Indian government, Praveen Dalal has launched once again another platform named as civil liberties protection in cyberspace. This is broader in nature and capable of providing a long term and more robust protection against growing e-surveillance activities of Indian government.

If you are a law abiding citizen and you face a situation where you are a victim of illegal and unconstitutional e-surveillance by Indian authorities, try the tools and methodologies mentioned at these platforms. However, Indian authorities are well within their rights to use e-surveillance for legitimate and legal purposes and in such a situation do not even think about using private defense against them, warn Praveen Dalal.

SOURCE: CIO

The Irregularities Of Aadhar Project Of India

By
Ram K Kaushik

The UID project of India was started by the government of India with great disregard to the parliamentary democracy and constitution of India. Objecting to the same Praveen Dalal launched the Aadhar watch initiative of India that has been analysing the grey areas of aadhar project of India.

Although others have also joined in this fight of illegal functioning of aadhar project of India yet the aadhar watch initiative is different from those protests.

Firstly, it is not against the very concept of aadhar project of India. All it is doing is analysing the lacunas from which the aadhar project is suffering and is expecting that the government of India in general and UIDAI in particular would rectify the irregularities of the aadhar project before proceeding further.

Secondly, it is also the exclusive initiative of India that is analysing both micro and macro aspect of aadhar project in the most holistic manner. Surprisingly, Mr. Nandan Nilekani has still not though it fit to consider the serious ramifications mentioned at this initiative. He has not yet understood that the objections mentioned at the platform would arise in any case and may stall the aadhar project just like the Natgrid project.

It would be a good idea to consider the suggestions of Praveen Dalal for various techno-legal aspects of aadhar project. After all if the very foundation of aadhar project is based upon irregularities, it is bound to face difficulties in future. The starting point should be to remove various deficiencies and than proceed further, suggests Praveen Dalal.

SOURCE: CIO

Cyber Forensics Career Making And Training In India

Cyber forensics can be defined as the process of extracting information and data from computer storage media and guaranteeing its accuracy and reliability. The challenge of course is actually finding this data, collecting it, preserving it, and presenting it in a manner acceptable in a court of law.

Status In India

According to Praveen Dalal, the Leading Techno-Legal ICT, Cyber Law, Cyber Security and Cyber Forensics Specialist of India, “Computer Forensics or Cyber Forensics in India has started gaining importance out of the necessity to deal with modern cyber crimes. Though India has taken some steps in the direction of enacting Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related law in the form of Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000), yet by and large it failed to provide a sound and secure law in this crucial direction. The result is too obvious. India has to depend upon foreign experts and institutions/universities even for the task of tracing an offender sending an offensive e-mail”.

Why society needs Cyber Forensics pros

Cyber Forensics is a new and developing field, which can be described as the study of digital evidence resulting from an incidence of crime. The science involves the investigation and a computer to determine the potential of legal evidence. It helps create preventive intelligence and threat monitoring besides post incident investigations.

Live v. Dead Forensics

Cyber Forensics may be live or dead. Traditionally, Cyber Forensics was performed after pulling the plug and then subsequently imaging the media under investigation. 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.

Careers in Cyber Forensics

For those of you, excited by the prospect of investigating cyber crime, tracking criminals, hackers and the like, Cyber Forensics would be the right choice. However, the knowledge areas to be mastered by a trained professional include computer security, crime prevention techniques and understanding the emerging trends in technology abuse in virtual space. This article guides you on the intriguing domain of Cyber Forensics and career options on offer.

Opportunities in Cyber Forensics

A Cyber Forensics professional is required to gather electronic evidence of misuse of computer networks and provide evidence in a court of law to bring the culprits to justice. A Cyber Forensics pro is sought by both public as well as private sector. In the public sector, people are mostly absorbed in law enforcement agencies like cyber crime cells, state forensics departments and central agencies like the CBI. In the private sector, it's the information that is of paramount importance for the enterprises, and so they require professionals to safeguard their data from being stolen and misused and also preserve them from hackers. Additionally, there are specialist companies that work on ethical hacking, Cyber Forensics and IT security. A budding Cyber Forensics expert can start his career as a cyber analyst or engineer for an enterprise after gaining experience and domain knowledge can proceed to niche areas in Cyber Forensics. Also, professionals can divert to freelancing and become independent security consultants.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Cyber Laws Are Urgently Required To be Strengthened In India

Cyber security is a big challenge for India. The government of India is not only unaware about the basics of cyber security but is also adamant about not bringing suitable changes. Whatever positive development that has taken place in India pertaining to cyber law, cyber security and cyber forensics can be attributed primarily to Mr. Praveen Dalal and Managing Partner of Perry4Law.

The government of India has recently come up with the proposed information technology amendment Act, 2008 that was passed by both rajya sabha and lok sabha without even a discussion or debate. It is only after the strong protest by Perry4Law and Mr. Praveen Dalal that the government is now considering to review its decision before finally coming out with the amended information technology act, 2000. Let us hope the government would seek the expert advice and suggestions of cyber law experts like Mr. Praveen Dalal before finally coming out with the act.

An interesting development that has taken place after the proposed IT Amendment Bill, 2008 is that ASSOCHAM and some others cyber law observers have endorsed and accepted the views and stand of Perry4Law and Mr. Praveen Dalal. They are also insisting upon including provisions for a strong cyber law and effective cyber security in the ultimate IT Act, 2000. It is good to see that even the Indian Judiciary and Supreme Court of India have now endorsed the opinion and vies of Mr. Praveen Dalal and Perry4Law

The rajya sabha and lok sabha have acted not only hastily but also irresponsibly while passing the IT Act Amendment Act, 2008. Surprisingly, till now the amended bill has not been notified by the government of India. It seems the government is not serious about bringing suitable changes in the IT Act, 2000 either due to absence of expertise or due to political reasons. Whatever the reasons may be but the government has no choice but to bell the cat now.

India must appreciate that for a safe and secure cyberspace, we need a good legal framework. The present IT Act, 2000 is a piece make legislation that is weak on the fronts of cyber law, cyber security, cyber forensics, etc. In the absence of a sound legal framework for the ICT systems in India,

Similarly, other e-governance projects of government are also in poor state. As each component of e-governance is related to some other one, a deficiency in the basic legal and technological framework would bring sad results for India. It is high time for India to do some good work in the fields of cyber law, cyber security and cyber forensics.

SOURCE: CLAIRE35

India Is Heading Towards The Cyber Crime Nation Of The World

Thanks to the weakest cyber law of the world, India is heading towards becoming the cyber crime nation of the world. This is not the first time that similar concerns have been raised. Previously, Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law, the leading techno-legal ICT law firm of India has cautioned that India is not only suffering from malware attacks but is also emerging as the focal point for cyber crime activities.

India is fast emerging as a major hub of cybercrime as recession is driving computer-literate criminals to electronic scams, claimed a study by researchers at the University of Brighton.

Titled 'Crime Online: Cybercrime and Illegal Innovation', the study states that cybercrime in India, China, Russia and Brazil is a cause of "particular concern" and that there has been a "leap in cybercrime" in India in recent years, partly fuelled by the large number of call centres.

"One recent report ranked India in 2008 as the fourteenth country in the world hosting phishing websites. Additionally, the booming of call centres in India has generated a niche for cybercriminal activity in harvesting data", the report maintained.

It is sad that India is doing nothing to improve this position. There is an emergent need to reformulate Indian cyber laws like IT act, 2000 and make them more stringent and effective.

E-Commerce Law Of India Needs Urgent Amendment

E-commerce law in India is primitive says Praveen Dalal, India’s leading techno-legal expert. He has also suggested for enacting suitable cyber law, e-commerce law, e-governance law, etc to Union Minister for Law M Veerappa Moily.

E-commerce is in its preliminary stage in India. It has lots of potential but a weak and inadequate technology law regime is not allowing it to reap maximum benefits. If the government of India makes suitable laws, e-commerce can mature into a profitable industry in India.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Legal Enablement Of ICT Systems In India Is Urgently Required

Legal enablement of ICT systems in India requires a futuristic approach that can be achieved by acquiring techno-legal insight by the law makers. The most important requirement for achieving the same is an awareness and acceptance of the benefits of ICT by the policy and law makers in India. The “political will” is required to ensure a timely and appropriate legal enablement of ICT systems in India. There is also a requirement to reduce the wide existing corruption, lack of transparency and accountability, bureaucratic hurdles, etc in India. These vices are eliminating the chances of India becoming an ICT super power.

India needs good e-governance models, sound cyber law, effective cyber security, cyber forensics capabilities, etc to achieve the task of legal enablement of ICT systems. The industrial lobbying and vested interests have really brought a situation where India has started to fall back upon the ICT developmental path. Various International reports and surveys have shown that India’s e-governance, e-readiness, transparency, privacy rights, data protection, etc have deteriorated further.

AUTHOR: MR. PRAVEEN DALAL

SOURCE: ITVOIR

The ICT Development Index 2009 Of ITU: Measuring The Information Society Of India

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has recently released its ICT Development Index of 2009. India has more or less maintained its position in the index, ranking 118th in 2007 (in 2002, it was 117th). While it has somewhat improved on the access sub-index (for example, mobile cellular penetration has increased sharply, from 1 to 20 per cent), it still has very limited bandwidth per Internet user, and low home computer and Internet penetration rates. Mobile broadband was virtually non-existent in 2007, and fixed broadband use was very limited. On the skills sub-index, however, India has increased all indicator values.

AUTHOR: MR. PRAVEEN DALAL

SOURCE: ITVOIR