INTRODUCTION TO

CYBER LAW

27/01/2011 1
INTRODUCTION
 Pre 1990: People are not connected

 1990: Connecting People to Information

 2000: Connecting People to People

 2010: Everything is connected

 Technology is growing at lightening speed. While
the technology brings lot of good things, it also
brings equal amount of risks and challenges.

 Every day, we read in the newspapers about the

various cyber crimes, like Credit card cloning,
spoofing, phishing, stalking, etc.

 Some of the youngsters indulge in misusing the

technology and get caught by the Police
Authorities.
 A recent study revealed that 80 percent of the
cyber crimes in the Corporate Houses are
committed by the ‘insiders’.

 More than 95 percent of the cases do not get

reported to the Police Authorities.

 Only 3% of cyber crime complaints filed in

Mumbai are being converted in FIR.
CYBERSPACE
 Cyberspace is the electronic medium of computer
networks, in which online communication takes place.
 It is readily identified with the interconnected
information technology required to achieve the wide
range of system capabilities associated with the
transport of communication and control
products and services.
 Now, the term has become a conventional
means to describe anything associated with
computers, information technology, the
internet and the diverse internet culture.
 Cyberspace includes
◦ The Internet, websites
◦ computers, networks
◦ software, data storage devices, emails
◦ electronic devices (cell phones, ATM machines etc)
 Cyber Law governs cyberspace
 C yb er s p ace is an intangib le and p rovid es
an extreme mobility
 Cyber space offers great economic
efficiency.
◦ Billions of dollars worth of software can be traded over
the Internet without the need for any government
licenses, shipping and handling charges and without
paying any customs duty.
 Cyber space has Complete disrespect for
national boundaries.

◦ A person in India could break into a bank’s electronic

vault hosted on a computer in USA and transfer millions
of Rupees to another bank in Switzerland, all within
minutes. All he would need is a laptop computer and a
cell phone.
 Cyber space is absolutely open to
participation by all.
◦ A ten year-old to an eighty year-old grand mother
without any regard for the distance or the anonymity
between them.
 Cyber space offers enormous potential for
anonymity to its members.
◦ "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" is an
adage which began as the caption of a cartoon by Peter
Steiner published by The New Yorker on July 5, 1993.
◦ The cartoon features two dogs: one sitting on a chair in
front of a computer, speaking the caption to a second
dog sitting on the floor.
◦ http://www.unc.edu/depts/jomc/academics/dri/idog.html
 On the Internet, it is very easier to create several
copies and transmitting the same in different
locations of world in few minutes. For these reasons,
the Internet has been described as “the world’s
biggest copy machine”.
 “It’s the World’s Biggest Copy Machine,” PC week (January 27, 1997).
 The IT Act gives legal recognition to electronic records
and digital and electronic signature.
 Where any law provides that information or any other

matter shall be authenticated by affixing the signature or

any document should be signed or bear the signature of
any person then, notwithstanding anything contained in
such law, such requirement shall be deemed to have been
satisfied, if such information or matter is authenticated by
means of electronic/digital signature affixed in such
manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government.

 Use of Electronic Records and Electronic Signature in

Government and its agencies
Penalty, Compensation
and Offences
 If any person without permission of the owner or
any other person who is in charge of a computer,
computer system or computer network -

◦ (a) to (j)
 Then he shall be liable to pay unlimited
damages to affected the person.

22
If any person, dishonestly or fraudulently, does any
act referred to in section 43,

Punishment: Jailed upto three years and/or fine upto five

lakh rupees.

Dishonestly- the intention of causing wrongful gain to

one person or wrongful loss to another person

Fraudulently – the intention to defraud but not

otherwise
 Access means
 Gaining entry into,
 Instructing with the logical, arithmetical, or
memory function resources of
 Communicating with the logical,
arithmetical, or memory function resources
of a computer, computer system or
computer network
 Examples (instructing or communicating )
 Remotely shutting down computer by sending SMS
 Port scanning??
A port scanner is a software application designed to
probe a server or host for open ports. This is often used
by administrators to verify security policies of
their networks and by attackers to identify running
services on a host with the view to compromise it.
 Section 43 (a) covers access or secures access
◦ Secure means to make certain
 To make certain that access can be achieved as
and when desired by the person seeking to
access.
 Example
 X, network administrator of ABC Limited, stores
passwords of main servers in his personal laptop. Y,
a friend of X, with X permission, access X’s laptop
and note down passwords of main server. Y secured
 Any person knowingly or intentionally
conceals, destroys or alters or
intentionally or knowingly causes
another to conceal, destroy or alter
◦ any computer source code used for a computer,
computer programme, computer system or computer
network, when the computer source code is required
to be kept or maintained by law for the time being in
force,
 Punishment: jailed up to three years and/or fine up to two lakh rupees.
 66 B. Punishment for dishonestly receiving stolen
computer resource or communication device
 66C. Punishment for identity theft
 66D. Punishment for cheating by personation by
using computer resource
 66F. Punishment for cyber terrorism
1. PReSENSE, Issue No 32 – Oct 2008
(http://www.primepointfoundation.org/presense/presense1008.pdf accessed on
27-09-2009)
2. Introduction to Indian Cyber Law, Rohas Nagpal, Asian School of Cyber Laws
(http://www.asianlaws.org/library/cyber-laws/intro-indian-cyber-law.pdf
accessed on 27-09-2009)
3. A False Bargain: The Los Angeles County Economic consequences of counterfeit
Product, prepared by Gregory Freeman, Nancy D Sidhu and Michael Montoya
(February 2007)
4. “It’s the World’s Biggest Copy Machine,” PC week (January 27, 1997).
5. Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you're_a_dog
(Accessed on 15-09-2010)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberspace (Accessed on 15-09-2010)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_scanner (Accessed on 27-01-2011)
8. presentation on Digital DNA & Digital Augmentation (how technology and new
economic force are changing business) by Martin Deinoff
(http://www.slideshare.net/MartinDeinoff/digital-dna-digital-
Thank You

By-
Riddhi Suri
Saakshi Malhotra