AN ICEBERG OF HIDDEN CRIME: CYBER CRIME

Anshika

Author of this article is a Law Student, City Academy Law College, Lucknow. 

Living in a technology driven environment makes people susceptible to crimes that take place in the cyberspace which is known as cyber crimes.

Cyber crime in India has been rapidly evolving since the dawn of the technological era. There are many types of cyber crime in India that have already been listed under the Information Technology Act, 2000, suggesting various types of crimes. Also in order to follow the guidelines of cyber crime act in India, in major cities, many cyber crime cells in India have been set up.  

With the advancement of technology, recent cases of cyber crime in India have also increased. Today, many crimes like kidnapping, fraud, hacking, and data theft are being committed with the help of internet. Criminals who perform such activities are often referred to as “hackers”. Many of the cyber crime cases in India are registered under the IT Act. 

Digitalization is unbridled these days and the Internet has made life easier for everybody, with everything just a click away. From white collar crimes to attacks by terrorist organizations, the number of cyber crimes in India has also increased. It has made man dependent on the technology for every little basic need. Today each need is covered online like online shopping, ordering food, online gaming, making payments and etc.

Along with economic losses, cyber crimes also impact public safety- especially for minors and vulnerable sections of the society through incidents of cyber bullying and exploitation. In 2018 alone, India recorded over two thousand cases of cyber crimes related to sexual harassment and exploitation and over 700 cases of cyber bullying against women and minors. A 2018 survey showed that around 63 percent of the Indian respondents seemed to be aware about cyber bullying. Yet a majority of Indians feel that the responsibility for abusive behaviour on social media lies with both the user as well as the social media platform.

One of the biggest obstacles in curbing cyber crimes is the lack of awareness about these crimes among both the general public as well as law enforcement agencies, letting many incidents to go unreported. And even when crimes are reported, the infrastructure and process to tackle such cases are largely inefficient. On the bright side, in 2018 the Indian government launched its National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal for citizens to register their complaints online. Under this initiative, cyber cells in various cities across the country have also been training police and government employees how to handle digital security incidents and increase public awareness at the same time.

CAUSES OF CYBER CRIME

Computers are vulnerable, so laws are required to protect and safeguard them against cyber criminals. Following are the reasons for the vulnerability of computers:

·         Easy to access – The problem behind safeguarding a computer system from unauthorized access is that there are many possibilities of breach due to the complex technology. Hackers can steal access codes, retina images, advanced voice recorders etc. that can easily fool bio-metric systems and bypass firewalls can be utilized to get past many security systems.

·         Capacity to store data in comparatively small space – The computer has the unique characteristic of storing data in a very small space. This makes it a lot easier for people to steal data from any other storage device and use it for their own profit.

·         Complex – The computers run on operating systems and these operating systems are programmed of millions of codes. The human mind is imperfect, so they can do mistakes at any stage. The cyber criminals take advantage of these gaps.

·         Negligence – Negligence is one of the characteristics of human conduct. So, there may be a possibility that protecting the computer system we may make any negligence which provides a cyber-criminal the access and control over the computer system.

·         Loss of Evidence – The data related to the crime can be easily destroyed. So, Loss of evidence has become a very common & obvious problem which paralyzes the system behind the investigation of cyber-crimes.

PREVENTION OF CYBER CRIME

To deal with the situation of cyber crime effectively, one needs to establish multi-dimensional public-private collaborations between law enforcement agencies, the information technology industry, information security organizations, internet companies, and financial institutions. 

Unlike the real world, cyber criminals do not fight one another for supremacy or control. Instead, they work together to improve their skills and even help out each other with new opportunities. Hence, the usual methods of fighting crime cannot be used against cyber crimes in India.

·         Use Strong Passwords: Use the different password and username combinations for different accounts and resist the temptation to write them down.

·         Keep Your social media accounts private: Be sure that you keep your social networking profiles (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) private. Be sure to check your security settings. Be careful of what information you post online. Once it is on the Internet it is there forever.

·         Secure your Mobile Devices: Many people are not aware that their mobile devices are also vulnerable to malicious software, such as computer viruses and hackers. Be sure to download applications only from trusted sources. It is also crucial that you keep your operating system up-to-date. Be sure to install anti-virus software and to use a secure lock screen as well. Otherwise, anyone can access all your personal information on your phone if you misplace it or even set it down for a few moments. Someone could even install malicious software that could track your every movement through your GPS.

·         Protect your data: Protect your data by using encryption for your most sensitive files such financial records and tax returns.

·         Protect your identity online: When it comes to protecting your identity online it is better to be too cautious than not cautious enough. It is critical that you be cautious when giving out personal ID such as your name, address, phone number and/or financial information on the Internet. Be certain to make sure websites are secure when making online purchases, etc. This includes enabling your privacy settings when using/accessing social networking sites.

·         Keep your computer current with the latest patches and updates: One of the best ways to keep attackers away from your computer is to apply patches and other software fixes when they become available. By regularly updating your computer, you block attackers from being able to take advantage of software flaws (vulnerabilities) that they could otherwise use to break into your system.

·         Protect your computer with security software: Several types of security software are necessary for basic online security. Security software essentials include firewall and antivirus programs. A firewall is usually your computer’s first line of defense. It controls who and what can communicate with your computer online. You could think of a firewall as a sort of “policeman” that watches all the data attempting to flow in and out of your computer on the Internet, allowing communications that it knows are safe and blocking “bad” traffic such as attacks from ever reaching your computer. 

Though there are so many legal provisions to protect the cyber crime still effective provisions has to be made and it has to be implemented effectively of cyber crime is not protected at this stage in future no doubt in future it will be really a weapon for the net criminals.