Cyber LawAttempting to control crime on the

Internet

Need for Cyber LawComputers are widely used

everywhere for almost everything we do.

Most are connected to the Internet.

The Internet has become very important for individuals and businesses.

There is a lot of scope for anti social activities due to the anonymity and vastness of the Internet.

Types of Cyber Crimes“Because all crimes aren’t the same.”

“If they're going to pirate somebody, we want it to be

us rather than somebody

else.”Jeff Raikes, Microsoft Executive

Where the computer is a toolSpamming

Spamming is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages. Spam in e-mail started to become a problem when the Internet was opened up to the general public. It grew exponentially, and today comprises some 80 to 85% of all the email in the world.Spam is huge strain on networks and bandwidth.

Intellectual Property Theft (Piracy)Downloading and distributing copyrighted material on the internet, including software, music, movies, TV shows, books and documents.Mostly due to high price or unavailability of original material.Results in huge losses for authors and publishers.

Where the computer is a target of criminal activity

Unauthorized Access

Gaining access to a system without proper authorization.

Malicious Code

Injecting malicious software i.e. malware, adware, spyware, trojans, worms, rootkits, keyloggers and viruses into a system with intent to do damage or steal information.

Denial of Service AttacksA denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users.

Where the computer is the place of Criminal Activity

Telecom Fraud (Phreaking)

Simulating a different telephone number for nefarious means using a computer.

CD/DVD Cloning

Mass duplication of illegally obtained software for selling.

Illegal Banking

Using computers to illegally transfer money to banned organizations like terrorists.

Traditional crimes facilitated through the use of computers

Phishing

attempt to steal user information by exploiting gullibility of people.

Identity Theft

Pretending to be someone else for financial or personal gain.

Child Pornography (Pedophilia)

distribution and acquisition of explicit material involving children.

Gamblingproviding avenues for gambling in places where its illegal.

International Cyber Law“Because everyone needs someone to fear”

Cyber Law in the USA Most perpetuated crime is copyright

infringement due to illegal downloading. RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)

and MPAA (Motion Pictures Association of America) have sued many people for illegally obtaining material.

In 2001, Napster.com was shut down after it lost a landmark case, which set the precedent for future cases.

RIAA and MPAA have resorted to bullying people. Some famous cases include a case against a 12 year old girl and a 78 year old lady.

US senate passed the CAN-SPAM act in 2003 which allows legal action against spammers.

Cyber Law in the UK UK Parliament passed the Computer Misuse Act in

1990. Law is much criticized as it fails to distinguish

between petty crimes and serious criminals. Data Protection Act and Fraud Act also passed in

2006 to protect victims. There is no specific body in the UK dealing with

cyber crimes. The police handle cases but they are untrained and understaffed.

In 2003, a 19 year old hacker was tried and released after it was proved his computer had trojans on it. This set a dangerous precedent as its easy to infect a computer and claim innocence.

Cyber Law in Canada Bills were passed in the 2000’s dealing with

identity theft, forgery of credit cards, unauthorized access among other things.

Canada does not have a Online Copyright Protection act yet, but is about to pass a legislation which many have said to be useless and outdated.

In 2000 a Canadian hacker calling himself MafiaBoy launched an attack against Yahoo!, Amazon.com, eBay etc. costing a total of USD $1.2 billion in damages. He was sentenced to 8 months in prison and probation for a year.

Cyber Law in China China is criticized globally for its indiscriminate

censorship of the Internet. Many popular sites like Youtube, Blogspot Blogs,

Livejournal, Wikipedia etc. are blocked in China. Many bloggers have been arrested for protesting

against the government through their blogs. Piracy is rampant in China, because people can’t

afford to buy overpriced software and games. A famous incident in 2006 saw Chinese authorities

seize pirated CDs, DVDs and Books. They then proceeded to lay them down on a road and run a bulldozer on them.

Many video games are banned in China because of their addictive nature which according to the authorities, “inspire laziness in the Chinese youth.”

Cyber Law in other countries Australia passed the Cybercrime Act in 2001 which dealt

with piracy, fraud and other similar cases. Malaysia passed a Computer Crimes Act in 1997. Singapore passed a Computer Misuse Act in 1993. Many countries like Iraq, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia,

Thailand etc., strictly monitor the usage of the Internet and do not hesitate to block websites as and when needed.

The European Union, as a whole is committed to ending copyright infringement. However some countries like Sweden and Latvia have existing laws which go against the EU laws.

Many sites like thepiratebay.org containing copyrighted material are hosted in Sweden, taking advantage of the protection laws.

Convention on Cybercrime The Convention on Cybercrime is the first

international treaty seeking to address cybercrime and Internet crimes by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques and increasing cooperation among nations.

drawn up by the Council of Europe with the active participation of observer states Canada, Japan and USA.

15 countries have signed, ratified and acceded to the convention, while a further 28 countries had signed the convention but not ratified it.

The convention is a standard on which many countries have designed their own cyber laws.

Cyber Law in India“Because we need one too”

This is perfectly legal. We get it directly from the company!

Guy selling Adobe Photoshop for Rs 40 in Palika Bazaar.Adobe Photoshop actually costs Rs 60,000!

Information Technology ActA separate ministry of Information

Technology was formed in 1999.The Information Technology Act was

passed in 2001 by the Indian Parliament.

It mainly deals with companies doing business in India. However most of the companies are still unaware of the strict provisions of the law.

However this law fails to address any of the important areas of cyber crime.

More Laws are Needed India lacks any form of a software copyright law.

Although its illegal to sell and buy pirated CDs and DVDs, it is perfectly legal to download music and movies from the Internet under existing law.

The Indian Police is unequipped to deal with any cyber crimes. Although cyber crimes cells have been set up in major cities most cases remain unreported due to a lack of awareness.

In October 2002, the Delhi High Court restricted a person from selling pirated Microsoft software over an Internet auction site.  But this is a rare case.

Penalties associated with crimes are very scarce. There needs to be more stringent punishment for criminals.

However due to recent terrorist attacks, a need for more cyber laws has been felt and the government is considering various options.

End“Because all things have to”

Cyber crime has now outgrown

illegal drug sales in annual

proceeds.

US Treasury Department,2004