Events & Issues

New Delhi, 22 Mach 2010                  

Cyber Crimes

NEED FOR RELEVANT LAWS

By Prakash Nanda

Information technology (IT) is a double edge sword, which can be used for destructive as well as constructive work. It has now created for the mankind a fifth dimension to land, sea, air and space, though unlike the other four dimensions it is completely man-made and man-controlled. 

We all know how because of the constructive use of IT, India’s profile and wealth has gone up enormously in the world.  But at the same time, and this is the dangerous aspect, India now ranks fifth among countries reporting the maximum number of cyber crimes, if a recent report released by Internet Crime Complaint Centre of the United States is to be believed. In fact, it is said that with India becoming home to the fourth highest number of Internet users in the world, cyber crimes have been rising at more than 50 per cent every year.

That India is undergoing a turbulent phase with regard to cyber crimes 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. The hackers had aimed high then -- 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.

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. It may be noted here that 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. 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.
 
In March 2009, a China-based cyber spy network had hacked into the Government and private systems of 103 countries, including those of many Indian embassies and the Dalai Lama. In May 2008, hackers from China attacked the Ministry of External Affairs’ (MEA) website. Despite official denials, at least one website reported that the hackers had stolen the login identities and passwords of several Indian diplomats. In any case, a huge number of 9,052 Indian websites have been at the mercy of an anti-India community, that too in just last three years. Hackers from across the Indian borders have become the new threat point for the Government.

Of course, cyber attacks from across the border are not new to India. It happened for the first time when during the nuclear tests at Pokhran in 1998, Pakistan hacked into the websites of Zee News and India Today. The Pakistan-based hackers, GForce Pakistan and Pakistani Hackerz Club, owned up the intrusion, leaving threatening messages and demanding a stoppage to the N-Tests. Even after the Parliament attack in December 2001 and later a massive troop standoff between India and Pakistan, several hacking incidents were reported.

It may be noted that the Pakistani hackers targeted the Indian website www.armyinkashmir.com, which was providing factual information about daily events in the Kashmir Valley in 1999. The hackers posted photographs showing the Indian security forces allegedly killing Kashmiri people and blamed the Indian Government for “atrocities” in Kashmir. Obviously, it had the intended impacts in the valley.

In December 2008, the Eastern Railways portal was hacked by Whackerz-Pakistan. The official site www.easternrailway.gov.in bore a strange look. When opened, the top scroll on the site, which normally consists of official announcements, had unusual notes. The first note read: “Cyber war has been declared on Indian cyberspace by Whackerz-Pakistan (24 Dec-2008).” The scene became grimmer after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008.  The Pakistani group, Pakistan Cyber Army, hacked into the websites of the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, the Centre for Transportation Research and Management, the Kendriya Vidyalaya of Ratlam (a chain of schools run by the Indian Army) and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India (ONGC). The damages took a long time to fill.

Even at the individual level, cyber attacks have been on an increase in India.  According to the Delhi police, in 2009 email hacking and the consequent cheating cases went up by 150 per cent. It is said that Nigerian gangs are very active in India, particularly during festive seasons when massive purchases are done through online, thanks to the system of credit cards and online bank accounts.

In India cyber crimes come under both traditional Indian penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act, 2000, which has been amended in 2008.  And here lies the confusion. Since policing is a “State” subject and the complaints have to be lodged with the local police, it all depends under what laws the police registers the cases, and it so happens the Police prefers the age-hold IPC. This is so because the local police is not conversant with the intricacies of the IT Act, which is a central legislation. But once the case is under IPC, then the method of investigation has to be under the guidelines associated with the IPC. And if one goes by that method, it will be extremely difficult to prove the most of the cyber crimes, experts say.  

Even under the IT Act, investigations in India are not that easy. And this is mainly due to the lack of what is called The Cyber Forensics. We know how forensic devices are important in normal criminal investigations to gather evidence to prove in the court. But to prove cyber crimes, electronic evidence and their collection and presentation have posed a challenge to the investigation and prosecution agencies and the judiciary.

Cyber-related Techno-Legal acumen and knowledge is not well-developed in India. As it is, 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. This explains why there is almost no conviction of cyber criminals in India. The Judges in India must fill in this much-needed and unnoticed legal gap that has not yet been explored by them.

In sum, India needs a good combination of law and technology. But it has to be such that this combination is in harmony with the laws of various countries, keeping in mind common security standards. Because, in this era of e-governance and e-commerce a lack of common security standards can create havoc for the global trade in goods and services, not to talk of military matters. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)