Cyberlaw in India is not a separate legal framework. Its a combination of Contract, Intellectual property, Data protection, and privacy laws. With the Computer and internet taking over every aspect of our life, there was a need for strong cyber law. Cyber laws supervise the digital circulation of information, software, information security, e-commerce, and monetary transactions.
The Information Technology Act, 2000 addresses the gamut of new-age crimes. Computer technology, mobile devices, software, and the internet are both medium and target of such crimes. All Traditional criminal activities are such as theft, fraud, forgery, defamation, and mischief are part of cyberspace. These were addressed in the Indian Penal Code already.
Different types of cybercrimes have different punishments in India.
When the emphasis was on the need for cyber law or cybersecurity laws, then, it was imperative to implement an IT law in India. Thus, the Information Technology Act, 2000[1], or also known as the Indian Cyber Act or the Internet Law came to force in India. Since the enactment, the Indian Internet Laws were drafted to bring in view all the electronic records and online/electronic activities to legal recognition. The IT Act also addresses the important issues of security, which are critical to the success of electronic transactions. The Internet Laws in India not only validates digital signatures but also provides for how authentication of the documents, which has been accepted and generated by using the digital signatures, can be done.
As IT Act is a cybersecurity law introduced to secure cyberspace, the Information Technology Law was amended under;
The prime focus of cyber law in India is to prevent:
IT Act, 2000 went through amendments[2]in the year 2008. These were made in light of the laws on cybercrime – IT Act, 2000 by way of the IT Act, 2008. They were enforced at the beginning of 2009 to strengthen the cybersecurity laws. Modifications in the Information Technology Act, 2008 included the change in the definition of some terms such as communication devices. The amendment for the definition of communication device was to include:
Section | Offence | Punishment | Bailability and Cognizability |
65 | Tampering with Computer Source Code | Imprisonment up to 3 years or fine up to Rs 2 lakhs | Offence is Bailable, Cognizable and triable by the Court of JMFC. |
66 | Computer Related Offences | Imprisonment up to 3 years or fine up to Rs 5 lakhs | Offence is Bailable, Cognizable and |
66-A | Sending offensive messages through communication service, etc… | Imprisonment up to 3 years and fine | Offence is Bailable, Cognizable and triable by Court of JMFC |
66-B | Dishonestly receiving stolen computer resource or communication device | Imprisonment up to 3 years and/or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh | Offence is Bailable, Cognizable and triable by Court of JMFC |
66-C | Identity Theft | Imprisonment of either description up to 3 years and/or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh | Offence is Bailable, Cognizable and triable by Court of JMFC |
66-D | Cheating by Personation by using computer resource | Imprisonment of either description up to 3 years and /or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh | Offence is Bailable, Cognizable and triable by Court of JMFC |
66-E | Violation of Privacy | Imprisonment up to 3 years and /or fine up to Rs. 2 lakh | Offence is Bailable, Cognizable and triable by Court of JMFC |
66-F | Cyber Terrorism | Imprisonment extend to imprisonment for Life | Offence is Non-Bailable, Cognizable and triable by Court of Sessions |
67 | Publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form | On first Conviction, imprisonment up to 3 years and/or fine up to Rs. 5 lakh On Subsequent Conviction imprisonment up to 5 years and/or fine up to Rs. 10 lakh | Offence is Bailable, Cognizable and triable by Court of JMFC |
67-A | Publishing or transmitting of material containing the sexually explicit act, etc… in electronic form | On first Conviction imprisonment up to 5 years and/or fine up to Rs. 10 lakh On Subsequent Conviction imprisonment up to 7 years and/or fine up to Rs. 10 lakh | Offence is Non-Bailable, Cognizable and triable by Court of JMFC |
67-B | Publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in sexually explicit act etc., in electronic form | On first Conviction imprisonment of either description up to 5 years and/or fine up to Rs. 10 lakh On Subsequent Conviction imprisonment of either description up to 7 years and/or fine up to Rs. 10 lakh | Offence is Non-Bailable, Cognizable and triable by Court of JMFC |
67-C | Intermediary intentionally or knowingly contravening the directions about Preservation and retention of information | Imprisonment up to 3 years and fine | Offence is Bailable, Cognizable. |
68 | Failure to comply with the directions given by Controller | Imprisonment up to 2 years and/or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh | Offence is Bailable, Non-Cognizable. |
69 | Failure to assist the agency referred to in subsection (3) in regard to interception or monitoring or decryption of any information through any computer resource | Imprisonment up to 7 years and fine | Offence is Non-Bailable, Cognizable. |
69-A | Failure of the intermediary to comply with the direction issued for blocking for public access of any information through any computer resource | Imprisonment up to 7 years and fine | Offence is Non-Bailable, Cognizable. |
69-B | Intermediary who intentionally or knowingly contravenes the provisions of sub-section (2) in regard to monitor and collect traffic data or information through any computer resource for cybersecurity | Imprisonment up to 3 years and fine | Offence is Bailable, Cognizable. |
70 | Any person who secures access or attempts to secure access to the protected system in contravention of a provision of Sec. 70 | Imprisonment of either description up to 10 years and fine | Offence is Non-Bailable, Cognizable. |
70-B | Indian Computer Emergency Response Team to serve as a national agency for incident response. Any service provider, intermediaries, data centers, etc., who fails to prove the information called for or comply with the direction issued by the ICERT. | Imprisonment up to 1 year and/or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh | Offence is Bailable, Non-Cognizable |
71 | Misrepresentation to the Controller to the Certifying Authority | Imprisonment up to 2 years and/ or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh. | Offence is Bailable, Non-Cognizable. |
72 | Breach of Confidentiality and privacy | Imprisonment up to 2 years and/or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh. | Offence is Bailable, Non-Cognizable. |
72-A | Disclosure of information in breach of lawful contract | Imprisonment up to 3 years and/or fine up to Rs. 5 lakh. | Offence is Cognizable, Bailable |
73 | Publishing electronic Signature Certificate false in certain particulars | Imprisonment up to 2 years and/or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh | Offence is Bailable, Non-Cognizable. |
74 | Publication for a fraudulent purpose | Imprisonment up to 2 years and/or fine up to Rs. 1 lakh | Offence is Bailable, Non-Cognizable. |
No doubt that the cybersecurity laws or cyber laws in India provide protection from cybercrime. However, prevention is always better than cure. Therefore, one should take the following steps to prevent any cybercrime:
Unsolicited text message – We all get text messages from an unknown number. One should be cautious and try to avoid responding to text messages or automated voice messages from an unknown number.
Downloads on the mobile phone – Download everything on the mobile phone from a trustworthy source only.
Rating and feedback – Always check for the seller’s rating and feedback of customers for the seller. Be sure that you are checking current feedbacks. Also, beware of feedbacks that are 100% seller favoring or have an entry on the same date.
Personal Information Request – Everyone must have received a call or mail. In which, the person on the other side asks for personal information. This includes your card CVV or an mail containing an attachment, which requires you to click on embedded links. Be sure to never respond to such emails or calls.
What is Intellectual Property and how it is protected?
Intellectual Property is the set of intangibles that you thought of, like logos, designs, symbols, taglines, books, slogans, product names, literature or businesses, and is legally protected by you or your company against outside use without permission. There are several cyber laws for the ownership and the right distribution of the Intellectual Property like Copyright, Patents, Trademarks or Service Marks, Trade Secrets, Domain Disputes, Contracts, Privacy, Employment, Defamation, Data Retention, and Jurisdiction.
What are the advantages of Cyber Laws?
What is Intellectual Property and how it is protected?
Intellectual Property is the set of intangibles that you thought of, like logos, designs, symbols, taglines, books, slogans, product names, literature or businesses, and is legally protected by you or your company against outside use without permission. There are several cyber laws for the ownership and the right distribution of the Intellectual Property like Copyright, Patents, Trademarks or Service Marks, Trade Secrets, Domain Disputes, Contracts, Privacy, Employment, Defamation, Data Retention, and Jurisdiction.
What are the advantages of Cyber Laws?