Cyber Law Information Technology Act 2000 & 2008

CYBER LAW

Introduction

“The modern thief can steal more with a computer than with a gun. Tomorrow's terrorist may be able to do more damage with a keyboard than with a bomb."

• Cyber law is the law governing cyber space.
• Cyber space includes computers, networks, software’s, data storage devices ,The Internet, websites, e-mail and even electronic devices such as cell phone, ATM machine, etc.
• It is related to legal informatics and supervised the digital circulation of information, software information security at e-commerce.

Cyber law of India encompasses law relating to:-

• Cybercrime
• Electronic and digital signature
• Intellectual property
• Data protection and privacy

Importance of Cyber law

• It covers all transactions over Internet.
• It keeps eye on activities over Internet.
• It touches every action and every reaction in cyberspace.

Advantages of Cyber Law

• Organizations are able to carry out e-commerce.
• Digital signatures have been given legal validity and sanction in the act.
• Allows government to issue modification on the web, thus heralding ecommerce.
• It addresses the important issues of security which are so critical to the success of electronic transaction.

IT Act 2000

• Information Technology Act, consists of 94 sections segregated into 13 chapters.
• It came into existence on 17th October 2000.
• India is the 12th nation in the world to enact the cyber law.
• IT Act 2000 is based on UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) model law.
• Primary source of cyber law in India is IT Act 2000 which deals with cyber crime and e-commerce.
• It aims to provide the legal framework to all electronic records.
• It is an act to provide legal recognition for transaction carried out by means of electronic communication, commonly referred to as e-commerce.
• Electronic commerce can now be carried out by persons to whom a ‘Digital Certificate’ is issued.
• Any person to whom such certificate is issued can now authenticate an electronic record by affixing his digital signature to the document.

Objectives of IT 2000

• To provide legal recognition for transactions.
• To facilitate filing of electronic records with the government agencies.
• Promote e-commerce which is an alternate to the paper based method of communication and storage of information.
• To bring suitable amendments to the existing laws in pursuit of the objectives of IT Act.

Important sections of  IT Act 2000

Section 43- Penalty and compensation for damage to computer, computer system, etc.

Section 65- Cyber tampering.

Section 66-Hacking with computer system.

Section 66-A- Punishment for sending offensive message through computer or telecommunication devices.

Section 66 B-Punishment for stolen computers or resources.

Section 66 C-Punishment to identify theft.

Section 66 D-Cyber personation.

Section 66 E- Punishment for violation of privacy.

Section 66 F -Cyber terrorism.

Section 67- Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.

Section 67 A- Cyber Poronography.

Section 70- Prevents unauthorized or protected system.

Section 73- Penalty for publishing false digital signature certificate.

On March 24th, 2015, Supreme Court deleted the Section 66 A of IT Act.

IT Amendment Act 2008

• IT Act 2008, as a new version of it act 2000
• It contains 124 sections and 14 chapters.
• It was passed by the Indian parliament act in October 2008 and came into force on October 27, 2009.
• Amended act provides focus on information security and administered by Indian computer emergency response team.
• The act was developed to promote the it industry, regulate e-commerce, facilitate e-governance and prevent cyber crime.
• It adds several sections on offense including cyber terrorism and data protection.
• The act seek to foster security practices within India that would serve the country in a global context.
• The amendment was created to address issues that the original bill failed to cover and to accommodate further developments of it and related security concerns since the original law was passed.

IT Act 2008 has 14 chapters, 124 sections and 2 schedules. the electronic document is scheduled 1 and electronic signature is scheduled 2.

Conclusion

Advancement of technology has undoubtedly brought about numerous benefits, revolutionizing the way we communicate and access information. However, it has also given rise to new challenges, including an increase in cybercrime. So we must protect ourselves from cybercrime, the Internet from being abused and achieved global peace and harmony. So it is essential for individuals, organizations and government to stay informed about emergency threats and employ cyber security measures and collaborate on global scale and implement effective policies.