Cybercrime is a heinous crime. As we all know, it is a type of crime that is committed in the cyber world. It is a new type of crime that has expanded its roots expeditiously as the fast development and growth are taking place in new technologies, creating more openings, which give way to new crimes among netizens. Crimes, which before took place in various forms like burglary, rape/sexual assault, and murder or other violent forms of crimes. Is now expanded and includes cybercrime in it. Currently, people are more active socially on online platforms, which also threaten the safety of the public as well as the national and economic security of a country.
The Minister of State has stated that according to recent reports India has witnessed 13.91 lakh cyber security incidents in 2022 for Electronics and Information Technology. It is a warning that highlights the demand for strong cyber security measures needed to cover the emerging potential pitfalls.
The very first incident of cybercrime, which was documented in the year 1973 in the New York. Where a New York bank teller using a computer pilfered over two million dollars. It was the first spam sent through email in 1978. Another very recent case of Julian Assange, who is the founder of the famous website Wikileaks, a dropout of the Ecuador Embassy. She was arrested in London for the leaking and publication of confidential non-public information about the government on her website Wikileaks. They contribute their technical skills to something, which is unlawful.
If there are people committing cybercrime at an international level simultaneously, there are some landmark judgments to show that there are people also committing cybercrime in India. The first cybercrime occurred in the year 1992 when the first polymorphic virus was released. One of the foremost or the first cases of cybercrime was Yahoo v. Akash Arora (1999). In this case, the defendant, Akash Arora, was accused of utilizing or exercising the trademark or domain name ‘yahooindia.com’. A permanent injunction was sought in this case. In another case of Vinod Kaushik and others v. Madhvika Joshi and others (2012). The court held that according to Section 43 of the IT Act, 2000, accessing the e-mail accounts of any person or the spouse and father-in-law without their consent is prohibited under this section. In 2011, a decision was taken in this matter. All of these cases deal with the question of how cybercrime has evolved, with a focus on India.
Data show that in recent times, more than half of India’s crimes committed by fraudsters posing as bank managers and extracting money (phishing) from people, come from a small district of Jharkhand called Jamtara. The Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba referred to it as a cyber-crime hub where the number of arrests in 2017 crossed 100. Mostly the dropout kids of school and college committed similar crimes said by the police, which puts light on the fact that such crimes are not very difficult to commit and can be committed by a person whose education level is at zero or a person with the basic education. However, more than the uneducated, the educated individuals fall into such traps of malignancy despite so many awareness programs held by the government.
Cybercriminals or hackers, commit a majority of cybercrimes in greed of earning more money. Both individuals and organizations are involved in cybercrime. Apart from this, cybercriminals make money, engage in a range of profit-driven criminal acts, including stealing and reselling identities, gaining access to financial accounts, and fraudulently utilizing or exercising credit cards to obtain funds.
Cybercrimes Examples
1. Stolen credit card information
2. Hacking into a Government Website
3. Account Takeover (ATO) Fraud
4. Compromised IoT devices
5. Loss of control and access to one’s private information
6. Phishing campaigns
Types of Cyber Crime
There are different types of cybercrime recorded across the globe, and some of the noteworthy examples are email fraud, social media fraud, banking fraud, ransomware attacks, cyber espionage, identity theft, clickjacking, and spyware. These are some other cybercrimes carried on:
1. Malware
2. Viruses
3. Trojan
4. Worms
5. Phishing
6. DDoS Attack
7. Man-in-the-middle Attack
8. Drive-by Download Attack
Effects of Cybercrime
In accordance with a report from Cybersecurity Ventures, worldwide expenses are predicted to increase by 2025 to $10.5 trillion due to cybercrime. The report also highlights an estimated growth rate of 15% annually for cybercrime in the next five years.
One of the obvious effects of cybercrimes is financial loss, and it can be quite significant. There are also several other disastrous consequences for businesses caused by cybercrimes they are:
1. After security, breach causes a drop in the value of businesses and investor perception can become a huge problem.
2. Increased costs for borrowing and raising more capital in a business can be more challenging after a security breach.
3. Failing to protect customer data can result in penalties and fines, which can result in suing of businesses over data breaches.
4. After a cyberattack on a business, it not only damages a person’s reputation but also is a reason for his loss in the brand identity. Due to this, many customers’trusts in a business decline. It becomes difficult for such a business to continue building up its old connection but also to gain new customers.
5. Direct costs which may also include the cost of hiring cybersecurity companies for remediation, increased insurance premium costs, public relations (PR), and other services that are related to the attack.
Cyber law is a law against cybercrime, which is committed using internet technologies or through online platforms or computers as a tool. Citizens who are using or making online platforms a source to share their private information or pictures or private photos or any account details to any unknown person or a stranger online are regulated or prevented from doing this by cybercrime laws. Cybercrime laws regulate online activities or any electronic exchange of information. It is connected to a large area of online network and legally has access to and use of the internet, online privacy, and freedom of expression.
Cyber laws are also known as Internet law and regulation. The Information Technology Act 2000, is the first law against cybercrime for the first time when the need to establish this law was felt on 17 October 2000. The Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Indian Penal Code, 1860 cover the laws under cybercrime. The main goal of the IT ACT, of 2000 is to safeguard E-Commerce legal protection by making it simple to register real-time records with the government. Cybercrime includes substantive, procedural, and preventive law. Cyberlaw regulates online crimes, digital and electronic signatures, intangible assets, and preserving the privacy of data. Cyberlaw is mostly used in cases of Fraud, Copyright, Defamation, Harassment and Stalking, Freedom of Speech, Trade secrets, Contracts, and Employment.
China was the first country who launches the first cyber court specializing in internet-related cases. In India, the first police station for cybercrime was inaugurated in Bengaluru in Karnataka in the year 2001. India’s first case of cyber defamation was held in a Court in Delhi. The Delhi Court assumed jurisdiction over a matter where a corporation’s reputation was being defamed through emails and passed an important ex-parte injunction.
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