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Cyber crimes: Exploring an uncharted territory
Shantanu Jugtawat &Hirdesh Singh*
If he who breaks the law is not punished, he who obeys it is cheated. This, and this alone, is why lawbreakers ought to be punished: to authenticate as good, and to encourage as useful, law-abiding behavior. The aim of criminal law cannot be correction or deterrence; it can only be the maintenance of the legal order-S Thomas

Introduction: -
Rapid development in the field of computer and e-commerce has led to the evolution of new type of crimes. Cyber crimes are not only to be tackled at national level but beyond state boundaries because they have international ramifications. Gravity of the problem can be understood from the fact that these crimes have far greater reach, as they can affect 500 million Internet using people across the globe. The first recorded cyber crime took place in the year 1820. In 1820, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, a textile manufacturer in France, produced the loom. This device allowed the repetition of a series of steps in the weaving of special fabrics. This resulted in a fear amongst Jacquard's employees that their traditional employment and livelihood were being threatened. They committed acts of sabotage to discourage Jacquard from further use of the new technology. This is the first recorded cyber crime.
This paper tries to analyze the different kind of cyber crimes, how these crimes are different from traditional crimes, what are the different problems faced by investigation agencies, what precautionary step can a person take to protect him against these crimes.
There are several cyber crimes which involve criminal activities that are traditional in nature, such as theft, fraud, forgery, defamation and mischief, all of which are subject to the Indian Penal Code.
Defining cyber crimes, as "acts that are punishable by the Information Technology Act" would be unsuitable as the Indian Penal Code also covers many cyber crimes, such as email spoofing and cyber defamation, sending threatening emails etc. A simple yet sturdy definition of cyber crime would be "unlawful acts wherein the computer is either a tool or a target or both, a repository of evidence".


Characteristics of Cyber Crimes:
Ø Remote execution of crime, can be committed in a jurisdiction without being physically present.
Ø Global characteristics.
Ø Stoic Laws.
Ø Technology dependent policing.
Ø Relatively easy to commit.
Ø Require few resources relative to potential for damage.
Ø Their illegality is sometimes not clearly defined.
There are several activities wherein the computer is a tool for an unlawful act. This kind of activity usually involves a modification of a conventional crime by using computers. Some examples are:
Financial crimes
This would include cheating, credit card frauds, money laundering etc. To cite a recent case, a website offered to sell Alphonso mangoes at a throwaway price. Distrusting such a transaction, very few people responded to or supplied the website with their credit card numbers. These people were actually sent the Alphonso mangoes. The word about this website now spread like wildfire. Thousands of people from all over the country responded and ordered mangoes by providing their credit card numbers. The owners of what was later proven to be a bogus website then fled taking the numerous credit card numbers and proceeded to spend huge amounts of money much to the chagrin of the card owners.

Cyber pornography
This would include pornographic websites; pornographic magazines produced using computers (to publish and print the material) and the Internet (to download and transmit pornographic pictures, photos, writings etc). Recent Indian incidents revolving around cyber pornography include the Air Force Balbharati School case. A student of the Air Force Balbharati School, Delhi, was teased by all his classmates for having a pockmarked face. Tired of the cruel jokes, he decided to get back at his tormentors. He scanned photographs of his classmates and teachers, morphed them with nude photographs and put them up on a website that he uploaded on to a free web hosting service. It was only after the father of one of the class girls featured on the website objected and lodged a complaint with the police that any action was taken.
In another incident, in Mumbai a Swiss couple would gather slum children and then would force them to appear for obscene photographs. They would then upload these photographs to websites specially designed for paedophiles. The Mumbai police arrested the couple for pornography.
Cyber Defamation
This occurs when defamation takes place with the help of computers and / or the Internet. E.g. someone publishes defamatory matter about someone on a website or sends e-mails containing defamatory information to all of that person's friends.
In a recent occurrence, a young girl was about to be married. She was really pleased because despite it being an arranged marriage, she had liked the boy. He had seemed to be open-minded and pleasant. Then, one day when she met the boy, he looked worried and even a little upset. He was not really interested in talking to her. When asked he told her that, members of his family had been receiving e-mails that contained malicious things about her character. Some of them spoke of affairs, which she had had in the past. He told her 168 that, his parents were justifiably very upset and were also considering breaking off the engagement. Fortunately, boy was able to prevail upon his parents and the other elders of his house to approach the police instead of blindly believing what was contained in the mails.
During investigation, it was revealed that the person sending those e-mails was none other than girls stepfather. He had sent these e-mails so as to break up the marriage. The girl's marriage would have caused him to lose control of her property of which he was the guardian till she got married.
Another famous case of cyber defamation occurred in America. All friends and relatives of a lady were beset with obscene e-mail messages appearing to originate from her account. These mails were giving the lady in question a bad name among her friends. The lady was an activist against pornography. In reality, a group of people displeased with her views and angry with her for opposing them had decided to get back at her by using such underhanded methods. In addition to sending spoofed obscene e-mails they also put up websites about her, that basically maligned her character and sent e-mails to her family and friends containing matter defaming her.
Cyber Squatting
A new crime has crop up, although the crime emergence is few years back but it came in to limelight recently. The term cyber squat may be defined as:
Cyber squatting occurs when domain names bearing a resemblance to famous trademarks are registered by persons hoping to sell the registration to the corresponding trademark holder. Typically, in such cases, persons who have absolutely nothing to do with the name, virtually pirate the name by obtaining a Second Level Domain registration with the .com Top Level Domain of a well-known company or brand
The term derives from Squatting and refers to the act of reserving a particular internet domain name for the purpose of selling it at higher price later. Common examples of cyber squatting include the reservation of sites that include the names of celebrities or companies.
It would be a futile attempt to encompass the ever-increasing magnitude of cyber-squatting, but a bare reference to a few cases, highlights possible abuse and commercial nuisance generated by cyber squatting: -
Probably the first reported Indian case is Yahoo! Inc. v. Akash Arora wherein the plaintiff, who is the registered owner of the domain name "yahoo.com" succeeded in obtaining an interim order restraining the defendants and agents from dealing in service or goods on the Internet or otherwise under the domain name "yahooindia.com" or any other trademark/ domain name which is deceptively similar to the plaintiff's trademark "Yahoo".
In Rediff Communications LTD, v Cyberbooth plaintiff, the owner of the well-known portal and domain name rediff.com filled for injunction against the defendant, registrant of the domain name "rediff .com". There was a common field of activity and the judge was satisfied that there was a 'clear intention to deceive' and granted interim relief to the plaintiff. The judge stated, "A domain name is more than an Internet address and is entitled to the equal protection of trademark."
Although, as on the date of writing, there are very few reported judgments in our country, newspaper reports and information from reliable sources indicate that there are at least twenty-five disputes pertaining to domain names pending before the Delhi High Court itself.
Cyber squatting is undoubtedly the most contentious issue in cyber law area throughout the world. But wherein lays the solution In India in the absence of requisite cyber laws to prevent cyber squatting, the cases involving cyber squatting is decided under the relevant provision of trademark laws. In UK, if someone has registered a domain name incorporating a trademark, then the domain name holder could be in breach of [8] that states a person infringes a registered trademark if he uses identical or similar to the registered trademark in relation to identical or similar goods or services".
Phishing
In Shakespeare's Othello Iago says: "But he that filches from me my good name/Robs me of that which not enriches him/And makes me poor indeed." Unfortunately, technology and our ever-more-connected society now contradict the first assertion of that statement, because today, stealing another's good name can enrich the thief considerably. Identity theft is the name of the game. If someone can get vital authentication information, that person may be able to access another's bank accounts, charge accounts or credit information
The act of sending e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has. The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the users information .
The word phishing comes from the analogy that Internet scammers are using e-mail lures to fish for passwords and financial data from the sea of Internet users. The term was coined in 1996 by hackers who were stealing AOL Internet accounts by scamming passwords from unsuspecting AOL users. Since hackers have a tendency to replacing "f" with "ph" the term phishing was derived.
In the E-mail "From Field" appears to be from the legitimate company mentioned in the e-mail. It is important to note, however, that it is very simple to change the "from" information in any e-mail client. The e-mail will usually contain logos or images that have been taken from the Web site of the company mentioned in the scam e-mail. The e-mail will contain a clickable link with text suggesting you use the inserted link to validate your information.
The people behind scam E-mails are Internet fraudsters who send spam or pop-up messages to lure personal information (credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, or other sensitive information) from unsuspecting victims.
On Nov. 17, 2003, many eBay Inc. customers received e-mail notifications that their accounts had been compromised and were being restricted. In the message was a hyperlink to what appeared to be an eBay Web page where they could re-register. The top of the page looked just like eBay's home page and incorporated all the eBay internal links. To re-register, the customers were told, they had to provide credit card data, ATM personal identification numbers, Social Security number, date of birth and their mother's maiden name.
The problem was, eBay hadn't sent the original e-mail, and the Web page didn't belong to eBay -- it was a prime example of phishing.
Cyber Stalking
Cyber stalking is when a person is followed and pursued online. Their privacy is invaded, their every move watched. It is a form of harassment, and can disrupt the life of the victim and leave them feeling very afraid and threatened
Stalking or being 'followed' are problems that many people, especially women, are familiar with. Sometimes these problems (harassment & stalking) can occur over the Internet. This is known as cyber stalking. The Internet mirrors the real world. That means it also reflects real life & real people with real problems. Although it is rare, Cyber stalking does occur. Cyber Stalking usually occurs with women, who are stalked by men, or children who are stalked by adult predators or paedophiles. A cyber stalker does not have to leave his home to find, or harass his targets, and has no fear of physical violence since he believes he cannot be physically touched in cyberspace. He maybe may be on the other side of the earth or a neighbour or even a relative! And a stalker could be of either sex.
Typically, the cyber stalker's victim is new on the web, and inexperienced with the rules of netiquette & internet safety. Their main targets are the mostly females, children, emotionally weak or unstable, etc. It is believed that Over 75% of the victims are female, but sometimes men are also stalked. The figures are more on assumed basis and the actual figures can really never be known since most crimes of such natures go unreported.
In India's first case of cyberstalking, Manish Kathuria was recently arrested by the New Delhi Police. He was stalking an Indian lady, Ms Ritu Kohli by illegally chatting on the Web site MIRC using her name. He used obscene and obnoxious language, and distributed her residence telephone number, inviting people to chat with her on the phone. As a result of which, Ritu kept getting obscene calls from everywhere, and people promptly talked dirty with her. In a state of shock, she called the Delhi police and reported the matter. For once, the police department did not waste time swinging into action, traced the culprit and slamed a case under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code for outraging the modesty of Ritu Kohli.

Challenges faced by Investigation Agencies in India:
Ø Law & Order is a state subject and different states have their own laws but police may need to investigate the case in several states or police of different states need to investigate the crime. Effective law enforcement is complicated by inter-state & transnational nature of the cyberspace. Cyber criminals can defy the conventional jurisdictional realm of sovereign nations, originating an attack from any computer in the world, passing it across multiple national boundaries.
Ø As technology is evolving police needs to keep a track of new technologies.
Ø The virtual gateways allow anonymity.
Criminals can hide identity.
Criminal can commit crime without physical presence.
Ø Lack of cooperation from Internet service providers & web portals.
Poor record keeping.
Questionable reliability.
Non-availability of user logs.
Denial of information under secrecy laws.
Ø Non-availability of users details with cyber cafes.
Ø Creation of Emails on free portals.
Ø Owner of computer resources & actual criminal may be different and unrelated.
Ø Traditional crime investigation methods do not work.
Investigation needs to be sequential.
Investigation leaves electronic footprints.
Reliance on forensic evidence critical.
Lack of proper trail.
Ø Logistics
Investigation tools are expensive.
Lack of laboratories.
Due to lack of infrastructure there is delay in investigation.
























Conclusion
Let all the laws be clear, uniform and precise. To interpret laws is almost always to corrupt them
- Voltaire

Reliance on terrestrial laws is an untested approach. Despite the progress being made in many countries, most countries still rely on standard terrestrial law to prosecute cyber crimes. The majority of countries is relying on archaic statutes that predates the birth of cyberspace and have not yet been tested n court.
Law provides for weak penalties in cyber offences this limits the deterrence of the punishment.
Self-protection remains the first line of defense. The general weakness of statutes increases the importance of private sector efforts to develop and adopt strong and efficient technical solutions and management practices for information security.
A global patchwork of laws creates little certainty. Little consensus exists among countries regarding exactly which crimes need to be legislated against. Unless crimes are defined in a similar manner across jurisdictions, coordinated efforts by law enforcement officials to combat cyber crime will be complicated.
A model approach is needed. Most countries, particularly those in the developing world, are computer-related acts in a timely manner in order to promote a secure environment for e-commerce. But few have the legal and technical resources necessary to address the complexities of adapting terrestrial criminal status to cyber space. A coordinated, public-private partnership to produce a model approach can help eliminate the potential danger from the inadvertent creation of cyber crime havens.



Recommendations
The weak state of global legal protections against cyber crimes suggests three kinds of action.
1. Firms should secure their networked information. Laws to enforce property rights work only when property owners take reasonable steps to protect their property in the first place. As one observer has noted, if home owners failed to buy locks for their front doors, should towns solve the problem by passing more laws or hiring more police Even where laws are adequate, firms dependent on network must make their information and systems secure.
2. Government should assure that their laws apply to cyber crimes. National governments remain the dominant authority for regulating criminal behavior in most places in the world. Nations should examine their current laws to discern whether they are composed in a technologically neutral manner that would not exclude the prosecution of cyber criminals. Enactments of enforceable computer crime laws that also respect the rights of individuals are an essential next step in the battle against this emerging threat.
3. Firms, governments and civil society should work co-operatively to strengthen legal frameworks for cyber security.

Article Source: ArticleSoft.com

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References · Cyber crime and punishment Archaic laws threaten global information Report prepared by Mc Connel international-December 2000 · Cyber Criminology: Evolving a novel discipline with a new Journal- K Jaishankar-International journal of cyber criminology · Computer crime investigation in the

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