What is Cyber Crime Law? A Complete Guide On Cyber Crime Law in India, Classification Of Cyber Crime & How To Register A Cyber Crime Complaint

Cyber Crime

We can define “Cyber Crime” as any malefactor or other offences where electronic communications or information systems, including any device or the Internet or both or more of them are involved.

In simple term we can describe “Cyber Crime” are the offences or crimes that take place over electronic communications or information systems. These types of crimes are basically the illegal activities in which a computer and a network are involved. Due of the development of the internet, the volumes of the cybercrime activities are also increasing because when committing a crime there is no longer a need for the physical presence of the criminal.

The unusual characteristic of cybercrime is that the victim and the offender may never come into direct contact. Cybercriminals often opt to operate from countries with nonexistent or weak cybercrime laws in order to reduce the chances of detection and prosecution.

Classifications of Cyber Crime 

1. Cyber Crime against individuals

Crimes that are committed by the cyber criminals against an individual or a person. A few cyber crime against individuals are:

  •  Email spoofing
  • Spamming
  • Cyber defamation
  •  IRC Crime (Internet Relay Chat)
  • Phishing

Some other cyber crimes against individuals include- Net extortion, Hacking, Indecent exposure, Trafficking, Distribution, Posting, Credit Card, Malicious code etc. The potential harm of such a malefaction to an individual person can scarcely be bigger.

2. Cyber Crime against property

These types of crimes include vandalism of computers, Intellectual (Copyright, patented, trademark etc) Property Crimes, Online Threatening etc. Intellectual property crime includes:

  • Software piracy
  • Copyright infringement
  • Trademark infringement

3. Cyber Crime against organization

Cyber crimes against organization are as follows:

  • Unauthorized changing or deleting of data.
  • Reading or copying of confidential information unauthorizedly, but the data are neither being change nor deleted.
  • DOS attack
  • Email bombing
  • Salami attack
  • Some other cyber crimes against organization include- Logical bomb, Trojan horse, Data diddling etc.

4. Cyber Crime against society

Cyber Crime against society includes:

  •  Forgery
  • Web jacking

 Cyber law

We can define “Cyber law” as the legal issues that are related to utilize of communications technology, concretely “Cyberspace”, i.e. the Internet. It is an endeavor to integrate the challenges presented by human action on the Internet with legacy system of laws applicable to the physical world. Cyber Law took birth in order to take control over the crimes committed through the internet or the cyberspace or through the uses of computer resources. Description of the lawful issues that are related to the uses of communication or computer technology can be termed as Cyber Law.

What is the importance of Cyber Law?

Cyber law plays a very important role in this new epoch of technology. It is important as it is concerned to almost all aspects of activities and transactions that take place either on the internet or other communication devices. Whether we are aware of it or not, but each action and each reaction in Cyberspace has some legal and Cyber legal views.

Cyber Law in India

Following are the sections under IT Act, 2000

1.     Section 65 – Punishment:  Any person who involves in such crime under this section could be sentenced up to 3 years imprisonment or with a fine of Rs.2 lakhs or with both.

2.     Section 66 – Punishment:  Any person who involves in such crime under this section could be sentenced up to 3 years imprisonment, or with a fine that may extend up to 2 lakhs rupees, or both.

3.     Section 66A – Punishment: Any individual found to commit such crime under this section could be sentenced up to 3 years of imprisonment along with a fine.

4.      Section 66B – Punishment:  Any person who involves in such crime under this section could be sentenced either description for a term that may extend up to 3 years of imprisonment or with a fine of rupee 1 lakh or with both.

5.     Section 66C – Punishment:  Any person who involve in such crime under this section could be sentenced either with a description for a term which may extend up to 3 years of imprisonment along with a fine that may extend up to rupee 1 lakh.

6.      Section 66D – Punishment: Whoever tries to cheats someone by personating through any communication devices or computer’s resources shall be sentenced either with a description for a term that may extend up to 3 years of imprisonment along with a fine that may extend up to rupee 1 lakh.

7.     Section 66E – Punishment: Whoever knowingly or with an intention of publishing, transmitting or capturing images of private areas or private parts of any individual without his/her consent, that violets the privacy of the individual shall be shall be sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment or with a fine not exceeding more than 2 lakhs rupees or both.

8.     Section 66F – Punishment: Whoever conspires or commits such cyber crime or cyber terrorism shall be sentenced to life time imprisonment.

9. Section 67 –  Punishment: Any person who involve in such crime under this section could be sentenced on the first convict with either description for a term that may extend up to five years of imprisonment along with a fine which may extend up to 1 lakh rupee and in the second or subsequent convict it can be sentenced either description for a term that may extend upto ten years along with a fine that may perhaps extend to 2 lakhs rupees.

10.  Section 67A – Punishment: Whoever transmits or publishes materials that contain sexually explicit contents or acts shall be sentences for either description for a term which may extend up to 5 years or imprisonment along with a fine that could extend to 10 lakhs rupees in the first convict. And in the event of the second convict criminal could be sentenced for either description for a term that could extend up to 7 years of imprisonment along with a fine that may extend up to 20 lakhs rupees.

11.  Section 67B – Punishment: Whoever transmits or publishes any materials that depict children in sexually explicit act or conduct in any electronics form shall be sentenced for either description for a term which may extend to 5 years of imprisonment with a fine that could extend to rupees 10 lakhs on the first conviction. And in the event of second conviction criminals could be sentenced for either description for a term that could extend to 7 years along with a fine that could extend to rupees 10 lakhs.

12.   Section 67C – Punishment: Whoever commits such crimes shall be sentenced for a period that may extend up to 3 years of imprisonment and also liable to fine.

One can reach out to the National Cyber Crime reporting portal (Helpline Number -1930) telephone no. 011-26735450 in case of Rajasthan 0141-2601122 to register any complaint about cyber crime, including cyber fraud. 

How to register a Cyber Crime Complaint?

The crime investigation team has been establishing many cyber crime cells in different cities of India, taking care of the reports and investigations of the cyber crimes. At present, most cities in India have a dedicated cyber crime cell. You can make a complaint anytime to the cyber police or crime investigation department either offline or online. In order to give punishment for cyber crime, the first & foremost step is to lodge complaints against the crime. You need to file a written complaint with the cyber crime cell of any jurisdiction. In the written complaint, you need to provide your name, contact details, and address for mailing. You need to address the written complaint to the Head of the cyber crime Cell of the city where you are filing the cyber crime complaint.

According to the IT Act, a cyber crime comes under the purview of global jurisdiction which means that a cyber crime complaint can be registered with any of the cyber cells in India, irrespective of the place where it was originally committed or the place where the victim is currently residing/ staying.

CONCLUSION

The rise and proliferation of newly developed technologies begin star to operate many cybercrimes in recent years. Cybercrime has become great threats to mankind. Protection against cybercrime is a vital part for social, cultural and security aspect of a country. The Government of India has enacted IT Act, 2000 to deal with cybercrimes. The Act further revise the IPC, 1860, the IEA (Indian Evidence Act), 1872, the Banker’s Books Evidence Act 1891 and the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Any part of the world cyber crime could be originated passing national boundaries over the internet creating both technical and legal complexities of investigating and prosecuting these crimes. The international harmonizing efforts, coordination and co-operation among various nations are required to take action towards the cyber crimes.

Our main purpose of writing this blog is to spread the content of cyber crime among the common people. At the end of this blog “A brief study on Cyber Crime and Cyber Law’s of India” we want to say cyber crimes can never be acknowledged. If anyone falls in the prey of cyber attack, please come forward and register a case in your nearest police station. If the criminals won’t get punishment for their deed, they will never stop.