Cyber Crimes And Law (In 2 Volumes)

The word Cyberspace was coined by William Gibson in the Science Fiction – ‘Neuromancer’ published in 1984. It is used as a means of denoting the apparent or virtual location within which electronic activities take place. The aggregation of Intranets, Internet and the World Wide Web is dubbed as cyberspace. The computer is a computing as well as communication tool. By 2005, 50 percent of Internet access would be through non-PC devices. The Internet has opened up a virtual heaven for the people for both good and bad, native to Interact with lot of diverse cultures, and demographics. The very same virtues of Internet when gone in wrong hands or when exploited by people with malicious intentions make up a virtual hell. Copyright, theft, cracking, virus attacks etc. started sweeping with the growth medium and the present scenario, and their nature & magnitude. Cyber crime is the most recent type of crime, which affects many people. This is the biggest challenge for police, prosecutors and lawmakers. If we do not wake up now, we would be mere spectators in cyber world. The criminal provisions deal with offences such as tampering with source code, hacking into computer systems, publishing of obscene information and misuse of licenses and digital signatures etc. Government efforts being done in India and abroad to stop such crimes, and looks closely on their success and failure. Cyber laws are those laws, which have been adapted or reinterpreted to govern or apply to transactions or interactions in cyber-space. Cyber laws cover these special enactments, which are specially designed to govern or apply to cyber space for example, the Electronic Commerce Act on the uniform computer, Information Transaction Act and the uniform Electronics Transaction Act recently approved in the US for adoption by the various US states. We need to learn from the experiences in other countries and to examine how our current contract laws could be applied to such contracts. The information Technology Act 2000, is being implemented in India. Times have changed and we live in a digital age in which crimes transported over the same networks and to use integrated devices to overcome it. Just as overdose of regulation could halt the growth of technology just as the lack of clear and consistent Law hinder progress. Thus a fine balance to be achieved between the two with due care and consideration.