Introduction
In recent decades, there has been an increase in dependency on computers not just in many businesses but also in everyday families. The COVID-19 epidemic has hastened the company’s digital revolution. Cyber security activities in different industries have been compelled to change swiftly. The pandemic exposes the numerous dangers generated by society’s popularity of the internet. With people’s increasing reliance on it and use of digital communication, vast advancements in e-commerce businesses and industries, the acceleration of international commerce, and the emergence of new cybercrimes, a diversity of constitutionally protected difficulties have arisen, laying the foundations for the successful execution of Cyber Statutory provisions.[1]
Cyber Attacks in India
According to Sussex data from 2020, India surpassed the United States as the region with the most intrusions in 2020. This has risen rapidly with the onset of the COVID-19 virus in 2020. Cybercrimes in India have escalated by up to 600% from February 2021, according to computer ethics researcher Vijay Duggal. There have also been instances of fraud imitating official agencies (e.g., Unesco) and corporations (e.g., pharmacies, airways), attacking assistance networks, committing Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) deception, and advertising COVID19 treatments since the epidemic. Among the most significant cyber attacks The country of India-
- The ransomware assault on the systems of Haryana Zenith Banking shocked the Indian banking sector when cybercriminals stole roughly $16 million over several years. Hackers stole this amount from the deposit accounts systems, compromised internet transactions, and transmitted and retrieved it from countries other than India.
- Previously, three Mumbai-based cybercriminals were apprehended for conducting a big money scam totaling Rs 570,000. The perpetrators would compromise and obtain access to the mobile phones, then fraudulently move funds from one account to another by providing fictitious documentation.
- In mid-2019, thieves targeted Canara Bank of India’s ATM computers and stole Rs 300,000, while also getting internet connectivity to 600 of the bank’s customers.
- Among the most significant cybersecurity threats in India that shocked the administration was the security flaw of millions of Indians’ electronic identity credentials, which prompted serious worries about a violation of confidential communications and a breach of the Indian Constitution’s Protection of Privacy.
- In 2018, the Union Bank of India suffered a massive espionage assault and lost $18 million, making it one of India’s worst fraudulent activities.[2]
Cyber Issues in Jharkhand
The majority of computer crimes are pardonable violations. Scammers have frequently let off the hook due to a lack of proof. There is also a scarcity of investigators because only investigators and above are permitted to examine cybercriminals. Jamtara in Jharkhand has been designated as India’s new computer crime center. More than half of all cybercrime in India can be traced to this Jharkhand village. Union Justice Secretary Vijay Gauba, a 1984 batch IAS servant from Jharkhand, made the discovery.
The reason might be a lack of education since the population of the district in Jamtara is approximately 84%, and a lack of work prospects, which forces adolescents into the cybercrime arena, which provides them with short-term rewards. They may just be conducting illegal funds transfers. We have detained hundreds of thousands of people, primarily between the ages of 18 and 30, who have turned this into a business. According to our calculations, close to 140 organizations are active in the development of cybercrimes as a business.[3]
Suggestions
1) India and Cyber Warfare
The use of communication and information technology to target a country and cause destruction similar to escalating battles is known as cyber warfare. It has risen to become the fifth sphere of combat. In the event of a cyber assault, the identity of the attacker can be readily masked through the use of stacking. The difficulty with cyber attacks is that the aggression cannot be readily tracked back, making it impossible to establish any government’s involvement. Even though the originator or assault can be traced back, the government may keep blaming it on non-state players.
The other challenge lies in how to react to a cyber incident when a country has lost believable aggressive military functionality that it will use as a preventative measure. The concern is whether it should turn to weapons systems in such a scenario, but the difficulty with using military equipment is that this can become somewhat escalating tensions and comes with the risk of an all-out war. The legislation of acting responsibly in such a case could last for long because restraint, when practised for too long, can empower the enemy to recommence with more attacks. As a result, India requires an Offensive Cyber Policy that can draw inspiration from India’s Nuclear Policy and serve as a warning to confrontational countries such as China.[4]
2) Robust Infrastructure
The Indian Workstation Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), was established in 2003 under the Department of Information and Technology, Govt. India has been identified as the Federal Coordinating Body for incident handling; however, CERT on its own appears to lack specialists and facilities to effectively combat India’s growing cyberattacks, necessitating technological advancement and building capacity.
Digital India – The president’s objective is to build Infrastructure facilities that connect local government areas, provide governmental services to the customers, and promote access to technology. One of its objectives is to promote technology development in the nation to achieve NET ZERO importation by 2030, which may be understood in the perspective of the president’s worry about Chinese cellphones being used in data theft.[5]
3) Public-Private Partnership
India is among the few nations with cyber defence legislation, ranking 48 in the GCG 2019 index, indicating that India is doing very well in this area. However, the NRAB 2019 data shows that ransomware attacks in India increased by 78 per cent in 2019, introducing many major crime categories such as cyber deception, online harassment, and the propagation of false information. In terms of technological innovation, cybercriminals are ahead of the police. In many situations, the inspector general is found to be inadequate, however, ventures such as Kerala’s Cyberdome project are paving the way by incorporating public-private partnerships in cyber-crime investigations.[6]
Conclusion
Even if it is regarded to meet the needs of the hour, India’s cyber law environment falls short in key areas. Certain sector regulators’ cybersecurity standards, in particular, must be updated to keep up with the ever-changing technological breakthroughs. Recognizing this necessity, Indian authorities are developing a new legislative framework to support these developments. The measures of this revised regulatory framework are deemed to be sufficient to withstand the challenges of these developing innovations. Despite said that, the efficiency of these rules is dependent on the different authorities implementing them cautiously and without corruption, given that India, as previously said, is among the most possible candidates for cybercrime.[7]
Author(s) Name: Anuj Chhabra (Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala)
References:
[1] Sankaraman Krishna Shrinivashan on Covid-19- Dependence on online banking underscores the need for cybersecurity measures <https://ciso.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/covid-19-dependence-on-digital-banking-underscoresthe-need-for-efficient-cybersecurity-measures/76155222> accessed 13 May 2022
[2] G, Rohan. An Overview Of Cyber Laws and Cyber Crimes- In Indian Perspective <https://www.mondaq.com/india/privacy-protection/257328/an-overview-ofcyber-laws-vs-cyber-crimes-in-indian-perspective> accessed 13 May 2022
[3] Cyber Laws in India <https://www.latestlaws.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/05/Cyber-laws-in-India.pdf> accessed 13 May 2022
[4] Varandya. “An Analysis for Cyber Crime with India”<http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-797-an-analysis-on-cyber-crime-inindia.html> accessed 13 May 2022
[5] Timmyson, S., & Chubisski, K. (2018, March). Cybersecurity and the UK landscape- White & Case LLP <https://www.whitecase.com/publications/alert/cybersecurity-and-uk-legallandscape> accessed 13 May 2022
[6] Harshdeep Singh. (2018). A Glance At The US Cyber Security Laws <https://www.appknox.com/blog/united-states-cyber-security-laws> accessed 13 May 2022
[7] Fiscker, K. (2015). Federal Laws Relating with Cyber security, Current Laws, and Legislation <https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R42114.pdf> accessed 13 May 2022
