The Information Technology Act, 2000 provides for fundamentally economic offences or crimes in the medium that are concurrent and linked to economic loss or injury. Today where most of the work is done by the computers, our entire efficiency and national data was is at the risk of being tampered with, by malicious hackers and hence it becomes important to secure data and prevent Cyber crimes.
COMPUTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM [CERT]
The amended Act of 2006 presents an Indian Computer Emergency Response Team to take action as a central agency with respect to Critical Information Infrastructure for coordinating all actions relating to information security exercises, procedures, strategies, guidelines for incident prevention, response and reporting. CERT has been active since January 2004. CERT-In is the national nodal agency to act in response and counter, computer security offences as and when they occur. In the recent Information Technology Amendment Act 2008, CERT-In has been selected to serve as the national agency to execute compilation/collection, examination and dissemination of information on cyber incidents in the area of cyber security. They must forecast and estimate cyber crimes, and alert to such cyber security incidents. Issuing guidelines, procedures for handling cyber security incidents, co ordination of cyber incidents response activities – must be provided for by CERT
AMMENDMENTS; PREVENTION OF CYBER CRIMES
A ‘fresh’ Section 68(A) has been proposed for providing modes and methods for encryption for secure use of the electronic medium. This is a guiding principle, proposed for safer usage of the electronic medium. Section 69, has been amended to take care of the concerns of the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the safety, sovereignty and integrity of India and further preventing stimulation to the commission of any cognizable offence. This provision relates to the authority/power to issue instructions for interception or monitoring or decryption of any information through any computer resource, which stands rightfully amended.
A new section 79 A32 (Examiners of Electronic Evidence) has been added, taking the EU Directive on E-Commerce 2000/31/EC issued on June 8th 2000 as a guiding document. The objective of the provision is to notify the examiners of electronic evidence by the Central Government, intended to help and assist the Judiciary/Adjudicating officers in handling technical issues. Section 79 has been revised and amended to bring-out unambiguously; explicitly the degree of liability of intermediary in certain cases.
Inclusion of social offences like pornography are overlapping due to the existing provisions in the Indian Penal Code casing and covering pornography. Pornography, although has not been defined under the Penal code, section 292 evidently states that “a book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting representation, figure or any other object, shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect,” Addition of the provision forbidding and banning child pornography may perhaps be a case of ‘over legislation’ considering the existing ban on pornography as such; both in the Information Technology Act, 2000 (section 67) as well as the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (section 292). While Sections 67 A and B interleave penal provisions in respect of offenses of publishing or transmitting of material holding sexually explicit act and child pornography in electronic form, section 67C concerns with the responsibility and obligation of an intermediary to preserve and keep hold of such data.
The above are few of the concerned measures adopted over time, to make the Internet more secure and to ensure easy web governance.
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