The fact that the internet has become a crime scene in this modern age world, cyberlaw has been in the most necessary to implement.
Innovation is inevitable and running away from technology is neither the answer to avoid harm nor is it really going to protect us.
With most of the young generation always on the phone, the chance of promoting the negative things has been on a large scale. There are couples exchanging their private pictures on different mediums through the internet without recognizing that the picture could be leaked and could be viral within a couple of hours across the globe.
It has become easier in the public to click pictures of unknown people nowadays and post it on the internet. The reason for an individual to upload such an obscene act would be revenge or for fun, that goes apart. News report abounds many victims of such crimes have forced to take them their lives.
On the business front, trusted managers and teams believe that their “hard work” is theirs and think nothing of walking out with sensitive business data, mostly out of ignorance of the law. On the flip side, irate employers who hate to see their best opting out believe that holding threats of alleged data theft over their heads is going to either deter such exits or scare them into submission. Both result in a lose-lose situation with workplaces becoming dens for paranoia. Knowledge, not only of the law but its implications, restrictions, and limitations, therefore, become imperative for individuals and businesses alike.
Even if individual sentiment may veer towards avoidance of technology and its innovative uses, emerging government policies and processes including of making India ‘digital’ or ‘smart’ may make learning not just to use technology but to also enable reasonable security practices mandatory. The promotion of digital payment systems across India is just one example of government encouragement of the use of technology in everyday life.
Trending cyber crimes
Cyber-crimes have not only risen in numbers but also in the sophistication. From attacks on individuals or businesses as specific targets to now targeting the repositories of data, the cyber-criminal has come a long way. Apart from these orchestrated attacks are those where innovative use of technology makes committing crime quite easy.
Broadly one could place financial frauds–credit and debit card frauds—at the top of the chart of cybercrimes. Data is collected through calls or emails including name, date of birth, card details, PIN numbers, etc., which are then used to siphon off money. Some instances arise through viruses spread through emails or infected ads, sites, photos or even videos online and thereafter using the gateway provided by a user to steal details and data. These are basic methodologies. The larger the prize, the more the methodologies evolve.
Corporate espionage, data theft, hacking and virus attacks are par for the course for most businesses, small and big.
Crimes against individuals abound with revenge porn being an unfortunately popular one – this is when couples break up and one of them posts personal videos or images online. Cases of morphing faces easily available on social media sites like Facebook onto nude pictures in order to shame the victim have resulted even in the loss of life. These crimes do not cost anything with mobile phones and internet connections being commonplace. Trolling has become the most talked about crime online with celebrities and “aam aadmis” being victimized. It was only after crimes of identity thefts increased that victims have woken up to the importance of protecting personal data. Pornography and child pornography close the circuit of heinous crimes online.