Day by day cyber-crimes are increasing in our country with the increased use of information and technology. Now, cybercrime has become a major issue in India. The Internet has provided convenience and access to everything. Everything can be done now through the mode of the internet like online shopping, online payment, online studying, social networking and so much more.
What is cybercrime?
According to Wikipedia, Cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target. Cybercrime may harm someone’s security and financial health.
In simple words, cybercrime is a criminal activity that is committed by hackers or cyber criminals that aims to make money or to damage the computer for personal or political reasons.
Information Technology Act, 2000
The Information Technology bill was passed in May 2000 by both the houses of the Indian Parliament and received the assent of President K.R Narayanan on 9 June 2000 and further came into existence on 17th October 2000 as Information Technology Act.
The main motive of this act is to provide the legal infrastructure for e-commerce. The IT act also contains various cyber laws to protect users of e-platforms from various cyber-crimes. And cyber laws have a huge impact on the new economy in India.
Types of cybercrime
- Hacking – It is a criminal and unethical activity that a person attempts with the motive of exploiting a computer system by unauthorised access for an illicit purpose. The punishment for hacking is 3 years or a fine of up to Rupees 5 lakhs.
- Cyber-stalking – It refers to harassing or stalking someone online by other electronic means. It includes blackmail, monitoring, identity theft, etc. The punishment for cyber-stalking is imprisonment for up to 3 years with a fine.
- Virus Dissemination – It is a processwhere the malicious software (MALWARE) attaches to the other software that destroys the computer system. The MALWARE destroys data by modifying and deleting it.
- Payment card fraud – It refers to fraud use of a payment card such as a credit or debit card. The purpose of the criminal can be to take goods and services by making payments from another account. For protecting users of payment cards from this fraud the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was created to help financial institutions process card payments securely and reduce card fraud.
- Social Engineering – In this type of cybercrime the criminal makes direct contact with the person. They act as a customer service agency to earn trust so that the person will share all the information with them they want.
- Phishing – This cyber-crime refers to malicious persons who scam users. They do so by sending emails or links to try to collect information about their online bank credit card or other login information. The punishment for phishing is imprisonment up to 3 years or with a fine of up to 1 lakh rupees.
Some steps to prevent cyber crimes
- To prevent the misuse of your credit/debit card, always make sure that you are entering your card number on a secured site.
- Try to avoid disclosing personal information publicly on unsecured websites.
- Use strong and different passwords for your different accounts.
- Protect your data by using encryption for your most sensitive files such as financial records or tax returns.
- Secure your mobile devices from viruses and hackers. Download applications only from trusted sources.