Computer Crimes and the Act

World over there is a great concern due to various types of crimes committed by using computers and on the Internet.
Almost everyday there is an international story about some or the other portal attacked or credit card fraud or some virus bringing down the system.

Broadly such crimes can be classified as:

• Unauthorised access
• Unauthorised interception
• Unauthorised use of computer, computer system
• Computer related fraud
• Computer forgery
• Damage to computer data
• Computer sabotage
  
  The Information Technology Act covers in detail various types of computer crimes and the penalties provided for such crimes.
  Some of the important provisions of the Act in respect of the crimes and offences are as under:
  
  S/43. Penalty for damage to computer, computer system, etc
  S/43 If any person without permission of the owner or any other person who is in charge of a computer, computer system or computer network
  (a) accesses or secures access
  Explanation
  
  (b) downloads, copies or extracts any data, computer data base or information
  (ii) "computer database" means a representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts or instructions in text, image, audio, video that are being prepared or have been prepared in a formalised manner or have been produced by a computer, computer system or computer network and are intended for use in a computer, computer system or computer network;
  
  (c) introduces or causes to be introduced any computer contaminant or computer virus
  (i) "computer contaminant" means any set of computer instructions that are designed -
  (a) to modify, destroy, record, transmit data or programme residing within a computer, computer system or computer network; or
  (b) by any means to usurp the normal operation of the computer, computer system, or computer network;
  
  (iii) "computer virus" means any computer instruction, information, data or programme that destroys, damages, degrades or adversely affects the performance of a computer resource or attaches itself to another computer resource and operates when a programme, data or instruction is executed or
  some other event takes place in that computer resource;
  
  (d) damages or causes to be damaged any computer, computer system or computer network, data, computer data base or any other programmes(iv) "damage" means to destroy, alter, delete, add, modify or rearrange any computer resource by any means.
  
  (e) disrupts or causes disruption
  
  (f) denies or causes the denial of access to any person authorised to access
  
  (g) provides any assistance to any person to facilitate access in contravention of the provisions of this Act, rules or regulations made thereunder,
  
  (h) charges the services availed of by a person to the account of another person by tampering with or manipulating
  he shall be liable to pay damages by way of compensation not exceeding one crore rupees to the person so affected.
  
  REMEMBER KEVIN MITNICK?
  Kevin Mitnick, a software programmer in the US, was involved in what was probably one of the most sensational computer crimes. He was a famous hacker who hacked into the files of Shimomura a security expert at the San Diego computer centre. The FBI later arrested him.
  
  Mitnick was sentenced to serve one year in jail, being credited for the seven-and-a-half months he spent incarcerated before his plea. He was then to enter a rehabilitation program in Los Angeles to be treated as a "computer addict."
  
  Some of the important provisions of the Act in respect of the crimes and offences are as under in which penalties as well as punishment with imprisonment for different terms are prescribed.
  

  Section No	What offence	Penalty	Remarks
  S/65.	Tampering with computer source documents	shall be punishable with imprisonment up to three years, or with fine which may extend up to two lakh rupees, or with both	Explanation - For the purposes of this section, "computer source code" means the listing of programmes, computer Commands, design and layout and programme analysis of computer resource in any form.
  66.	Hacking with Computer System	Whoever commits hacking shall be punished with imprisonment up to three years, or with fine which may extend up to two lakh rupees, or with both	Whoever with the intent to cause or knowing that he is likely to cause wrongful loss or damage to the public or any person, destroys or deletes or alters any information residing in a computer resource or diminishes its value or utility or affects it injuriously by any means, commits hacking.
  67.	Publishing of information which is obscene in electronic form	shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees and in the event of a second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and also with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees.	Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published in the electronic form, any material which is Lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.
  70	. Protected system (1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare that any computer, computer system or computer network to be a protected system.	shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.	Any person who secures access or attempts to secure access to a protected system in contravention of the Provisions of this section
  71.	Penalty for misrepresentation	shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both.	Whoever makes any misrepresentation to, or suppresses any material fact from, the Controller or the Certifying Authority for obtaining any licence or Digital Signature Certificate, as the case may be.

  
  
  
  HACKERS BEWARE
  
  
  64. Recovery of penalty
  
  A penalty imposed under this Act, if it is not paid, shall be recovered as an arrear of land revenue and the licence or the Digital Signature Certificate, as the case may be, shall be suspended till the penalty is paid.
  For instance in Maharastra such penalty can be recovered under the Maharastra Land Revenue code interalia by one or more of the following process:(S/176)
  
  
• by serving a written notice of demand on the defaulter,
• by distrait and sale of the defaulter's moveable property.
• By attachment and sale of defaulter's immovable property,
• By arrest and imprisonment of the defaulter
  
  S/45. Residuary penalty
  Whoever contravenes any rules or regulations made under this Act, for the contravention of which no penalty has been separately provided, shall be liable to pay a compensation not exceeding twenty-five thousand rupees to the person affected by such contravention or a penalty not exceeding twenty-five thousand rupees.
  
  
  80. Power of police officer and other officers to enter, search, etc
  (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, any police officer, not below the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, or any other officer of the Central Government or a State Government authorised by the Central Government in this behalf may enter any public place and search and arrest without warrant any person found therein who is reasonably suspected or having committed or of committing or of being about to commit any offence under this Act.
  Explanation - For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression "public place" includes any public conveyance, any hotel, any shop or any other place intended for use by, or accessible to the public.
  (2) Where any person is arrested under sub-section (1) by an officer other than a police officer, such officer shall, without unnecessary delay, take or send the person arrested before a magistrate having jurisdiction in the case or before the officer-in-charge of a police station.
  (3) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 shall, subject to the provisions of this section, apply, so far as may be, in relation to any entry, search or arrest, made under this section.
  
  
  
  U/s 76. Any computer, computer system, floppies, compact disks, tape drives or any other accessories related thereto, in respect of which any provision of this Act, rules, orders or regulations made thereunder has been or is being contravened, shall be liable to confiscation subject to the proviso.
  
  Some of the things which can be confiscated are:
  Hardware which can include any data-processing devices (such as central processing units, memory typewriters, "laptop" or "notebook" computers); internal and peripheral storage devices (such as fixed disks, external hard disks, floppy disk drives and diskettes, tape drives and tapes, optical storage devices, transistor-like binary devices, and other memory storage devices), peripheral input/output devices (such as keyboards, printers, scanners, plotters, video display monitors, and optical readers); and related communications devices (such as modems, cables and connections, recording equipment, RAM or ROM units, acoustic couplers, automatic dialers, speed dialers, programmable telephone dialing or signaling devices, and electronic tone-generating devices).
  
  Under S/75. Act to apply for offence or contraventions committed outside India
  by any person if the act or conduct constituting the offence or contravention involves a computer, computer system or computer network located in India .
  
  The Act also has provision for amendment of the Indian Penal Code (I.P.C.).
  Various sections of I.P.C. will be amended to take care of offences related to electronic records.
  Some of the amendments are provided for covering:
  
  • making false electronic record,
  • forgery
    1. for purpose of cheating,
    2. of Court or public register etc
    3. for purpose of harming reputation
  • forged electronic record
  • falsification accounts
    
    This also clearly shows the urgent need in India for computer savvy police, lawyers, judiciary , computer security experts and computer forensic experts who can help prevent, detect and fight these crimes .
    Most forensic computer examiners while investigating the computer crime normally perform at least the following:
    (1) make the equipment operate properly;
    (2) retrieve information;
    (3) unblock "deleted" or "erased" data storage devices;
    (4) bypass or defeat passwords;
    (5) decipher encrypted data.
    
    There is need for such legal and computer experts who can help prosecute the case with advice about how to present computer-related evidence in court., give expert advise ,help prepare the case and also may protect an innocent victim.
    The virus "I Love you" has shown the world the vulnerability of the computer systems which are prone to computer crimes because of connectivity, lack of security measures , absence of legislation in various countries .
    The COUNCIL OF EUROPE has released a "Draft Convention on Cyber-Crime" on crime in cyberspace for public discussion. It aims to harmonise national legislation in this field, facilitate investigations and allow efficient levels of co-operation between the authorities of different countries. There is an urgent need for uniform legislation regarding computer crime and more co operation between different countries in combating such activities.
    
    © Zarana Khona 2000 e-mail : zarana@indiaitlaw.com