Cyber Laws In India

Cyber laws in India are very important part of legal framework world over. India also has a cyber law in the form of information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000). With growing emphasis upon e-commerce and e-governance in India, cyber law in India has become very important.

However, we have no dedicated e-commerce laws in India and e-governance laws in India. With the proposed draft electronic delivery of services bill 2011 (EDS Bill 2011), some efforts in the direction of strengthening e-governance have been taken by Indian government. However, till now we have no mandatory e-governance rights in India under the cyber law of India.

The cyber law of India has many unique and interesting aspects. Internet intermediary liability in India, cyber due diligence in India, cyber due diligence for Indian companies, social media due diligence in India, etc are some of them. With the passing of the information technology amendment act 2008 (IT Act 2008), the liability of websites, social media platforms, blogging sites, etc has increased a lot. Domain name protection in India is another issue that may become a part of cyber law in the near future.

A lot of cyber crimes, cyber contraventions, intellectual property rights (IPRs) violations, etc are committed due to lack of awareness about Indian cyber law. However, many cyber crimes and IPRs violations are deliberately committed and they deserve to be taken seriously.

There are very low cyber crimes convictions in India. This is because the cyber crime investigations in India are not proper due to lack of cyber law and cyber forensics knowledge. There is an urgent need to ensure cyber skills development in India so that cyber crimes can be prosecuted successfully.

Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) is managing the exclusive techno legal centre for cyber laws in India. PTLB is the exclusive techno legal e-learning institution of India. It is providing various techno legal e-learning courses in India and cyber law education and training is one of them.

Online cyber law education in India needs to be strengthened further. Online cyber law courses in India can fill the gap in our educational system that is largely academic in nature. Such online courses can not only provide practical trainings and skills development but they can also remove the distance barriers.

A special emphasis must be given to legal lifelong learning in India that is presently missing. Continuing professional legal education in India needs to be developed on the lines as has been done in western countries. Further, the legal and judicial fraternity of India needs scientific knowledge that has become necessary with the enactment of IT Act 2000 and similar technology related laws.

There are certain areas that are closely related to cyber law. For instance, issues like cyber forensics in India, e-discovery in India, cyber security in India, etc have still not got the attention of Indian parliament. We need dedicated laws on each of such fields that are presently missing in India. There are very few cyber forensics research, training and educational centers in India. Similarly, cyber security research centers in India are also limited. Even lesser are digital evidencing and e-discovery centers in India.

Cyber laws would also be relevant for areas like online dispute resolution (ODR) in India and e-courts in India. Cross border technology transactions and dispute resolution is the latest trend in the field of ODR. Further, legal issues of entertainment and media industry in India would also involve cyber law implications. DNS redirection and distributed denial of service attacks are these days used to protect IPRs and brands. These methods are strictly not legal and have serious cyber law implications.

There are many more issues that are involved with cyber laws of India. However, they cannot be covered in a single post and we would cover them one by one in our subsequent posts. We hope readers would find this information useful.

Memory Forensics In India And Its Admissibility

Memory Forensics is a very important part of Cyber Forensics/Digital Forensics. In Memory Forensics we do not analyse the entire Hard Disk for Malware. Rather we analyse the Physical or Virtual Memory of a Computer System for Malware already running on the System.

This not only saves lots of time, energy and costs but also takes care of those Malware that run in “Memory Alone”. Modern Malware are written keeping in mind the Digital Forensics Practices that can detect them.

Traditionally, Forensics was mainly confined to Dead/Offline Forensic Analysis of the image of a Hard Disk or Media. However, Malware writers used more sophisticated Codes and Tools to circumvent Forensics Methods. One such method was to use and run the Malware in Memory alone. This has the advantage for Malware users as the moment a Computer System is shut off, the evidence of Malware abuse is almost gone.

The only viable option seems to be to analyse the Malware when the Computer System is still on and running as at that time the Malware are still present in the Memory. There are many Open Source Software to do this job and Individuals/Firms/Companies are investing their time and resources to get Memory Forensics Expertise.

Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) recommend adoption and use of Memory Forensics along with other forms of Digital Forensics. Further, Perry4Law and PTLB also recommend maintaining a “Chain of Custody” and “Standard Operating Procedure” while engaging in all forms of Digital Forensics.

This is important to make the Evidence extracted through Digital Forensics “Admissible” in a Court of Law. Many times Evidence acquired through Digital Forensics is challenged in Courts and is declared “Inadmissible” by the Court.

Perry4Law and PTLB believe that the “Best Practice” in this regard is to engage in Digital Forensics, including Memory Forensics, by considering it as a part of a Court Proceedings. Once the concerned Digital Forensics/Memory Forensics has been undertaken, it must be shown to and discussed with a good Techno Legal Lawyer/Law Firm who can understand the intricacies of Digital Forensics and suggest the “Best Method” to get it “Admissible” in the Courts.

If the acquired “Digital Evidence” is ultimately declared “Inadmissible” by the Court, there is no use of engaging in such Digital Forensics/Memory Forensics.

Media Forensics In India

Digital Forensics Solutions in India are assuming importance. Whether it is the Corporate World or Government Departments or Legal and Judicial Fraternity, the use of Digital Forensics is increasingly advocated for various purposes in India. However, India has still to cover a long gap before Digital Forensics can be effectively used for various purposes.

Today, Forensics field in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related issues has developed many “Specialised Segments” like Digital Forensics, Cyber Forensics, Computer Forensics, Networking Forensics, Media Forensics, etc. These independent and specilaised segments have yet to be incorporated into Indian Laws and Judicial and Legal Proceedings.

Traditionally, Indian courts have dealt with digital or mechanical Evidence in the form of Tape Recorded or Video Evidences. This field has now transformed as Audio/Video Forensics and Media Forensics in India. Now the issue is no more just proving the “Admissibility” of such Tape/Video Recorded Evidence but their proving as a “Scientific Evidence” that requires additional efforts and expertise. Expert Opinions are now sought for matters of Audio and Video Evidences through their “Forensics Analysis”.

Even the Law Firms are now considering issues pertaining to Cyber Law, Cyber Security, Cyber Forensics, etc as potential source of legal assignments. This has changed the very equation of these Techno Legal fields and Law Firms are now playing an active role in the Development of Techno Legal Field.

The process of Media Forensics generally involves the following steps:

(1) Establishing the Legality of Audio/Video Recorded Evidence as per the Law of a Nation,

(2) Authentication and Certification of the Digital Evidence acquired by such Media, and

(3) Admissibility of such Digital Evidence in Courts.

It is very important to maintain a “Chain of Custody” and “Proper Documentation” of the Acquisition of such Digital Evidence and a Media Forensics Professionals must ensure that the Evidence Acquired by him is “Admissible” in a Court of Law.

Sooner or later Media Forensics would become an indispensable part of the Judicial Proceeding in India and establishing “Best Practices” in this regard is a sensible option. Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) would come up with the “Best Practices” in this regard very soon.

Cyber Forensics Laws In India

Cyber Forensics in India is still to be approved as an important part of Legal and Judicial System of India. Till now we do not have a specific and dedicated Cyber Forensics Law in India. Cyber Forensics is an amalgamation of Legal and Computer Science principles. Thus, it is essentially Techno Legal in nature.

This Techno Legal nature of Cyber Forensics has raised certain problems before the Law Enforcement Agencies of India, Legal Fraternity, Judicial Fraternity and the Governmental Departments dealing with the Cyber Forensics issues.

While the Police, Lawyers and Judges are still struggling to deal with Cyber Crimes and Cyber Forensics issues yet Government Departments are facing a shortage of Skilled Cyber Forensics Professionals. Suitable Techno Legal Cyber Forensics Courses in India and Cyber Forensics Education in India can reduce the shortage of Skilled Cyber Forensics Professionals in India.

India has been facing these problems because till now Cyber Forensics Policy of India has not been formulated. An ideal Cyber Forensics Policy of India must concentrate upon issues like Legal Framework for Cyber Forensics, Skills Development of Cyber Forensics, Trainings of Law Enforcement Officials, Lawyers, Judges, etc.

Cyber Forensics Policy of India cannot be implemented by a single stroke. It has to be formulated step by step and in a systematic and planned manner. Indian Government must pay attention to the Cyber Forensics Laws of India in general and Cyber Forensics Policy of India in particular.

Cyber Law Of India Should Be Repealed

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has many aspects and Legal Framework is just one of them. This Legal Framework is taken care of by the Legal Enablement of ICT Systems. This Legal Enablement exercise must cover areas like Cyber Law, E-Governance, E-Commerce, Cyber Security, Cyber Forensics, etc.

If these are the essential components of Legal Enablement, we have no Legal Enablement of ICT Systems in India. Readers must not confuse it with lack of Cyber Law in India. Of course, the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act 2000) is the Cyber Law of India.

But IT Act 2000 is more on the side of a collection of “Legal Jargon” than a Law as contemplated by the Constitution of India. With the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 (IT Act 2008), even this Legal Jargon has become a “Legal Nuisance”. The net effect of the IT Act 2008 was that Indian Cyber Law ceased to be a “Reasonable and Constitutional Law”.

I still remember the time when IT Act 2008 was proposed. I was, perhaps, the “Strongest Opposer” of that Amendment. I believed, and I still believe, that IT Act 2008 was a “Big Mockery” of Fundamental Rights of Indians. The IT Act 2008 shouted loud and clear that our Executive and Indian Government do not believe in the Constitution of India in general and Fundamental Rights in particular.

I was hopeful that my concerns and suggestions would be considered and Government would not proceed further with the IT Act, 2008 Amendments. The moment IT Act 2008 was “Notified”, I lost my Faith and Interest in the Cyber Law of India. This is the main reason why I did not give any Suggestions regarding the same subsequently, especially regarding the recent Rules suggested by Department of Information Technology (DIT).

Indian Cyber Law has become an E-Surveillance Instrumentality and it contains many “Unconstitutional Sections” that should not be there at the very first place. However, it does not matter much as Indians are well known for accepting whatever is forced upon them.

Now the only proper course that is left for Indian Government in general and Parliament of India in particular is to “Repeal” the Cyber Law of India and come up with a Decent, Sensible and Constitutional Law. It would be better if we have “Separate Laws” for Cyber Law, Cyber Security, Cyber Forensics, E-Governance, E-Commerce, etc. I hope good sense would prevail upon Indian Government and Parliament of India very soon.