Why Cyber Law and Advantages of Cyber Laws
Why Cyber Law?
Cyber law has gained wide recognition often spoken about in seminars, workshops, and symposiums. Literature has been published using the terms like cyber law, Law of the Internet, Law Relating to Computers, etc. In academic settings, there are centres for Computer and the Law[1], Cyberlaw and research and son and so forth[2]. The important question is whether these terms are used to denote a specific branch of study, or just a popular usage without coming to grips with what exactly is this branch of law, is it still evolving or is it a generic usage of dealing with varied existing laws on a glamorous pre-fix or suffix?
In short, cyber law is the law governing computers and the internet. Cyber law is important because it touches almost all aspects of transactions and activities and on involving the internet, World Wide Web, and cyberspace. Every action and reaction in cyberspace has some legal and cyber legal angles. Cyber Laws yield legal recognition to electronic documents and a structure to support e-filing and e-commerce transactions and also provide a legal structure to reduce, and check cyber crimes. It covers all transactions over the internet. It keeps eye on all activities over the internet
There are several reasons why it is convenient to have a separate classification of law for computers and computer networks like the internet:
i. Solving legal problems that arose from the use of computers often requires some legal principles that are rarely encountered in the practice of law. For example:
a. Disputes about e-mail and web pages on the Internet extend across state lines, and may even extend across national borders. For example, there are technical issues in personal jurisdiction and which state's law should be applied to the resolution of the dispute. To solve 42 ibid 43 ibid 20 these legal problems, one must understand the principles of an abstruse area of law, called Conflicts of Law.
b. Information stored on computers (e.g., software, data, trade secrets, confidential personal information) is generally much more valuable than computer hardware. In order to protect this information, many of the concepts in the practice of computer law involve the specialized area of Intellectual Property Law, which includes copyrights, trademarks, and patents45.
ii. Traditional concepts in law are being expanded by events in the area of computer law. For example:
a. Computer software is legally considered a "good". Unlike other goods, the "purchaser" only owns the floppy diskette or compact disk that contains the software, plus a license to use the software. The Uniform Commercial Code was amended by including Article 2B to cover licensing of computer software.
b. Computer databases that contain erroneous information (e.g., false credit reports) can be harmful to people, which may give rise to a new class of torts.
c. Hackers who use a modem to enter a computer without authorization and either
(1) use its services or
(2) alter records are committing a crime similar to burglary, but the traditional notion of burglary requires the criminal personally to enter the victim's premises, which is not satisfied in the case of entry via data to/from a modem. Therefore, new laws were enacted to define computer crimes. (Personally, I think it would have been preferable to change the definitions in existing concepts, instead of create new concepts, but no one would accuse the legal profession of honoring simplicity and economy.
d. Authentication of evidence contained in files on a computer presents some new problems, because of the ease with which data in the file can be altered, and also because it is easy to alter the operating system's date and time stamp in the directory.
e. Searches of computer databases provide access to information that was difficult to locate in the pre-computer age, which makes computer databases a major new threat to the privacy of individuals.[3]
Importance & Need of Cyber law
Cyber laws are important to punish criminals who commit serious crimes related to the computer such as hacking, online harassment, data theft, disrupting the online workflow of any enterprise, and attacking another individual or website. Cyber laws decide different forms of punishment depending on the type of law you broke, who you offended, where you violated the law, and where you live.
It is important to bring criminals behind the bars, as most cybercrimes do not enter the category of common crime and it may lead to denial of justice. These crimes may endanger the confidentiality and financial security of a nation therefore these problems should be addressed lawfully[4].
Man has always been a social animal and more so now with the internet and social media. Human beings are now Cyber beings, choosing to spend a considerable amount of time in the cyber world. As the cyber world expands, cybercrime grows with it. Cybercrime is complex, given that there are no geographical boundaries in the cyber world. Actions on the internet have quick and far-reaching consequences. Anonymity awarded by cyber space complicates matters further. Hence such activities cannot be satisfactorily handled by conventional laws. Cyber law is the law governing this cyberspace and is important for anyone using the internet, be it organizations or individuals. Cybercrime, electronic commerce, intellectual property, data protection, and data privacy are some of the issues addressed by cyber law.
The primary source of cyber law in India is the Information Technology Act, of 2000 which came into force on 17th October 2000. This Act provided legal recognition to electronic commerce and was intended to facilitate the filing of electronic records with the Government. The term electronic commerce or E-commerce is used to refer to electronic data used in commercial transactions. Electronic commerce laws usually address issues of data authentication by electronic or digital signatures.
Intellectual Property rights, as we traditionally know them, have undergone a sea change with the development of new technology and the reach of the Internet. This includes copyright law in relation to computer software, computer source code, websites, cell phone content etc. Software and source code licenses come under the ambit of this law. Trademark law with relation to domain names, meta tags, mirroring, framing, linking etc. and patent law with relation to computer hardware and software.
Data protection refers to the policies and laws which aim to curtail intrusion into privacy which is caused mainly by the collection, storage and dissemination of one’s personal data. All the information or data which relate to a person, who can be identified from that information or data, is known as the personal data of that individual. Privacy refers to the right of an individual where can choose the extent to which he or she would like to disclose information/data which pertains to him or her. Some examples of sensitive personal data or information include passwords, financial information such as bank account or credit card or debit card or other payment instrument details; physical, physiological, and mental health condition; sexual orientation, medical records and history, biometric information, etc. The Supreme Court recognizes that the right of privacy is a fundamental right.
There are three major categories of cybercrime;
· against individuals,
· against property and
· against the Government.
Crimes against individuals include cyber harassment and stalking, various types of spoofing, credit card fraud, human trafficking, identity theft etc. Some online crimes happen against property, such as a computer or server. These crimes include DDOS attacks, hacking, virus transmission, cyber and typo squatting, computer vandalism etc. When a cybercrime is committed against the government, it is considered an attack on that nation's sovereignty and an act of war. Cybercrimes against the government include hacking, accessing confidential information, cyber warfare, cyber terrorism, and pirated software.
Cyber Law is used by smaller business organizations which are extremely vulnerable because of the ineffective cybersecurity. It is very important to all types of business organizations, particularly when you think about the importance or advantages of the internet as well as digital systems are for your day-to-day operations. There are various reasons for which Cyber Law, is very important, are listed below[5]:
· It allows employees to work safely – with the help of cyberlaw, you and the employees of your company haven’t got any risk from a potential cyberattack. If your system becomes infected than that can really hamper their productivity.
· It can protect your business – This is one of the biggest factors, because of which cyber law is very important. It allows the employees to surf the internet as and when they require it. You have to ensure that they can’t at risk from potential threats.
· It protects the personal information of the user – One of the most important factors in the digital world is to keep your personal information secret. It is very essential for the customer that they are quite capable of selling the information.
· It protects productivity – There are many viruses present which can slow down your personal computer. It may often bring your personal business to a standstill.
The importance and scope of Cyber law is ever increasing as we become more and more dependent on the internet and the related technologies, for our day to day functioning as individuals and as a society.
Advantages of Cyber Laws
· Secured E-Commerce Infrastructure for online businesses.
· Digitally sign your contracts/ papers
· Introduced new businesses for Certifying Authorities
· Proficient use of E-Forms as prescribed
· Secured websites with Digital Certificates
· Meticulous monitoring of the web traffics
· Electronic Transactions safeguarded
· Emails are a legal form of communication and are approved in a court of law.
Implementing laws in cyberspace is an important step to creating a safe and secure environment for people on cyber platforms. To protect from cybercrimes, computer forensic science should focus on ethical hacking training and implementing cyber security plans addressing people, process, and technology issues that arise nowadays. Strict cyber laws are the need in this era where technology is growing at rapid speed because the budgets have not been increased to keep up with this rate of change in technology
[1] Castells, Manuel , The Internet Galaxy-Reflections on the Internet, Business and Society, Oxford University Press, London, 2001
[2] Slevin, James, The internet and Society: Central Themes and Issues, Trojborgtrykkeriet, the Faculty of arts, University of Aarhus, The center for Internet Research, Aarhus, 2002
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