Keane Insight

What's wrong with our cyber laws?

Three years have passed since parliament passed the IT Act, but India’s first cyber law is still hard to implement. SUSHMA NAIK looks at the loopholes in the law and the changes that need to be made

PAVAN DUGGAL says that the IT Act is completely inadequate as it has several drawbacks and grey areas

G SHYAM (name changed on request of anonymity) is a hassled chief information officer (CIO) of a leading private bank. For close to a week, the CIO has been monitoring attempts by hackers to break into the bank’s network. While the bank has succeeded in tracing the IP address of the supposed hackers, no action has been taken. Reason: the cyber crime cell in Mumbai is understaffed. Out of a total workforce of 4,400 police officers, there are only five in the cyber crime cell—a measly 0.11 percent.

Another problem is the lack of knowledge. Most police personnel are not familiar with computers, so tremendous effort is required for training and orienting them on various aspects of detection, investigation and prosecution of cyber crimes.

“There are few judges and prosecutors who have adequate IT knowledge. No provision has been made for the police to take expert help in conducting investigations. At present they use private professionals—and this is illegal,” says Gautam Patel, a leading lawyer.

Additionally, cyber crimes are covered under civil procedures, which take a longer time to deliver justice. Cyber lawyers are of the view that the IT Act has to be amended to enable it to be covered under a criminal procedure that would make the act deliver results faster.

Implementation is not the only problem. Domain name issues are presently covered by legal norms applicable to intellectual properties, including trademarks. Abuse of chat rooms, cyber stalking, misappropriation and misuse of credit card numbers are just a few of the many other loopholes which are still not addressed by IT Act. When the act was announced way back in 2000, market watchers across the world called it revolutionary. But three years on the act has remained static while the rest of the world has changed.

Says Pavan Duggal, a noted cyber lawyer, “The IT Act, in spite of being a special law, has done little to achieve the objectives stated in its preamble. In the current form the act is completely inadequate as it has several drawbacks and grey areas.” He says that till the government makes provisions for recognition and correction of drawbacks, the legal status of electronic payments will remain in limbo. The only positive amendment to the act is in the form of admissible evidence; the Evidence Act has been amended to include all electronic documents as permissible evidence.

Most lawyers Express Computer spoke to believe that many corporates resist filing cases because there is no clear understanding of the legal implications. India has also witnessed cases of cyber stalking, cyber harassment and cyber defamation. However, as there is no specific law or provision under the IT Act, a number of these cases are either not registered or are registered under the existing provisions of Indian Penal Code—which are ineffective and do not cover the said cyber crimes.

Since its promulgation, the IT Act 2000 has undergone some changes. One big change is the recognition of electronic documents as evidence in a court of law. Market players believe this will go a long way in giving encouragement to electronic fund transfers and promoting electronic commerce in the country.

However, all hope is not lost as the cyber crime cell is conducting training programmes for its forces. It also has plans to organise special courses for corporates to combat cyber crime and use the IT Act effectively. “Many senior officials are not computer-savvy. We are making attempts through special programmes to help them use the IT Act effectively,” says Dr Pragnya Sarvade, DCP, enforcement, cyber crime cell.

Snapshot: India's IT Act 2000
Loopholes	Improvements needed
No clear provision for handling of domain name issues. They are presently covered by legal norms applicable to intellectual properties such as trademarks	The act needs amendment for handling domain name issues and related concerns such as cyber squatting
Cyber theft, cyber stalking, cyber harassment and cyber defamation are presently not covered under the act	These crimes need to have specific provisions in the act to enable the police to take quick action
Jurisdiction problems are likely to arise as the act applies to both Indians and foreign citizens	There should be clear briefs on how the act will apply to any offence, and how action will be taken against any person who has committed the crime outside India
The law is now covered under civil procedure, making the enforcement process slow. This deters companies from approaching the cyber crime cell	If the law is covered under criminal procedure, the process could be faster
Some definitions in the act are vague and can cause problems to the plaintiff	Definitions, prescriptions of punishment and certain provisions (such as that dealing with hacking) need specific amendment
The act does not lay down parameters for its implementation	Law enforcement officials need to be trained for effective enforcement

sushma@expresscomputeronline.com