CYBER CRIMES Cybercrimes can be defined as: “Offences that are

committed against individuals or groups of individuals with a criminal motive

to intentionally harm the reputation of the victim or cause physical or mental
harm, or loss, to the victim directly or indirectly, using modern
telecommunication networks such as Internet (networks including chat
rooms, emails, notice boards and groups) and mobile phones”. Cyber-crime
involves the use of internet and computer. It threatens an individual’s
privacy by disclosing or publishing their personal or confidential information
online with the aim of degrading their reputation and causing them physical
or mental harm either directly or indirectly. Women are generally the targets
of these offenders because they are inexperienced and lack knowledge of
the cyber world, thereby falling prey to the technological fancies.

Cyber Crimes may be broadly classified into following categories

(1) Against individuals – Identity theft, Cyber stalking / Harassment,
Unauthorized access over computer, E-mail spoofing, Fraud, etc.
(2) Against individual's property Computer vandalism, transmitting
Virus, cyber intellectual property crimes, unauthorized control or access over
computer system, etc.
(3) Against organization - Forgery, Internet Fraud, Hacking, Denial of
service, Logic Bombs, Salami attack, spamming, Data diddling, etc.
(4) Against society at large Online gambling, Pornography, Cyber
terrorism, Digital forgery, etc.
1.Identity Theft Identity theft is a fraudulent act where someone uses
their personal information to commit unlawful acts or gain financial rewards.
This can include personal details like name, address, Aadhar card number,
PAN card, and credit card numbers. Identity thieves can use this information
to open credit card accounts, obtain loans, make purchases, and submit job
applications. The victim's information can also be used to access private
financial accounts or apply for government benefits. Identity theft can result
in financial losses, damaged credit, and emotional distress. It is punishable
under the IT Act, 2000, with Section 66C stating that anyone who uses
someone else's electronic signature, password, or unique identification
feature can face imprisonment for up to three years and a fine of up to one
lakh rupees.

2. Cyber Stalking Stalking is a stealthily pursuing behavior that involves

repeated visual or physical proximity, nonconsensual communication, or
verbal threats that cause fear. Cyber stalking is an extension of stalking,
using electronic mediums like the internet, email, or other communication
devices to harass or contact another in an unsolicited manner. Cyber
stalking targets females, children, emotionally weak or unstable individuals,
and is often motivated by sexual harassment, obsession for love, revenge
and hate, and ego. Section 503 of the Indian Penal Code deals with 'Criminal
Intimidation', which states that threatening another with injury to their
person, reputation, or property, with intent to cause alarm or cause unlawful
acts, is criminal intimidation.

3. Hacking / Unauthorized access Computer hacking refers to the

unauthorized access to a computer system or network, often used by
commercial and military organizations to bypass technical security
measures. This type of cybercrime involves a planned attempt to damage
the system's contents and functioning, often resulting in data theft, fraud, or
destruction of data. Major techniques used by hackers include IP-Spoofing,
DNS Spoofing, and Web Spoofing. The purpose of hacking can be data theft,
fraud, destruction of data, system damage, or personal satisfaction. Section
43(a) of the IT Act mandates compensation for those affected by hacking,
while section 70 punishes hacking of a protected system. The potential for
hacking to become the basis for almost all types of cybercrimes has led to
increased awareness and enforcement of these laws.
4. Virus and other Malicious Programs Computer viruses, worms, trojen
horses, logic bombs, and hoaxes are malicious programs designed to cause
harm to their victims. The term "computer virus" was coined in the 1980s
and defines a virus as any program that destroys, damages, or adversely
affects computer performance. There are two main classes of viruses: file
infectors and boot-record infectors. Worms propagate over networks by
reproducing itself, consuming memory space, and slowing or clogging the
network. The "Klez worm" introduced in 2002 combines the properties of
both viruses and worms, increasing their damage potential. Logic bombs
activate when certain conditions are met, causing destruction or crashes.
Trojan horses break program security, such as user IDs and passwords.
5. Computer Sabotage Computer sabotage is the process of the input,
alteration, erasure, or suppression of computer data or computer programs,
or other interference with the computer systems, with the intent to hinder
the functioning of a computer or a telecommunication system. For example,
if an employee of an institution intentionally (due to dissatisfaction or low
salary, etc.) erases the comments of a valuable computer program on the
disk by using programs before leaving that institution so that it could not be
easily modified by other programmers, then it is an incident of computer
sabotage.
6. Internet / Computer Fraud Cyber crimes often involve financial gain,
involving the manipulation of computer data or programs to cause loss of
property. Common types of cybercrimes include online auctions, trading,
travel services, and prizes. The internet and computer are increasingly used
for various frauds due to its cost-effectiveness, broad reach, identity
authentication challenges, anonymity, ease of personalization, and novelty.
The internet's inherent features make it ideal for fraudulent purposes,
making it a prime target for cybercriminals.
7. Cyber Squatting Cyber squatting is a practice where individuals block
site names and trade them for monetary benefits. Cyber-squatters register
domain names matching a well-known company to ransom it, blocking the
owner from registering the mark in the same top-level domain name. They
may extract money in return for turning over the domain name or posting
disparaging information against the owner. This can target celebrities,
commercial, and governmental establishments. The USA passed the Anti-
cyber squatting Consumer Protection Act 1999 to combat this practice.
8. Cyber Terrorism Cyber terrorism is an unlawful attack on computers,
networks, and information to intimidate or coerce a government or its
people for political or social objectives. It involves politically motivated
hacking operations aimed at causing severe harm, such as loss of life or
economic damage. Examples of cyber terrorism include attacks causing
death, bodily injury, explosions, plane crashes, water contamination, or
severe economic loss. The IT (Amendment) Act, 2008, inserted section 66F,
stating that a person or group commits cyber terrorism if they intend to
threaten India's unity, integrity, security, or sovereignty by denying access
to authorized users, attempting to penetrate computer resources without
authorization, or introducing computer contaminants that cause death,
injuries, property damage, disruption of supplies or services, or adversely
affect critical information infrastructure.
9. Cyber Pornography and/or Child Pornography Cyber pornography,
particularly child pornography, is a punishable offense under the IT Act,
2000. Section 67A punishes individuals for publishing or transmitting
material containing explicit sexual acts or conduct in electronic form, with
imprisonment for up to five years and a fine of up to ten lakh rupees. Section
67B deals with punishment for publishing or transmitting material depicting
children in sexually explicit acts or conduct, cultivating or facilitating online
relationships for such acts, facilitating online abuse of children, or recording
their own abuse.
10. Digital / Computer Forgery Computer forgery involves altering or
suppressing computer data or programs, while digital forgery involves
creating counterfeit currency notes, stamps, academic certificates,
passports, visas, and cheques using advanced technologies. This business
has grown, with student gangs receiving thousands of rupees in exchange
for authentic certificates. Section 74 of the IT Act, 2000 punishes those
creating or publishing Electronic Signature Certificates for fraudulent or
unlawful purposes, with imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to
Rs. 1 lakh or both.
11. DataDiddling It means illegal or unauthorized raw data alteration just
before it is processed by a computer and changing it back after the
processing is completed. Data can be changed by anyone involved in the
process of creating, recording, encoding, examining, checking, converting,
or transport- ing computer data. In India, alteration of data residing in
computer resource or diminishing its value or utility or affecting it injuriously
so as to cause wrongful loss or damage to the public or any person would be
an offence. Section 43(d) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, deals
with this crime.
12. Cyber Defamation Cyber defamation is a form of defamation where
statements are made using computers and the internet, such as through
online messages, emails, and bulletin boards. It is covered under section 499
of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 4 of the IT Act. Section 499 states
that anyone who makes or publishes imputations concerning a person
intending to harm their reputation is considered to defame that person.
Section 4 of the IT Act recognizes electronic records and requires
information in writing, typewritten, or printed form to be made available in
electronic form for subsequent reference.
13. Spoofing Spoofing is a digital forgery where an email appears to be
from one source but actually comes from another. It involves changing one's
name to make it appear as if it came from another. The intention is to
misrepresent the sender, as seen in Mr. A's email, Mr. B's spoofing, IP-
spoofing, DNS spoofing attacks, and web spoofing. IP-spoofing allows
unauthorized access to computers or networks by pretending to be an
authorized device. DNS spoofing intercepts communication and sends fake
host name mappings.
14. Computer / Economic Espionage It is a crime which means the
acquisition by improper means or the disclosure, transfer or use of a trade or
commercial secret without right or any other legal justification, with intent
either to cause economic loss to the person entitled to the secret or to
obtain an unlawful economic advantage for oneself or a third person. This
crime takes place to get the trade secrets of an organization by hacking
their network and then to sale it or otherwise make it available to their
competitors. Both insiders and outsiders of an organization can equally play
a role in the commission of this crime.
15. Salami Attacks Salami attacks are financial crimes where minor
alteration goes unnoticed, causing significant financial losses. Bank
employees can insert programs into servers that deduct money from
customers' accounts, causing significant losses. These attacks are covered
by section 477A of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes willful defraud,
destruction, alteration, mutilation, or falsification of electronic records.
Therefore, altering or adding electronic entries in an organization's computer
would fall under section 477A of the IPC.
16. Spamming Spamming is a significant cyber privacy issue, involving
unsolicited emails aimed at unintentionally targeting recipients. Most spam
is commercial advertising, blocking genuine messages from reaching ISP
servers, causing annoyance and network disruption. In India, spamming is
not directly addressed in statutes. However, the law of nuisance under tort
law can be used to bring spammers to justice. If a person receives a large
supply of spam messages, they can use section 43(d) and (e) of the
Information Technology Act, 2000, which makes damage, disruption, or loss
of any computer illegal.
17. Steganography Steganography is the practice of hiding one message
or file within another, often using audio or video files in another media file.
This art of secret communication involves transferring messages hidden
within a large one, making others unable to discern the contents. Examples
include Osama bin Laden hiding maps and photographs of terrorist targets
and posting instructions for terrorist activities on pornographic bulletin
boards and other websites. Steganography is often used in computer
systems to conceal the presence or contents of hidden messages.
18. Online Gambling Millions of websites host online gambling, with some
countries legal and others not. The anonymity of online gambling can lead to
evasion of laws, including illegal credit card use and bank account access.
Many websites are believed to be money laundering fronts. India lacks a
direct law to address online gambling, but the Indian Penal Code can apply
to cases of cheating, criminal misappropriation, or breach of trust. This
makes it difficult for gamblers to avoid legal consequences.
19. Web Jacking This occurs when someone forcefully takes control of a
website by cracking the password and later changing it. The actual owner of
the website does not have any more control over what appears on that
website.

20. Morphing It is editing the original picture by unauthorized user or fake

identify. Generally in this category of crime, female's picture are
downloaded by fake users and again reposted on web sites by creating users
and again reposted on web sites by creating fake profiles after editing it.
21. Software Piracy and Copyright Piracy Internet piracy, including
software and copyright piracy, is a growing concern in the IT age. Copyright
is a set of exclusive rights granted to creators and producers of creative
expressions, including computer programs and databases. Software piracy
occurs when software is downloaded or distributed without owner's
permission, leading to commercial exploitation. The Copyright Act, 1957 in
India effectively protects copyright, including computer programs.
22. Phising Phishing is a social engineering attack that steals user data,
login credentials, and other personal information. It involves an attacker
disguised as a trusted individual or organization, duplicating the target into
opening an email or message, clicking on links, or downloading an
attachment. According to Verizon's 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report,
one-third of all cyber-attacks involve phishing, with email being the primary
weapon. Phishing is a well-known method for distributing malware hidden
within non-malignant attachments.