Use of the dark web brings in unique challenges for law enforcement agencies in India and raises questions on the loopholes in the laws in place to govern cybercrime in India. Recently, the term ‘dark web’ has been frequently used by the police, whether in the case of the activists recently arrested by the Pune…
With romance scams and matrimonial frauds becoming a growing concern for Mumbai Police, matrimonial websites have protested they can’t verify every account or be held responsible for every person who signs up for an account. However, security experts feel the websites need to do more, for particularly the victims of such frauds. Speaking in the…
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ruled that begging is not a criminal offence and struck down laws penalizing it. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar struck down the provisions prosecuting begging under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act. The bench decriminalised begging and said that prosecution under…
The Indian legal system does indeed have some teeth to tackle instances of fake news or rumours, be they in the real world or online. The problem is that such regulation is largely focused on hate speech and defamation. In reality, as we know, fake news goes much beyond hate speech. “It’s high time that…
Allowing only authorised people to access computer labs, banning use of USBs, blocking pop ups and keeping a check on appearance of new and unfamiliar icons on desktop are among the cyber security and safety guidelines issued to schools and parents by the NCERT. The National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) has sent…
Cyber and media law experts have expressed concern at the recent order issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on regulating digital media – on the grounds that it may be an attempt to control what content is published. Pointing out that the 10-member panel formed to frame guidelines for websites lacks both a…
One of India’s biggest cryptocurrency trading platforms has lost about 438 Bitcoins worth some 190 million rupees ($3 million), allegedly due to a rogue employee. An official at Delhi-based Coinsecure was extracting Bitcoin to distribute to customers and he claims the funds were lost in the process, parent company Secure Bitcoin Traders Pvt. said in…
If there can be an age limit for driving a car, then why shouldn’t there be one for using the internet? This was one of the suggestions given by an expert on cyber security and law at a discussion on Wednesday to curb cyber bullying and threats to children. Ruing the poor response to cyber…
According to CISCO, there will be an estimated 829 million internet users in India by 2021. The internet provides immense opportunities to its users, but at the same time, there are numerous corresponding risks. While our country progresses rapidly towards a Digital India, it is imperative to ensure that effective legal mechanisms for the safety…
The events and people in this story are all true to life. All the women characters have been assigned fictitious names for two reasons: to respect their privacy and to help readers navigate through a complex narrative of nearly 6,500 words. Paromita was bemused when she received that call in early June 2016. The 34-year-old…