Perry4Law Sets Trend For Cyber Forensics And Cyber Security Legal Practice Worldwide

Few years back no law firm was wiling to touch areas like cyber law, cyber security, cyber forensics, e-discovery, etc. This was more so in India where intellectual property rights (IPRs) was considered to be the latest field of legal practices. In the year 2002, Perry4Law Organisation (P4LO) came into picture and that changed the entire scenario of legal practice not only in India but also at global level.

P4LO has a very unique and clear vision about techno legal issues and their national and international legal interpretations. Numerous national and international stakeholders have found their dedicated techno legal resources and services very useful. These include online resources on Cyber Law, Cyber Security, Cyber Forensics, E-Discovery, Telecom Laws,  Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), Corporate Laws, etc. This list of legal fields is just indicative as there are many more techno legal areas where Perry4Law Law Firm and P4LO are providing their techno legal services.

Besides the domain specific and unique techno legal expertise, Perry4law Law Firm and P4LO are also distinct then other law firms in the sense that they take Civil Liberties issues like Privacy, Data Protection and data security very seriously. This is also need of the hour as cyber security obligations of laws firms are increasing world over. Nevertheless, cyber security legal practice in India is still maturing with Perry4Law Law Firm dominating the field.

No Client would be happy if its/his/her confidential and sensitive documents are obtained through cracking/hacking the Law Firm Website or Database, opines Praveen Dalal, managing partner of Perry4Law Law Firm and P4LO and leading techno legal expert of Asia. Perry4Law Law Firm uses the “Best Cyber Security Practices” recommended by International Organisations, informs Dalal.

P4LO has been providing various techno legal trends since 2006. Recently released techno legal trends include cyber forensics trends and developments in India 2014- Part 1, cyber security developments in India 2014 and cyber security trends of India 2015, cyber law developments in India 2014, telecom related developments in India 2014, etc.

Clearly P4LO and Perry4Law Law Firm are class apart and world leaders in techno legal services. Other Law Firms of India must also replicate this model of P4LO and start thinking in the direction of providing techno legal services.

Cyber Security Trends In India 2015 By CECSRDI

Cyber security is a complex field that requires domain specific expertise. As on date we cannot say with certainty that any particular country is fully cyber secure. Different countries have different level of cyber preparedness but India is lagging far behind in cyber security fields.

The cyber security trends and developments of India 2013 (PDF) and Cyber Security Trends and Developments in India 2014 have categorically proved that India is way behind in cyber security field than its western counterparts. Similarly, the cyber law developments in India 2014 are also not very promising.

If we keep in mind the cyber security trends in India 2015 released by CECSRDI, there are many complicated cyber security challenges that are waiting for India in the year 2015. Some of the areas of concern pointed out by CECSRDI are international legal aspects of cyber security, state sponsored cyber attacks, increasing use of malware, cyber espionage, cloud computing adoption in India, mobile security and mobile governance issues, critical infrastructure protection requirements in India, etc.

India has lax and outdated cyber law and there is no dedicated cyber security law in India as on date. In the past Indian government expressed its desire to enact cyber security breach disclosure norms but lack of political will resulted in lapse of that idea.

In short, the cyber security preparedness of India is not up to the mark. On top of it Indian government announced technology driven projects like Digital India and Internet of Things (IoT) (PDF) that also without any cyber crisis management plan of India and establishment of offensive and defensive cyber security capabilities.

It is also expected that malware like Stuxnet, Duqu, Flame, etc would be used more aggressively in the year 2015. These malware are not only stealth but they are also too sophisticated to be detected by India. Let us hope that Indian government would consider cyber security as a top priority area in the year 2015.

Telecom Trends In India 2014

Perry4Law Organisation (P4LO) is on the forefront of providing various techno legal trends of India since 2006. The latest to add to this list are Cyber Security Trends and Developments in India 2014 and Telecom Related Trends and Development in India 2014. The cyber security trends of India 2014 have also been covered here1 and here2.

In this work, Perry4Law’s Techno Legal Base (PTLB) is providing the summary of the telecom trends of India 2014. The telecom trend of India in the year 2014 witnessed a combination of progressive and regressive steps being taken by Indian Government.

On the progressive side the Telecom Commission of India has allowed satellite based mobile services in India in the year 2014. On the regressive side, the Indian Government has failed to protect civil liberties in cyberspace once again. In fact, telecom operator Vodafone revealed use of secret wires for government e-surveillance and eavesdropping worldwide, including in India.

Indian Department of Telecommunications (DoT) promised to investigate govt snooping allegations of Vodafone but it failed to do so till the end of December 2014. The dangerous central monitoring system (CMS) of India was also activated without any legal framework and Parliamentary oversight.

Similarly, the redundant and outdated telecom related laws remained on the statue book in the year2014. For instance, the telegraph and cyber law of India remained outdated, colonial and draconian in the year 2014. Similarly, encryption related dedicated laws in India are also missing till the end of December 2014.

Further, new lawmaking was also missing in the year 2014. For instance, there is no dedicated laws regarding cell phones and their dealings in India and the same continued till the end of December 2014 as well. In particular, the cell site data location laws in India and privacy issues are still not redressed by Indian Government so far.

India is also one of the countries where phone tapping is possible without any court order/warrant. This is a serious civil liberty violation that continued in the year 2014. A lawful and constitutional interception law in India is urgently needed. Privacy rights in India in the information era (PDF) have still not been recognised by Indian Government.

Overall, the telecom trends of India in the year 2014 were far from satisfactory. Rather they were on the negative side of development that must be taken care of by Indian Government in the year 2015.

Source: Telecom Blog.

Indian Cyber Security Trends 2014 By Perry4Law Organisation

Cyber security has become a top priority in the present world where technology is used for numerous purposes. From business to government services, everything now depends upon technology. This has raised serious cyber security issues around the world.

India is a late entrant in the cyber security field. As a result Indian cyber security is still at the infancy stage. There is no clear cut picture of cyber security in India. However, the Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security Research and Development in India (CECSRDI) of Perry4Law Organisation (P4LO) has been providing the cyber security trends of India.

For the year 2013, P4LO provided the cyber security trends and developments of India 2013 (PDF). For the year 2014 as well P4LO has released the cyber security trends and developments in India 2014.

The trends document has covered vast areas pertaining to cyber security of India. These include areas like policy and legal framework, national cyber coordination centre, bitcoins, e-commerce websites, cyber security obligations of directors, etc.

For those interested in Indian cyber security, the CECSRDI Twitter account can be a good place to hang out. The account is a good platform to keep oneself updated about Indian and global cyber security related issues.

The cyber security challenges before the Indian government would be tremendous in the year 2015. The international nature of cyber attacks would require a totally different approach towards cyber crimes and cyber security in India. Keeping this in mind, even the cyber law of India would be required to be suitably amended or repealed.

E-Judiciary In India Is Needed

India has been experimenting with technology for long. Even a basic level legal framework has been introduced in India in the form of Information Technology Act, 2000 though it requires immediate repeal or amendment. There are many shortcomings of the IT Act 2000 and one of them is non binding nature of e-governance obligations of Indian government. The National E-Governance Plan (NEGP) of India has also failed to meet its objectives and marks. As a result India has failed on the fronts of both e-government and e-governance.

While India is still struggling to deal with basic level technology adoption, the BJP government has announced projects like Digital India and Internet of things (IoT) that rely prominently upon technology. These projects intend to extend the services to general public in the filed like healthcare, education, judicial services etc.

As far as judiciary is concerned, we are still struggling to establish the first e-court of India till October 2014. In these circumstances, achieving the objective of establishing e-judiciary in India is still a distant dream. E-judiciary project of India is also suffering from lack of techno legal expertise to manage the same. For instance, we have a single techno legal e-courts training centre in India. There is urgent need to develop e-courts skills in India so that e-judiciary project can become a reality.

However, it is not the case that no progress has been made in this regard. India judiciary has taken a pro active role to introduce technology for legal and judicial purposes. For instance legal notices can be served through e-mails, e-filing directions has been prescribed by Delhi High Court, marriage registration certificates can be obtained through video conferencing, etc.

If India wishes to achieve her noble objective of providing access to justice to marginalised segment of India, courts automation and digital preservation, much more is required to be done. Mere policy formulation is not going to be helpful and it is the actual implementation that is important. The BJP government must stress upon actual implementation than formulating policies and strategies that remain on paper alone.

Making Aadhaar Compulsory Is Unconstitutional And Contempt Of Court

Aadhaar initiative was introduced as an optional and enabling technology. With the passage of time, Indian government has made Aadhaar not only compulsory but also an intrusive, privacy violating and mass surveillance instrument. Surprisingly, none of the e-surveillance projects of India have any sort of parliamentary oversight. Aadhaar is also suffering from various vices and constitutional infirmities. This was the reason that the Supreme Court of India declared that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory (Pdf) for availing services in India.

Aadhaar is also suffering from many other infirmities. For instance, there is no privacy law in India and data protection law in India (pdf) as on date. Aadhaar has also failed to address the concerns of data security, cyber security (PDF) and civil liberties in India. The intelligence agencies of India are operating without any parliamentary oversight and they need urgent reforms in these circumstances.

It is not the case that Indian government is not aware of these issues and circumstances. However, Indian government prefers to keep the things in a state of anarchy and chaos by citing national security and welfare schemes. The truth is that both the concepts of national security and welfare schemes are baseless in India when it comes to blatant violation of civil liberties of Indians.

The only solace is the fact that these issues are presently pending before the Indian Supreme Court to be adjudicated upon. The Supreme Court has already issues interim orders prohibiting the state governments and central government from discriminating on the ground of non availability of Aadhaar number. However, till now these directions have been openly violated by Indian government and various state governments.

This is also a hint of confrontation between the executive and judiciary that is solely provoked by the executive in an illegal and unconstitutional manner. There is little hope that the proposed law in this regard may be enacted very soon, if at all. The only option left in these circumstances is that the Supreme Court of India must declare Aadhaar project illegal and unconstitutional and scrap the same in the larger interest of India.

Online Poker And Rummy Websites Are Flouting Laws Of India Says Perry4Law

Gambling in India is a complicated legal field as Indian Constitution has conferred the power to make laws regarding gambling to various states of India. While these states are free to make gambling and gaming laws within the parameters of their respective jurisdictions, they cannot encroach upon the territories of other states in this regard.

When Internet and other technologies are used, gambling and gamming assumes the character of online gambling and gaming. This is clearly not allowed as per the constitutional scheme. This is the reason that online gambling in India is a subject for the central government to manage. However, online gambling legal issues in India are not easy to manage.

The issue of legality of online gaming in India is pending before the Supreme Court of India says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based technology law firm Perry4Law. However, the decision of Supreme Court in this regard may not bring a relief to online gaming stakeholders at large. The Supreme Court sought the opinion of Central Government in this regard but the same was not formally provided by the Central Government till now.

The problem with online poker and online rummy websites of India is that a dominant majority of them are not at all following the laws of India and are actually violating the same, informs Dalal. They may be prosecuted very soon as allowing them to operate in an illegal manner would be counterproductive in the long run, opines Dalal.

There has been an increased numbers of arrests and prosecutions of various individuals and companies in India in this regard. For instance, recently the owner of an online betting website for IPL 7 was arrested in Mumbai for allowing betting on his website. Similar arrests have been made by police of Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, etc. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also established a Sports Integrity Unit to investigate illegal sports betting in India.

According to Perry4Law, till the time Indian Supreme Court or central government clarifies the legal position regarding online gaming and gambling in India, the online gaming/gambling stakeholders must comply with existing and applicable techno legal requirements of Indian laws.