Are Online Travel Agencies In India Violating Cyber Law Of India?

E-commerce has starting maturing in India. However, e-commerce in India is still managed more from the commercial point of view and lesser from legal angle. A major portion of e-commerce activities in India consist of online travel agencies and companies. Other segments of e-commerce are still evolving in India.

Most online travel agencies in India are using e-commerce method without realising that e-commerce also requires legal compliances. For them mere opening of a website is enough to start e-commerce business in India.

These online travel agencies cannot be blamed as cyber law awareness in India is missing. Further, e-commerce laws in India are still evolving and e-commerce stakeholders in India are not aware of cyber law due diligence in India.

However, ignorance of law is no excuse. This is more so when the cyber due diligence for Indian companies is now well established. For instance, cyber due diligence for foreign websites in India, cyber due diligence for press and media in India, cyber due diligence for PayPal and online payment transferor in India, etc have already been discussed.

Thus, legal formalities required for starting e-commerce business in India must be well understood by online travel agencies operating in India. Similarly, legal requirements to start an e-commerce website In India must also be well understood by online travel agencies operating in India.

In short, legal requirements of undertaking e-commerce in India must be duly complied with by online travel agencies operating in India in order to get maximum benefits out of e-commerce business in India.

In a related development, private airlines IndiGo and Jet Airways have accused MakeMyTrip of offering arbitrary and opaque fares despite objection by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Opaque fares is a trade practice where a portal sells heavily discounted tickets but does not disclose the name of the airline until the payment is made by the customer. This, at times, results in using the services of an airline that the customer does not wish to avail.

Reacting to this situation, IndiGo has withdrawn all content from MakeMyTrip and Jet Airways has limited the ticket sale to five seats a day on MakeMyTrip.

MakeMyTrip has already removed bargain fares from its site but it is claiming that it did so on March 28^th 2012 itself due to the fact that DGCA had asked airlines to stop publishing opaque fares and users could now see all flight details before making the payment. The opaque fare issue had come to light recently following Kingfisher Airlines’ flight cancellations. Travel portals had put up a note saying the carrier was not part of the bargain fares.

However, despite this clarification, some believe that MakeMyTrip is offering an unrealistic rate that is killing the market competition. They believe that MakeMyTrip is acting like a banker to Kingfisher Airlines.

MakeMyTrip has also clarified the issue through a statement that claims that fares and inventory on its website were controlled by airlines and all the fares are displayed according to the guidelines received and approved by airlines, including special fares, which are approved by participating airlines.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading cyber law expert of India, “E-commerce laws and regulations in India need to be streamlined. This must include the regulation of online travel agencies operating in India. Further, these online platforms are also required to observe cyber due diligence and follow the cyber law of India to escape various financial, civil and criminal liabilities opines Dalal.

Presently, there are no express regulations that can regulate the operations and functioning of travel agency portals in India. We need specific industry regulation for online travel agencies of India.

Cyber Law Due Diligence For Press And Media In India

Internet intermediaries in India are not willing to learn lessons from their past mistakes. From time to time objectionable contents have been appearing in both print and digital formats of press and media. This is despite that fact that such publication is criminal offence under various laws of India.

Recently, a nude picture that was published in Kolkata’s Telegraph edition caused a furor among the citizens, leading to a road blockage for over six hours. The same picture was also published in Hindustan Times that was subsequently taken down from the electronic version of the paper/website.

Adding another chapter to this episode, the West Bengal government has on Friday sent bulk SMS to various individuals, companies, newspapers and media houses directing them not to publish any further objectionable material in this regard.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of Asia, this single episode attracts Civil and Criminal Liabilities on the part of those involved in the making, uploading, publication and circulation of the same in paper and electronic form. The Cyber Law of India prescribes stringent Due Diligence Requirements that paper based and electronic publishers must follow. If they do not follow Cyber Due Diligence, they can be Criminally Prosecuted by the Government, opines Praveen Dalal.

In fact, the Bengal government has already started the probe in this regard and the culprits would be brought to the book very soon. However, the way this episode has been handled by media shows great disregard to the laws of India, especially the cyber law of India.

Media is India is largely Self Regulated but the Indian Government has recently formulated the Press and Registration of Books and Publications Bill 2011 to regulated “Publication of Contents” informs Praveen Dalal. The Bill has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology for its inputs before it may be presented in the Parliament of India, informs Dalal.

Media must be vigil to follow the laws of India, especially the cyber law of India, to retain the self regulation privileges that it is enjoying. If casual and careless publications would continue, there would be no other option left for the government but to regulation their affairs in a more intrusive manner.

Google and Facebook In Indian Cyber Law Tangle

Internet intermediaries in India are required to follow certain due diligence requirements under the cyber law of India incorporated in the information technology act, 2000 (IT Act 2000). If they fail to observe such cyber due diligence, the safe harbour protection available under the IT Act 2000 is lost.

While pre screening of contents and expecting Internet intermediaries like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, YouTube, Linkedin, etc to keep a vigil watch upon the Internet is simply unreasonable and unrealistic yet asking Internet intermediaries to block or remove offending contents, after they have been duly notified in this regard, is a genuine need and reasonable demand.

Such removal or non removal of objectionable and offending contents cannot be considered to be right or wrong as per Internet intermediaries or Indian government’s viewpoint. Rather an independent analysis of the same must be made by courts keeping in mind the facts and applicable laws.

Further, there must be uniformity in application of Indian laws to all in similar situations. If there is a discrimination against foreign companies and favour for domestic companies, this undermines the confidence and trust of online community world over. For instance, recently Reliance and Airtel blocked websites in India whose legality is still doubtful. Department of information technology (DIT) must investigate such blocking in order to rule out favoritism for domestic companies.

It has also been reported that social media websites users in other states of India are planning to engage in legal battles in such states to access any blockage of such websites. Legally they can do so but in the long run such a move would be counter productive.

Companies like Google and Facebook would appear today before the Delhi High Court to prove their innocence in the recently filed criminal case before a trial court. In fact, the trial court has asked the representatives of the parent companies to appear before it and face the trial.

Clearly, the argument of being a subsidiary has kicked back and now the parent company has to face the trial. Even if the subsidiaries are exempted from any criminal liability, the liability of parent company is now emerging as an even bigger issue. Let us see how Delhi High Court would decide the case today.

How Would Google, Facebook, Microsoft And Yahoo Approach Delhi High Court?

Recently the Indian government granted its approval to criminally prosecute companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Yahoo for posting objectionable contents on their websites. Indian government claims that despite repetitive requests being made to these websites, they failed to remove the objectionable contents from their websites.

Before that companies like Google and Facebook approached the Delhi High Court to quash the complaint against them. However, the Delhi High Court refused to do so and this cleared the way for continuance of the complaint against these companies. With the granting of sanction by central government under section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, the criminal trial against these companies can now be started for diverse offenses under Indian laws.

The trial court has adjourned the matter till March 13, 2012. The trial court has also directed the external affairs ministry to serve the summons issued to foreign-based social networking and other websites. With this the excuse of being an Indian subsidiary is also gone and now parent companies would have to face the heat and their executives have to appear personally before the trial court. Now the Delhi Police can also prosecute these parent companies after the sanction has been received.

The representatives of companies may or may not appear before the trial court. If they appear, they have to face the trial and prove their innocence as per Indian laws. If they do not appear, this may have serious ramifications that these companies cannot afford to face.

On 16th January 2012 the Delhi High Court would hear further arguments of these companies. However, it seems the matter would not be settled easily and lightly by Delhi High Court. Techno legal experts like Praveen Dalal have been warning against unconstitutional cyber laws in India. He was the only cyber law expert of India who protested against the information technology amendment act 2008 (IT Act 2008) in its present form that is root of all present cyber law related distortions in India.

According to Praveen Dalal, the cyber law of India should be repealed. There is no second opinion about the fact that the cyber law of India needs urgent reforms if not a repeal. However, the companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc cannot complain now when they did not complain earlier at the time of IT Act 2008, opines Praveen Dalal. Now the IT Act 2000, as amended by the IT Act 2008, is the law of the land and these companies must follow the same, suggests Dalal.

It seems these companies are in hot water as they have not complied with Indian cyber laws requirements and now they cannot turn back and question the very same cyber law that they silently endorsed earlier.

DOT India Must Investigate Reliance Websites Blocking Case

The department of information technology (DIT) is the concerned department that deals with issues pertaining to websites blocking in India. DIT has prescribed a standard procedure if an individual or company wishes to get a website blocked in India. Such procedure has been prescribed under the information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) and its rules that is the cyber law of India.

In a recent criminal case, a trial court of Delhi has asked representatives of companies like Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Microsoft, etc to appear in person. If these companies fail to make a proper representation and comply with Indian laws, Indian government can block their websites in India.

Every country has this right to block websites to enforce its national laws and India is not unique in adopting this approach. However, the laws of website blocking must be uniformly applied without any discrimination. If foreign websites and companies are treated stringently then domestic websites and companies must also be treated similarly.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of law firm Perry4Law and leading cyber expert of Asia, Websites can be “Legally Blocked” in India on the direction of a Competent Court of India if these Websites fail to “Comply” with such Court’s Directions. Further, Websites can also be blocked in India if the Designated Officer, appointed by Indian Government, Directs an Indian Government Agencies like Computer Emergency Response Team, India (CERT-IN) to block such Websites, informs Praveen Dalal.

Clearly, there is no provision where private individuals or companies can block websites according to their own whims and fancies. Recently, doubts about the legality of websites blocking by Reliance entertainment have surfaced. If DIT wishes to maintain a neutral and justice oriented approach towards all companies and websites, then it must investigate whether Reliance entertainment has blocked such site legally or illegally?

If telecom companies are allowed to block websites by bypassing Indian cyber law, then the entire purpose of the same is frustrated. Further, in such situations it is wrong to ask companies like Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Microsoft, etc to comply with Indian laws.

DIT must first set its own home in order so that its can ask others to follow its directions. This episode of Reliance has put a question mark upon the very system that has been used in India to block domestic and foreign websites. We hope Reliance in general and DIT in particular would publicly come up with an explanation in this regard.

Securing Critical National Infrastructure Of India From Cyber Attack

This is the updated version of my previous article on similar topic. Lots of changes have taken place since then and it is essential to incorporate those changes in this new piece of article.

The cyber security trends in India 2011 by Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) indicate that cyber security in India is still ignored by various stakeholders. Whether it is banks or strategic computers of Indian government, all of them have proved to be vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Highly sophisticated malware like Duqu, Stuxnet, etc targeted India in the year 2011 and India is still investigating the Duqu malware. Indian nuclear facilities, automated power grids, satellites, defense networks, governmental informatics infrastructures, etc are vulnerable to sophisticated cyber attacks. It is still not clear whether Indian satellites are safe from cyber attacks.

The supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems may be the new cyber attack priority for cyber criminals and rouge nations. We must ensure sufficient cyber protection of SCADA systems in India in general and critical infrastructure in particular. In short, Indian defense and security against cyber warfare needs to be streamlines to meet the growing cyber attacks upon its critical infrastructures.

Although cyber security in India has started gaining attention of Indian government yet the cyber security initiatives of Indian government are still far from satisfactory. We do not have a cyber security policy in India that clearly stipulates the cyber security strategy of India.

Cyber security of India is also an essential part of national ICT policy and strategy of India. However, despite some very good suggestions by experts, India has not taken cyber security seriously. On the other hand, the International Community is focusing really hard to make cyber security an essential part of their day to day lives.

Internationally, it is an accepted fact that to ensure effective cyber security, there must be a coordinated and collaborative approach, metrics and assessment tools must be developed, an effective legal and policy framework for cyber security must be created and the human dimension of cyber security must be addressed.

Although there are numerous aspects of Cyber Security Policy of India yet Critical Infrastructure Protection in India and Critical ICT Infrastructure Protection in India are the most important aspects of the same, informs Praveen Dalal, leading techno legal expert of India and managing partner of New Delhi based techno legal law firm Perry4Law. The Critical National Infrastructure of India is under constant cyber attacks and India must urgently do something in this regard, informs Dalal.

Experts like Praveen Dalal also feel that India does not have strong and effective cyber laws to deal with issue pertaining to critical infrastructure. India is blind towards cyber law, cyber security and cyber forensics requirements. The IT Act, 2000 is a poorly drafted law and badly implemented legislation. It is weak and ineffective in dealing with growing cyber crimes in India as it is the most soft and cyber criminal friendly legislation of the world.

Thus, on all the fronts of policy, legal framework and effective cyber security initiatives, India has failed to give proper attention. In these circumstances, critical national infrastructures of India are at grave cyber security risks. They are vulnerable to cyber threats and cyber attacks. India must urgently do something in this regard as soon as possible.

Natgrid And NIA Became More Obscure And Unconstitutional

Accountability and transparency are two words that do not apply to Indian law enforcement and intelligence agencies. India has chosen to stick to the British legacy of non transparency. Whether it is laws like official secrets act, Indian telegraph act or the accountability of Indian law enforcement and intelligence agencies, Indian government has even surpassed the Britishers in this regard.

Instead of strengthening the transparency and Parliamentary scrutiny, India is further making these agencies more unaccountable and lawless. The right to information act 2005 (RTI Act 2005) is the sole transparency law of India that needs further amendments and strengthening. However, the proposed right to information rules 2010 instead of strengthening the RTI Act, 2005 took steps that are retrograde in nature.

Firstly, India amended the cyber law of India through the draconian information technology amendment act 2008 that empowered Indian government and its agencies with unconstitutional e-surveillance, internet censorship and website blocking powers. Subsequently, it made the RTI Act 2005 weaker and redundant.

Now Indian government has announced that Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), national investigation authority of India (NIA) and national intelligence grid (Natgrid) would be exempted from the applicability of RTI Act, 2005. The constitutional validity of national investigation agency act, 2008 (NIA 2008) is still doubtful and CBI and Natgrid are not governed by any law at all. Even the proposed central monitoring system of India is without any parliamentary oversight.

Whether it is CBI or Intelligence Agencies of India, none of them are presently Accountable to Parliament of India, informs Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law and CEO of exclusive Human Rights Protection Centre for Cyberspace in India. This casts a doubt about the Impartiality and Transparency of these Agencies, suggests Dalal. Exempting these Agencies without any parallel “Parliamentary Oversight” is against the provisions of Indian Constitution, informs Dalal.

In these days the role of Indian Parliament has been reduced to almost nothing. Important laws are never passed and existing laws like the cyber law of India have been made e-surveillance instrumentality for Indian government and its agencies. The Parliament of India needs to take its legislative role seriously, at least now.

United Nations Must Protect Human Rights In Cyberspace

United Nations has been regulating many international issues all over the world and the most important one is protection of human rights. However, UN is not very serious about protection of human rights in cyberspace.

In the past as well suggestions have been given by many techno legal experts to UN to ensure protection of human rights in cyberspace. However, this issue seems to be a complicated one as UN is taking lots of time to protect human rights in cyberspace.

The World community on Human Rights, Cyber Law and Cyber Security must start thinking in this direction as issues like Cyber Warfare, Cyber Terrorism, Cyber Espionage, Cyber Crimes, E-Surveillance, Unlawful Interceptions, etc are “Transnational” in nature, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and CEO of the exclusive Cyberspace Human Rights Protection Centre of India.

If different Countries would have different laws for these issues, it would be very difficult to truly enforce protective provisions against these menaces at National and International levels, opines Dalal.

Finally, UN has shown some inclination in this regard. UN now considers Internet access a Human Right and considers disconnecting people from the Internet as a violation of Human Rights and International Law, informs Dalal.

A Report by the UN Human Rights Council’s 17th Session underscored the “unique and transformative" nature of the Internet allowing individuals to exercise a range of Human Rights, and to promote the progress of society as a whole.

This is a good step taken by the UN especially with the growing use of e-surveillance, Internet censorship and website blockings all over the world. India is one such country that is indulging in endemic e-surveillance activities that also without any legal framework or with the help of unconstitutional laws like cyber law of India.

Experts in India have even suggested repeal of the information technology act 2000, the sole cyber law of India. Let us hope UN would come up with international standards for protection of human rights in cyberspace very soon.

Techno-Legal Measures To Prevent ATM Frauds In India

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently released the report of its working group on securing card present transaction that covers ATM security as well. RBI has also prescribed cyber security due diligence for banks of India. Despites these pro active steps, ATM frauds are increasing in India.

ATM frauds are executed by techniques like wire tapping, replicating the digital signature of the card, getting authentic personal data at fake data call centres, tampering ATM slots by rigging, phishing through e-mail accounts and fixing hidden cameras at vantage points inside ATM installations to steal the secret PIN number of the customers. Fraudsters use special devices like skimmers, duplicate ATMs, to withdraw stacks of money from ATMs.

In this interview of Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of New Delhi based ICT Law Firm Perry4Law and leading Techno Legal Expert of India, he has shared the techno legal methods to prevent ATM Frauds in India. ATM frauds can be tackled by using techno legal measures alone.

Q-1 Apart from the spamming and phishing, what are the various kinds of ATM frauds? Please specify the ones that take place at the ATM machine or at the counter.

A.1 ATM frauds happen when someone leaves his/her credit card unattended in a vehicle or changing room or allows anyone else to use the card or looses the card that is misused by others or discloses the Personal Identification Number (PIN) to others, etc. These mistakes allow the offender to withdraw money by using the stolen information. Fraudsters are using special devices, skimmers, duplicate ATMs, etc to withdraw money from ATMs. Sometimes such frauds are an insider job with the collusion of the employees of the company issuing those cards.

Q-2 Out of all the techniques, which one is the most common?

A.2 The misuse of disclosed PIN for withdrawing money is the most common techniques used for committing ATM Frauds.

Q. 3 What the individual can do to avoid their money from being siphoned off due to ATM fraud?

A.3 Some basic precautions by the card holders can be very effective in preventing ATM frauds. For instance, never leave your credit card unattended in a vehicle or changing room, never allow anyone else to use your card, always retain sales/charge slips to compare with the amount specified on the billing statement, do not disclose your PIN to anyone, etc.

Q. 4 Is any new technology available to handle ATM frauds? If yes, please elaborate.

A.4 The technological mechanisms like Designated time, Microchip technology, Biometric tokens, Enhanced security, ATM Monitoring, Customised softwares, Customer motivation, Alerts, etc can be used to minimise and prevent ATM frauds in India.

Q.5 What is the scenario abroad? Are ATM frauds more rampant outside?

A.5 The culture of e-banking is more prevalent in foreign countries. Obviously, the menace of ATM frauds is more in those countries. However the problem of ATM frauds is global in nature and its ramifications have been felt in India as well. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is forcing Indian legal system to adapt itself as per its requirements. Presently, there is a lack of legal enablement of ICT systems in India and we need good laws in this regard.

Q. 6 What does IT Act 2000 say about ATM frauds?

A.6 The IT Act, 2000 does not contain any specific provisions regarding the same and the traditional law of IPC, 1860 also cannot be relied solely and independently to tackle this problem. We need a better law for this purpose and Perry4Law has already provided its suggestions and recommendations in this regard and other ICT related matters to the Government of India, Department of Information Technology, Department of Science and Technology, Prime Minister’s Office, etc. Till we have suitable and apt laws, we must apply existing laws in a purposive and updating manner.

Blackberry, G Mail And Skype May Not Be Banned In India

Blackberry, Gmail and Skype have been asked to provide encryption free services in India. When these companies conveyed their inability to do so, Indian government warned them of banning their services in India. Subsequently, India issued directions to telecom service providers forcing them to drop Blackberry’s services if Blackberry does not provide free and unencrypted access to its services in India.

This episode has happened because we have no lawful interception law in India, no encryption policy in India, no effective telecom policy in India, a draconian and ineffective cyber law of India that needs urgent repeal and many more such factors.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi base law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India, India is the only country of the World where Phone Tapping and Interceptions are done without a Court Warrant and by Executive Branch of the Constitution of India. Phone Tapping in India is “Unconstitutional” and the Parliament of India has not thought it fit to enact a “Constitutionally Sound Law” for Phone Tappings and Lawful Interceptions. Even the Supreme Court’s directions in PUCL case have proved futile and presently the Court is dealing with the issue once more, informs Dalal.

While none can doubt about the National Security and Law Enforcement Requirements yet they must be “Reconciled” with Fundamental Rights of Indians, says Dalal. Further, Intelligence Infrastructure of India also needs urgent rejuvenation, suggests Dalal. Recently the Home Ministry of India asked the Departments of Telecommunication (DoT) and Department of Information Technology (DIT) to examine the existing legal framework and recommend appropriate amendments of the laws to ensure smooth access to services like BlackBerry and Skype.

DoT has now clarified its stand in this regard and it is against the proposal of discontinuing about 14 communication services that intelligence agencies cannot track currently. Further, DoT is also not in favour of imposing responsibility upon mobile phone companies to provide assistance to decrypt all the services they provide.

Keeping in mind this latest development, it can be assumed that services of Blackberry, Gmail, Skype, etc would not be banned in India for some more time.

However, Indian intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies must concentrate upon skills development in India. Further, one thing that Indian intelligence agencies must develop on priority basis is techno legal Intelligence gathering skills development. Encrypted services in India are going to stay and law enforcement and intelligence agencies must develop skills to deal with the same in future.

India Has Become An E-Police State

This is the updated version of my previous article on similar topic. Cyber law of India is incorporated in the information technology act, 2000 (IT Act 2000) that was drastically amended through the information technology amendment act 2008 (IT Act 2008). The cyber law of India has become so offensive and useless that it requires an urgent repeal. Instead of following the right path, India has chosen to become an e-police state.

Suggestions have been given in the past that United Nations (UN) must protect human rights in cyberspace as well. However, UN is not serious about protecting human rights in cyberspace. Countries like India are taking advantage of this void created by inaction on the part of UN.

Human Rights in Cyberspace are outlawed in India, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. In fact, the IT Act, 2008 has made the sole Cyber Law of India susceptible to the attacks of “Unconstitutionality” as it is now openly and blatantly violating various Fundamental Rights as incorporated in the Constitution of India, informs Dalal.

Cyber law of India has been doomed to its detriment and civil liberties of Indian citizens have been at their nadir. All this has happened due to lack of insight and capabilities of Indian legislation makers. The vested interests have overshadowed public interest and the sole cyber law of India has become an instrumentality for mass deprivation and grave suppression of cyber rights of Indians. E-surveillance in India has come as a death knell for privacy rights in India.

Despite the assurances of the law minister Mr. Veerappa Molly regarding further amendments in the IT Act 2008, the same has been notified. This has officially given India the status of a chronic e-surveillance State. The unreasonable and unconstitutional e-surveillance and draconic police state powers conferred by the IT Act 2008 have become the law of the land.

Indians have ceased to hold some of the basic human rights in cyberspace and the omnipresent state powers have doomed the Indian cyber sphere. The accountability is missing and the reasonableness deliberately scrapped off from the provisions contained in the IT Act 2008. Even basic level encryption that is absolutely essential for safe and secure cyber space transactions has been under scrutiny. We have neither encryption standards in India nor encryption laws and regulations in India.

It is ironic that the Ministry of Law, Government of India and Mr. Molly finally gave away the freedom and security of India netizens in the hands of otherwise incompetent and inexperienced officials. How the Law Ministry allowed these unconstitutional provisions to be passed is still a bigger mystery?

The IT Act 2008 is a dark moment for the Indians wherein their rights have been curtailed on the one hand and the law has been made impotent on the other. Most of the offences have been made bailable and the deterrent has been lost forever. The misuse of the unbridled powers is very likely to happen as there are no safeguards and reasonable procedures that can prevent the same.

What would be the next step? Perhaps we would not be allowed to write articles like these in future as well if we keep on sleeping like we have been doing in the past. Alternatively, we must use self defence in cyberspace to defeat unconstitutional and illegal e-surveillance and Internet censorship exercises of Indian government and its agencies.

Aadhar Project And UIDAI Are Most Evil Projects Of India

Unique identification project of India (UID project of India) or Aadhar project of India and its implementing authority unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) are the worst e-surveillance instrumentalities of India. Irrespective of what Nandan Nilekani and Indian government says, Aadhar project and UIDAI are serving a very vicious, evil and nefarious objective of e-surveillance without procedural safeguards.

India has no constitutionally sound lawful interception law and phone tapping law. India is still using the colonial laws that were considered to be draconian by India itself. In fact, these laws for phone tapping and e-surveillance are going expressly against the mandates of Indian Constitution.

Surprisingly, neither the Supreme Court of India nor the Parliament of India thought it fit to remedy the situation. Although Supreme Court acknowledged that technology has threatened the privacy rights of Indians yet it has not done more in this regard.

Indian citizens need to use proactive self defence to safeguard their cyberspace dealings from cyber intrusions committed by cyber criminals and government and its agencies. The use of self defence and deterrence in Indian cyberspace is absolutely required since India lacks laws to protect civil liberties in cyberspace. Even the United Nations (UN) has failed to take notice of this serious situation existing in India and world wide.

Instead of enacting suitable laws to protect civil liberty of Indians in cyberspace, Indian Parliament has imposed the information technology amendment act, 2008 (IT Act 2008) upon Indians. This made the sole cyber law of India an instrumentality of e-surveillance in the hand of Indian government and its agencies.

Human Rights in Cyberspace are outlawed in India, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. In fact, the IT Act, 2008 has made the sole Cyber Law of India susceptible to the attacks of “Unconstitutionality” as it is now openly and blatantly violating various Fundamental Rights as incorporated in the Constitution of India, informs Dalal.

It is high time to scrap projects like Aadhar and repeal the cyber law of India. In the absence of the same, nothing is better than using self defence against Indian government and its agencies.

Cyber Crime Investigation Capabilities in India

India has a single law on cyber crimes. The cyber law of India is named as information technology act, 2000 (IT Act, 2000) and it is the sole cyber law of India. IT Act 2000 is also the sole law that deals with cyber crimes.

Cyber crimes in India have increased unchecked and dramatically partly due to the weak cyber law of India and partly due to poor cyber law knowledge among the police officers. This results in many cyber crimes remaining undetected and unsolved. Further, lawyers and judges are also not aware of cyber law of India and its fine details. This is the chief reason that in India we have very few cyber crime convictions.

Even on the front of cyber security India is not well situated. India is facing serious Cyber Threats and it needs good Techno Legal Skill Development Initiatives to have skilled manpower to meet such challenges, suggests Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and CEO of Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB).

It seems India has also realised that in the absence of adequate skills it cannot meet the challenges to its internal security. This is the reason why public private partnership (PPP) has been proposed for even internal security matters of India. World renowned techno legal institutions like PTLB can greatly help Indian government in maters like cyber law, cyber security, telecom issues, cyber forensics, digital evidencing, e-courts, e-discovery, cyber crimes investigations, etc.

In fact, the first techno legal cyber crime investigation manual of India would be released shortly by PTLB. PTLB is also providing exclusive courses on techno legal cyber law skill development in India. There are other techno legal skill development courses as well that are provided by PTLB.

The cyber crime investigation capabilities of India need to be enhanced. Police officers, lawyers and judges must be given suitable techno legal trainings so that cyber criminals can be nabbed and punished. Even the cyber law of India need to be repealed and a new and strong cyber law must be enacted. The sooner this is done the better it would be for the larger interest of India.

E-Delivery Of Public Services in India

Electronic delivery or e-delivery of services in India is still at its infancy stage. India is stressing too much upon information and communication technology (ICT) procurement rather than providing online services. Further, in the absence of any national level policies and strategies for online services, e-delivery of services in India has by and large remained illusive.

E-delivery of services is closely related to successful use of e-governance. E-governance in India is in bad shape and is generally unsuccessful. In fact, techno legal experts have even claimed that e-governance in India dying.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi base law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India, E-Delivery of Services in India cannot succeed till we have “Mandatory E-governance Services in India”. Presently, providing of E-Delivery of Services in India is discretionary and this is resulting in “Poor Growth” of E-Governance in India, says Dalal. Even the proposed Essential Services Delivery Bill 2011 of India is “Not Conducive” for E-Delivery of Services in India, informs Dalal.

Even the national e-governance plan of India (NEGP) has not been a great success. There is no performance based appraisals and neither is there any accountability for the funds issued to various e-governance projects. Even there seems to no accountability for the funds and grants issued by International organisations and programmes like World Bank and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Recently, department of information technology (DIT) issues a paper tilted framework for citizens engagement in NEGP. The idea is to use power of citizens and public private partnership (PPP) for governmental projects and initiatives. However, if we keep in mind the previous history of India, there are no effective contributions of public in the e-governance fields of India. Even if some public spirited citizens give their valuable suggestions, they are never considered by Indian government.

In fact, departments like DIT take contrary actions and decisions despite stiff public protests. For instance, the information technology amendment act, 2008 was vigorously protested yet it was imposed upon India. Cyber law of India needs urgent repeal and despite many suggestions by techno legal experts of India, the unconstitutional provisions of the same have been kept intact by DIT.

It is clear that public inputs and suggestions are of no use for Indian government and its departments. Till accountability, transparency and performance bound actions and projects are not undertaken, even the grants and funds of World Bank/UNDP cannot save India.

Computer Security Laws In India

Computer security in India is a very important aspect of national cyber security policy of India. Be it military computers, crucial governmental computers and systems or big corporate computers and networks, all of them have been successfully breach in the past in India.

Obviously, computer security is not a problem of individuals alone but also of big corporates and government of India. In order to ensure effective, robust and strong computer security in India, we need stringent cyber law and effective computer security guidelines and procedures.

We have neither dedicated Computer Security Laws in India nor Computer Security Policy of India, informs Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal specialist of India. Further, even the Cyber Law of India is weak and ineffective to deal with Cyber Crimes and Computer Security risks that India is presently facing, informs Dalal.

The Information Technology Act, 2000 is the sole Technology Law of India that is unsuccessfully and desperately trying to cover the areas of Cyber Law, Computer Forensics, Computer Security, etc. Practically, it is not effective for even a single field as we need specific and dedicated laws for all these areas, suggests Dalal.

India needs to formulate suitable cyber law, computer security laws and computer forensics legislations. Presently, we have none and our cyberspace is vulnerable to all sorts of cyber attacks.

It is high time for Parliament of India to consider the seriousness of the situation and ensure enough, and strong technology laws covering areas like cyber law, computer security and computer forensics.

CMS As The Internet Kill Switch Of India

Internet censorship in India has increased tremendously and that also without a constitutionally sound lawful interception law in India. Internet censorship requires a good balance between civil liberties and law and order and national security requirements. Presently, the approach of Indian government is leaning heavily towards e-surveillance and Internet censorship without much regard to civil liberties of Indians in cyberspace.

Take the example of Internet kill switch (IKS) that has been in limelight these days. Lots of people are talking about IKS without knowing where it exists and how it can be used. The Indian equivalent of IKS can be found in the form of central monitoring system (CMS), which is a centralised mechanism that can assist in lawful interception of communications from landline, mobile and Internet. Although it can be used only if there is a lawful interception law in India yet it seems to have been tested recently without any lawful interception law in India at place.

According to Praveen Dalal, leading techno legal expert of India and managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law, the present Cyber Law of India is incorporated in the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act 2000), as amended by the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008 (IT Act 2008). It also carries provisions regarding Internet Censorship and Website Blocking but without any “Procedural Safeguards and Guidelines”. This amounts to taking away “Fundamental Rights” of Indians without Reasonable Restrictions and without prescribing any “Procedural Safeguards” to prevent use of this abusive power, says Dalal.

Recently the Blogspot domain (hosted services) and sub domain (free blogs) were systematically blocked by many of the internet service providers (ISPs) of India. Even Google did not give any reason as to the cause of this outage. Google had enough time to analyse the traffic reports and respond back yet it preferred to keep a mum due to commercial interests it has in Indian market.

This outage may be an “experimental blockage” that took place at the point where Internet traffic enters and exits India. This exercise may have different names. Some may call it an Internet kill switch whereas others may call it a centralised monitoring system. At this stage it is not the nomenclature that is important but the need to put measures and safeguards to prevent its abuse in India.

So next time when we discuss about Internet kill switch of India, we must keep in mind the central monitoring system project of Indian government. If Indian government is not committed to safeguard our civil liberties, we must use self defence measures to protect our civil liberties in cyberspace.

Steering Committees On Information Security By Banks In India

Cyber crimes have increased a lot in India. Cyber crimes have not left any field or commercial activity untouched. Even the banking sector has not remained unaffected by cyber crimes. Further, the cyber law of India has introduced its own set of due diligence requirements for banks operating in India.

Realising the gravity of the situation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently released a report of its working group on information security, electronic banking, technology risk management, and cyber frauds. In this report, the RBI mandated cyber due diligence for banks in India.

The matter does not end here. It is clear that RBI has to meet great challenges before Indian banking industry can be considered reasonably safe from cyber criminals. This is more so when we have inadequate cyber laws and other laws to effectively tackle cyber crimes pertaining to banking sector of India.

Internet banking is increasingly becoming popular in India. However, Internet banking is a risky venture and India must be prepared to deal with the risks associated with it. The increasing cases of ATM frauds, online banking frauds, credit cards frauds, etc have shaken the confidence of Indian consumers in Internet banking in India.

However, Internet banking in India cannot succeed till a strong legal framework in this is enacted. According to Praveen Dalal, leading techno legal expert of India and a Supreme Court lawyer, we have no dedicated Internet Banking Law in India. Although, RBI has issued many guidelines in this regard and even our Information Technology Act, 2000 contains some indirect and implied provisions for Internet Banking yet we need a separate and dedicated law in this regard, opines Praveen Dalal.

Similarly, the present banking and other technology related legal frameworks are not conducive for mobile banking in India. We do not have a well developed e-governance infrastructure in India. Similarly, on the front of e-commerce as well, India is not much successful.

In this background, the requirements of cyber due diligence of banks in India has become more onerous. RBI has further made this requirement absolute through its Information Technology Vision Document 2011-17. According to this policy document, all banks now would have to create a position of chief information officers (CTOs) as well as steering committees on information security at the board level at the earliest.

The presence of CTO and steering committees on information security would ensure that banks are following cyber due diligence and other technology and non technology related due diligence requirements in India, says B.S.Dalal, a banking and financial law expert and senior partner of Perry4Law. Till now there was no such requirement and banks were taking cyber law related issues lightly. RBI has taken a good step in right direction and this would increase the confidence of bank customers of India.