The United Nations General Assembly has recently adopted the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime in New York by resolution 79/243.
- Signing Ceremony: Hanoi, Viet Nam will host a formal signing ceremony for the treaty as consistent with past precedent for UN criminal justice treaties.
- Ratification and Accession by States: The Signing process will be followed by the process of Ratification by signatory states thus formally becoming States parties.
- Entry into Force: The treaty will enter into force after Forty States have become Parties (signed and ratified)
- Conference of the States Parties: Once the treaty enters into force, a Conference of the States Parties will be held periodically to ensure cooperation between States Parties to to promote and review its implementation.
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About The United Nations Convention against Cybercrime
- It is the first global legally binding international criminal justice treaty on cybercrime
- Aim: The treaty aims to enhance the prevention and effective combating of cybercrime, strengthen international cooperation and support technical assistance and capacity-building
- Secretariat: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime will serve as the secretariat to the Conference of the States Parties.
- Members: The treaty was adopted by consensus by all the 193 member states.
- Key Provision of the Treaty:
- Global Framework: The Treaty provides a global framework to assist in investigations, prosecutions and judicial proceedings, including extradition, joint investigations and asset recovery.
- International Cooperation: It facilitates cross-border access to electronic evidence through measures like data preservation, access and interception, supported by a 24/7 contact point network for rapid response.
- Criminal Offenses: The Treaty addresses criminalisation of cyber-dependent offenses alongside cyber-enabled crimes such as unauthorised hacking and data interference, online fraud and the non-consensual dissemination of intimate images.
- Prevention of Child Abuse: Offenses such as online child sexual abuse, the distribution of exploitation material and the solicitation or grooming of a child for the purpose of committing a sexual offence is a focal point.
- Established Jurisdictional Rules: States must claim jurisdiction over offences committed on their territory or affecting their nationals, with provisions for action against offenders within their borders if extradition is not possible.
- When jurisdictions overlap, States are required to consult with each other.
- Cooperation between States: Member States are mandated to cooperate in investigations, including extradition, evidence sharing and mutual legal assistance for electronic data.
- Procedural Tools: The treaty empowers States to preserve, search, seize and produce electronic data, as well as intercept data in transit, to combat cybercrimes while protecting human rights.
- Procedural Safeguards: The States need to be governed by safeguards such as judicial oversight, clear justifications, limited scope and access to remedies, ensuring evidence integrity and the protection of rights.
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About Cybercrime
- The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime defines cybercrime as,
- A wide range of malicious activities, including the illegal interception of data, system interferences that compromise network integrity, and availability and copyright infringements
- Categories: Cybercrime is used as an umbrella term for a range of online activity with two broad categories,
- Cyber Enabled: These are criminal activities conducted online but doesn’t require the use of a computer.
- Examples: It include drug and weapons trafficking, identity theft, fraud, and incitement of violence
- Cyber Dependent: These are crimes that can be committed only through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) devices.
- Example: Hacking; Ransomware; Digital Arrest; Phishing etc.
In India:
- India was the second most targeted country for cyber attacks globally in the year 2024 reporting 129 cyber crimes per lakh population.
- Delhi was leading with 755 cases followed by Haryana (381), and Telangana (261)
- Financial Fraud: India ranked fifth globally in the number of breached accounts in 2023, with 5.3 million leaked accounts and citizens losing close to ₹1.3 – ₹1.5 lakh to cyber criminals every minute.
- Reasons for India’s Vulnerability to Cybercrime:
- Low Digital Literacy: Only 37% of the population was digital literate as of 2023 and a significant portion of these lacks basic knowledge about online safety and best practices too making them susceptible to cyberattacks.
- Example: Many people still use older devices that are more susceptible to cyber threats due to lack of updated security features.
- Rapid Digitalization: India’s rapid adoption of digital technologies and online services due to cheap Internet services has outpaced the development of robust cybersecurity measures.
- Large Internet User Base: India’s Internet user base is one of the largest in the world providing with a huge potential for the cybercriminals to operate.
- Inadequate Cybersecurity Infrastructure: India is still developing the necessary infrastructure and expertise to effectively combat cyber threats
- Weak Legal Framework: India still doesn’t have a Data Protection Law and the existing laws are challenging to enforce as the legal framework may not be fully equipped to address emerging cyber threats.
- Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: Weak cybersecurity practices in the supply chain can expose businesses to cyber threats through third-party vendors.
- Lack of Awareness: Citizens are not well-educated about the importance of safeguarding personal information online, making them vulnerable to phishing, scams, and other fraudulent activities.
- Example: There have been cases of mimicking well-known celebrities or an acquaintance to emotionally manipulate them into divulging their personal details
Vulnerabilities in Telecom Infrastructure: The telecom infrastructure in India is often ill-prepared to handle the overwhelming volume of calls and messages from fraudsters creating a fertile ground for cybercriminals to exploit.
- Challenges in Tackling Cybercrime:
- Lack of Harmonised Legal Frameworks: Cybercrime being a transnational crime is difficult to investigate and trace as there is no unified approach to address it with significant differences in legal systems, cybersecurity laws and enforcement capacities.
- Example: An act considered a cybercrime in one country might not be recognised as such in another, creating conflicts and enforcement gaps.
- Capacity Gaps: Developing countries mostly lack the necessary infrastructure, expertise and resources to implement effective cybersecurity measures leading to a fragmented response.
- Incoherent: Cybercrime does not have a widely accepted definition, thus disagreements over the definition of cybercrime and concerns about sovereignty could hinder cooperation in investigation and enforcement.
- Non Reporting: Most of the cyber crime incidents go unreported due to various reasons as, shame, guilt, emotional manipulation,illiteracy, blackmail etc.
- Reactive Approach : India has a fragmented and reactive approach to cyber security as there is still no overarching law nor an apex institution formulated for dealing with cybercrimes.
- Prevention from Cyber Crimes:
- Cyber Hygiene Practices: Encourage individuals and organizations to adopt good cyber hygiene practices, such as regular software updates, strong password management, and secure online behavior.
- Cyber Insurance: Cyber insurance policies should be encouraged as it covers cyber-risk and helps with the costs associated with remediation, including payment for legal assistance, investigators, crisis communicators, and customer credits or refunds.
- Implement Advanced Cybersecurity Framework: Cybersecurity frameworks offer a range of best practices, policy processes, security protocols, and other necessary tools to secure an organization’s business operations.
- Antivirus: Invest in advanced cybersecurity technologies which will help to protect critical information systems and networks.
- Public Awareness and Education: Conduct widespread awareness campaigns to educate the public about common cyber threats, safe online practices, and the importance of cybersecurity.
- Way Forward:
- Strengthen Legal Framework: India needs a comprehensive legal framework which deals with cyber crime solely as it is still an emerging threat landscape and the IT Act (2000) is not sufficient.
- Cyber Security Infrastructure: Developing robust cyber security systems at all levels ie. national, state, local and individual to detect and neutralize threats
- International Cooperation: India needs to participate actively globally both via bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to stay connected and aware.
- India has participated actively in formulating the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and the recent United Nations Convention on Cybercrime.
- Training and Skill Development: The law enforcement officers need to be regularly skilled and upskilled to tackle evolving cyber threats, such as Maharashtra’s initiative to train police in cyber crime detection.
- Public Awareness: Regular campaigns on Cyber Swachata practice should be conducted in schools, workspaces ect. Also social media campaigns and television advertisement for targeted messaging on cyber frauds are needed.
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Cyber Law in India
- Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act): The Act serves as the foundation of cyber law covering different types of cybercrimes and imposing punishments.
- The crimes involved are unauthorized accessing into computer systems stealing data, hacking, cyberterrorism and spreading inappropriate or offensive material on the internet.
- The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA): It focuses on regulating data collection, processing, storage and usage while bolstering privacy safeguards with an emphasis on securing minor consent through the permission of guardian.
Government Initiatives to check Cyber Crime
- Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): Functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the I4C serves as the nodal point for coordinating efforts to combat cybercrime in India
- National Cyber Forensic Laboratory: It is established to provide early-stage cyber forensic assistance to Investigating Officers (IOs) of all State/UT Police both through online and offline modes.
- Calling Name Presentation (CNAP): This initiative aims to reduce spam and fraud calls by displaying the caller’s name on the recipient’s device.
- TRAI has recommended that all access service providers provide CNAP to their subscribers and is working with the Department of Telecommunications to develop CNAP.
- ‘CyTrain’ Portal: It is a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platform for capacity building of all the stakeholders, police officers, judicial officers and prosecutors through online courses on critical aspects of cybercrime investigation, forensics, prosecution, etc. along with certification.
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: The portal (https://cybercrime.gov.) has been launched to enable the public to report incidents about all types of cyber crimes, with a special focus on cyber crimes against women and children.
- National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC): This center Identifies, protects critical infrastructure sectors, ensures their longevity and Coordinates with stakeholders to enhance critical infrastructure security.
- Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In): CERT-In is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents as and when they occur.
- Standardisation: All the banks have been asked to have ‘160’ in the beginning of their customer care numbers to identify as genuine.
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- The three-digit number will be a part of the 10-digit mobile number and any call without the number should not be picked up by the citizens.
- URL phishing frauds: All banks in India will have .bnk.in in their URL and financial institutions will have .fin.in
- White Listing: All telecom operators will ‘white-list’ links sent via messages (including SMS) to citizens. The Links which are not white-listed will be disposed of at the operator level and will not reach customers.
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