Brandishing the second largest internet user base of a robust 560 million users, India is speedily advancing up the web ladder to reach yet another milestone this year. There is every chance that pandemic will push this number further in 2021 as the predictions foresee a minimum of 600 million users. And, on the flip side, these confirmable figures strengthen the need for a robust cybersecurity framework of the nation. In the wake of the constant digitization and data growth, it is pivotal to armor up with the necessary resources, including comprehensive training, to assure data privacy and cybersecurity in India. Moreover, with cybersecurity valued as a $6.7 billion industry, there is a bigger need for strict and stiff structure of cyber laws in India.
Rising Attacks on Cyber security System
Currently, cybercrimes are dominating major newspaper headlines globally for causing unanticipated damages across industries and individuals. The most important forms of cyber thefts include data breach, identity theft, financial theft, and internet time thefts, amongst others. Although cybersecurity is moving up every day, hackers are also continually upping their game and finding ways to break into new systems. This emphasizes the need not only for better cybersecurity systems but strong cyber laws as well. Furthermore, in order to check the cyber crimes and to restrain the efforts of the fraudsters, lawmakers need to be abreast of the potential loopholes in the cybersecurity landscape and fix them in real-time. To control the escalating risks nationwide, persistent efforts with constant vigil are crucial.
Introduction to Cyber Laws in India
In the year 1996, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law adopted the model law on e-Commerce to spearhead legal uniformity globally. In fact, the General Assembly of the U.N. backed this model law as the backbone of the cyber laws of different countries. Very soon, India became the 12th country to legitimize cyber regulations in the country. After the initial draft created by the eCommerce Act led by the Ministry of Commerce in 1998, the revised Information Technology Bill was passed in May 2000. Subsequently, things came under control, with the inception of the Information Technology Act, back in October 2000. This Act elaborately traced each trifling activity or transaction on the internet, cyberspace, and the World Wide Web. Every minuscule action, as well as its reaction in the global cyberspace, imposed severe legal implications and penalty angles.
Accepting digital signatures as legal authentication was one of the significant steps towards this. This had far wider ambitions covering other tech-driven authentication forms like bio-metrics. Additionally, the popularity of electronic fund transfers and electronic data storage attested to the need and success of the futuristic vision behind the IT Act.
Regulatory Framework of Cyber Security Laws
There are four major cyber laws in India that provide legal cover when it comes to cybersecurity. These laws are the Information Technology Act, 2000; Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1980; Companies Act of 2013; and NIST Compliance.
Final Thoughts
Inasmuch as human dependence on technology intensifies in the concurrent times, cyber laws in India and across the globe will need constant up-gradation and refinements. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has also driven much of the workforce into a remote working module, thereby increasing the need for app security. In these circumstances, lawmakers will have to go the extra mile to stay ahead of the impostors, in order to block them at their advent. There is no doubt that cybercrimes can be controlled, but it will need the collaborative efforts of the lawmakers, the Internet or Network providers, the intercessors like banks and shopping sites, and, most importantly, the users. And, it is only the prudent efforts of all these stakeholders, ensuring their confinement to the law of the cyberland that can really bring about online safety and resilience.