Cyber Crimes Against Women

Information Technology solutions have paved a way to a new world of internet, business networking and e-banking, budding as a solution to reduce costs, change the sophisticated economic affairs to easier, speedy, efficient, and time saving method of transactions. Various criminals like hackers, crackers have also found ways and measures to interfere with the internet accounts and have been successful in gaining unauthorized access to the user’s computer system and stolen useful data.

Cyber crime

In general cyber crime may be defined as “Any unlawful act where computer or communication device or computer network is used to commit or facilitate the commission of crime”. Below is a list of some of the cyber crimes along with their indicative explanation. This is to facilitate better reporting of complaints.

• Harassment through e-mails: Harassment via email, includes black mailing, threatening and constant sending of love letters in anonymous names or regular sending of embarrassing mails.
• Cyber stalking: ‘Stalkers are strengthened by the anonymity the internet offers. He may be on the other side of the earth, or a next door neighbor or a near relative!’ It involves following a person’s movements across the Internet by posting messages (sometimes threatening) on the bulletin boards frequented by the victim, entering the chat-rooms frequented by the victim, constantly bombarding the victim with emails etc. In general, the stalker intends to cause emotional distress and has no legitimate purpose to his communications.
• Cyber defamation: Cyber defamation also called Cyber smearing can be understood as the intentional infringement of ‘another person's right to his good name. ‘Cyber Defamation occurs with the help of computers and / or the Internet. It is considered more of a menace owing to its expeditious nature.
• Child pornography: Child sexually abusive material (CSAM) refers to material containing sexual image in any form, of a child who is abused or sexually exploited. Section 67 (B) of IT Act states that “it is punishable for publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in sexually explicit act, etc. in electronic form.
• Cyber bullying: A form of harassment or bullying inflicted through the use of electronic or communication devices such as computer, mobile phone, laptop, etc.
• Cyber grooming: Cyber Grooming is when a person builds an online relationship with a young person and tricks or pressures him/ her into doing sexual act.
• Chapter XI of the IT Act deals with the offences such as tampering with computer source documents.
• Section 65 deals with hacking of computer system.
• Section 66 deals with publishing of information which is obscene in electric form.
• Section 67 deals with Access to protected system.
• Section 70 deals with Breach of confidentiality and privacy.

Procedure for Remedy

• In case of cyber- crimes, a victim may contact the nearest cyber cell or police station.
• A complaint may also be filed anonymously through National Cyber crime Reporting Portal (cyber crime.gov.in).
• To file a complaint alleging commission of a cyber-crime the following documents must be provided:
• In case of hacking the following information should be provided: Server logs.
• Soft copy as well as hard copy of defaced web page in case your website is defaced.
• In case the data is compromised on your server or computer or any other network equipment, soft copy of original data and compromised data is required.
• Access control mechanism details i.e. who had what kind of the access to the compromised system.
• List of suspects if any.
• All relevant information leading to the answers to following questions
• What has been compromised in the system?
• Who might have compromised the system?
• When the system was compromised?
• Why the system might have been compromised?
• Where is the impact of attack-identifying the target system from the network?
• How many systems have been compromised by the attack?
• In case of e-mail abuse like vulgar e-mails, etc., the following information should be provided:
• Extract the extended headers of offending e-mail and bring soft copy as well as hard copy of offending e-mail.
• Please do not delete the offending e-mail from your e-mail box.
• Please save the copy of offending e-mail on your computer’s hard drive.

Few Measures for Online Safety

• Keep an eye out for irrelevant / fraudulent phone/email messages.
• Don't respond to email messages that ask for personal information.
• Be aware of fraudulent Websites used to steal personal information.
• Pay attention to privacy policies on Websites and in software .
• Guard your email address.
• Use Strong Passwords.

Source : National Commission for Women