What is Cyber Crime?

Any activity being unlawful in nature which involves the use of any network or networked device or computer as a means to commit such activity is known as cyber crime. It can be inferred from the definition that “computer” is the main element which is either used as a tool for directly committing a cyber crime or can be used to target other computers or devices. The former category which requires computer as a direct weapon involves the committing of crimes like cyber terrorism, pornography, Intellectual Property Rights Violations etc. Whereas in the latter category crimes like hacking, virus attacks etc are committed. Following is the process of filing cyber crime complaint.

Cybercrime is a criminal activity which is carried on by the use of computers and the Internet. Some of the common cyber crimes are hacking, cyber stalking, denial of service attack(DoS), virus dissemination, software piracy, credit card fraud & phishing.

Step by Step Procedures to File a Cyber Crime Complaint

Step 1- The foremost step is to lodge a complaint against cyber crime and the person who committed it with the cyber police or with the cyber cell India. Various departments for investigating crimes in various cities have been established by the cyber crime cells. These departments not only investigate the crime but they also take the charge of getting the crime reported in time. The victim can at anytime make a complaint to the cyber police or with the crime investigating department of the cyber cell both through online or offline method. One can also give a call at cyber crime helpline number.

Step 2 -One may need to provide name, mailing address & telephone number along with an application letter addressing the head of a cyber crime investigation cell when filing a complaint.

Step 3-One must provide certain documents in order to register a complaint. List of documents varies with the type of cyber crime. One requisite while registering the complaint is to attach or annex the documents which support the facts of the case fully. The type of documents required to be attached at the time of registering the cyber crime complaint depends on the nature of cyber crime committed.

If you want to learn more about cyber law, you can take up this course. This course will train you on different kinds of actual work that is required to be performed by lawyers and other professionals. After finishing the course, you will have acquired as much practical knowledge as a lawyer working at a big law firm in TMT team will know after a year or two. It is not a mere theoretical study, but hands-on practical lessons where you will have to draft a lot of documents and develop strategies.

Register your cyber crime complain with Cyber Intelligence Alliance. This is not a proxy for Police Complaint. CIA collects all the data submitted voluntarily and then pass on to state police, cyber cells and any other investigating agencies. CIA follows up with them and update you if there is any progress. CIA makes no promise as to what results will be achieved except that they make it more difficult for cyber criminals who see to operate with impunity at present.

Documents required to file a complaint

Documents required to be annexed while reporting a complaint about hacking

• Server logs
• if the website of the victim has been defaced, then both soft copy and hard copy of defaced web page.
• a soft copy of original data and the compromised data, if the data has been hacked on either victim’s  computer, server or any other equipment.
• Details like, name of the accused/person who accessed the victim’s computer system or his email for accessing the victim’s computer or email.
• There can be chances that a victim might find some person suspicious, then the list of people who he found to be suspect.
• Other relevant information to answer the following questions –

1. Which data was compromised and who might be responsible for doing that?
2. At what time did the system compromise and what was the reason for system compromise?
3. Where is the impact of the attack-identifying the target system from the network?
4. How many systems did get compromised by the attack?

 Documents required for filing complaint against vulgar emails

• Headers of email which is  offending.
• Both soft and hard copy of offending email/emails.
• Copy of offending email from your inbox and one from the hard drive.

Documents required for filing a complaint against social media based complaints

• A copy clearly showing the alleged profile.
• Copy showing the URL of the alleged content or profile.
• Both hard and soft copy of the alleged content.
• Soft copy to be provided in a CD-R.

Documents required for filing a complaint against Net banking/ATM Complaints

• Copy of Bank statement from the concerned bank of last six months.
• Copy of SMSs received related to the alleged transactions.
• Both copy of your ID proof and address proof as shown in the bank records.

Documents required for filing a complaint against business emails

• A brief clarifying the offense in written,
• name and location of origin,
• bank name and account number of origin,
•  name of the recipient as er his/her bank records.
• bank account number of the recipient.
• bank location of the recipient, this is optional.
• Date of transaction.
• Amount of transaction.
• SWIFT number.

Documents required for filing data theft complaints 

• It is required that copy of the  data which stolen has to be filed.
• The certificate showing a copyright over the allegedly stolen data, i.e, copyright certificate of the stolen data.
• Details of the employee/ employees who are suspected.

Letter of Appointment of the suspected employee

• Non-disclosure Agreement of the above said employee.
• Assigned list of duty.
• List of clients handled by the  suspects.
• The proof that the copyrighted data has been breached.
• Devices used by the accused during his/her term of service.

Cyber Crime Complaint Online

In the past decades the advancement in technology and the number of internet users have grown at a great pace and upto a great extent. With the increase in use of internet it is obvious that there will be cons for the excessive use as well. In lieu of the excessive use certain crimes online are also committed and thus, for the protection of the victim it is necessary to have provisions for registering the complaint and intimating the officials about the commission of the crime for punishing the accused.

Step 1

One can submit the complaint for cyber crime both offline and online. Cyber Cell India is the department which deals with the online and offline cyber complaint and thus, the first step is to report the complaint to this department. One can also give a call on cyber crime helpline number. You can visit here to file an online cyber crime complaint.

Step 2

A written complaint has to be filed with the cyber crime cell by the victim in the city he or she is in. But since, cyber crime comes under the purview of the global jurisdiction thus, it is implied from this that one can file a cyber complaint in the cyber crime cell of any city irrespective of the fact that the person originates from some other cities in India.

Step 3

Following information is required to be given by the victim at the time of filing the complaint with the cyber cell-

• Name of the victim/person filing the complaint,
• His contact details,
• Address for mailing.

The written complaint shall be addressed to the head to the department.

Step 4

In case of no access to the cyber cell India, one can report the matter to the local police station by filing a First Information Report. If the complaint due to any reason does not get accepted in the police station then in that case one can approach the judicial magistrate or the commissioner.

Step 5

One can also file a First Information Report under the provision of the Indian Penal Code if the offence falls under this Code. it is an  obligation of every police officer to lodge the complaint as it has been made mandatory under section 154 of Code of Criminal Procedure.

Since most of the cyber crimes under the Indian Penal Code are classified under the category of cognizable offences, thus, there is no requirement of any warrant for arresting the accused because cognizable offences are those offences in which for the purpose of carrying out the investigation or for making an arrest there is no requirement of any warrant.

•   The Ministry of Home Affairs is in lieu of  establishing and launching a centralised online cyber crime registration portal. The purpose is to remove the requirement of moving to the police station for lodging any cyber crime complaint.
• An online portal for registration of Cyber crime online has been launched by the Cyber crime cell of the Delhi police.

MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:

1. I, [. ], am the Complainant as aforesaid. I am working at a private company [name] and reside at [address]. [Comment: Usually, you will have to furnish the residential address].
2. On the day of June 30th, 2019, the complainant was shocked when he received and read his monthly bank statement from his bank.
3. As someone has used complainant identity to engage in the following types of fraudulent manner:

Credit Cards

The following is a description of the identity theft incident: Two charges were made to complainant Axis Bank credit card within the last month that the complainant never authorized. One charge was for clothes purchased at H&M in Select CityWalk on June 23rd 2019 and the other charge was for two movie tickets purchased at DLF Place Saket Mall Theatre on June 27th 2019. The thief charged, in total, INR 6,000 to complainant credit card account.

The complainant has also experienced the following problems as a result of the identity theft:

He has lost 5 hours of daily time due to the identity theft and faced mental trauma. The complainant don’t know if the identity thief used the internet to open accounts or purchased goods or services.

The Complainant therefore submitted information in writing to the Police on 03.07.2019 seeking that an FIR be lodged against the caller under section 66C of the Information Technology Act, 2000 as well as other offences which may be made out. However, the information was accepted by the police but they stated that they would not be able to take action in such a case. Annexed herewith as Annexure A is a copy of the Information in writing along with the receiving of the Saket Police Station dated 03.07.2019.

That thereafter the Complainant has not been intimated of the steps taken in the investigation, nor has he been contacted by the Police in this regard.

[Comment: Section 156(3) has been invoked in this case, as the Complainant seeks the magistrate to direct investigation into the case. In other private complaints which come originally before the Magistrate, only section 200 requires to be invoked]

PRAYER

1. a) Direct the police to register the complaint and carry out investigation in the present case.
2. b) Provide remedy to the Complainant.
3. c) Pass any other order that this Hon’ble Court may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of the case.

Cyber Crime Complaint Letter Format

There is no separate format for filing the complaint for a cyber crime. One has to write a normal letter specifying all the details about the crime and file it with the nearest police station. Documents necessarily required to prove the crime have to be annexed with the letter. List of documents required to be annexed depends from the type of cyber crime committed. It can be social media crime, or a mobile application crime, cyber bullying etc. thus, the list of these according to the type of crime committed have been mentioned in this article itself. Below the general format of cyber crime complaint has also been provided.

General format of cyber crime complaint

To,

The DCP/SP

Place: Room No. – 107, Ist Floor,

PS Saket, New Delhi – 110017

Date:

Sub: Complaint under Section 66C of the Information Technology Act, 2000

Sir,

(Facts and circumstances of the case)

Regards

Mr. X

Mobile No. 84********

How to file a complaint for cyber stalking

1. Register a written complaint to an  immediate cyber-cell in the city.
2. Where cyber-cells in the city are not available then one can file a First Information Report in the local police station.
3. Refer the complaint to the commissioner or judicial magistrate of the city, in the case where the complaint  has not been accepted by the police station.
4. If a woman is  entitled to have a legal counsel to help her in  filing a case wherein she approaches to the police station with an allegation of cyber-stalking. This is the form of Legal Assistance given to her.
5. The victim’s statement of the victim to be taken down in private, that is, maintaining his/her privacy.

How to file a complaint for cyber bullying

The Ministry of Women and Child Development on Thursday launched a separate helpline to file a complaint against abusive behaviour, harassment and hateful content on social media. Information Technology Act, 200 and some provisions of Indian Penal code as well deals with the prevention of cyberbullying. The complaint can either be filed online or in the nearest police station through submitting a written complaint.

How to file a complaint for cyber stalking

The procedure to file the complaint for this type of cyber crime is the same as that of other cyber crimes. Only difference is in the description of the crime committed in the letter and the documents annexed according to this crime.

How to file a complaint for cyber defaming?

The procedure to file the complaint for this type of cyber crime is the same as that of other cyber crimes. Only difference is in the description of the crime committed in the letter and the documents annexed according to this crime.

Cyber Crime Complaint for facebook

Any crime committed on facebook, which is a social networking site can made online on cyber cell India. It can also be filed through an offline mode in the nearest police station by writing a letter and annex all the documents required to be given when a social media crime is committed. A link is attached where a cyber crime can be  reported online and it is as follows-

Cyber Crime Complaint for whatsapp

Any crime committed on whatsapp, which is a social networking site can made online on cyber cell India. It can also be filed through an offline mode in the nearest police station by writing a letter and annex all the documents required to be given when a social media crime is committed. A link is attached where a cyber crime can be  reported online and it is as follows-

Cyber defaming & Social Media Complaint Format

To,

The DCP/SP

Place: Room No. – 107, Ist Floor,

PS Saket, New Delhi – 110017

Date- 05.03.2019

Sub: Complaint under Section 66A of the IT Act.

Sir,

I, introduce myself as Mr. X son of Mr. Y, resident of  ABC colony Saket aged 21 currently studying at Lingya Academy School Saket. I am obliged to report you the criminal act of abusive comment on social media by the accused person named Mr. A son of Mr. B, resident of N Block Okhla Vihar Abul Fazal who has posted hostile remark on social media against me which is horribly hostile and has threatning character. The said individual very surely understands that such information is false and has posted the same to cause irritation, bother, peril, obstruction, affront, damage, criminal terrorizing, ill will, scorn and hostility. He is perseveringly doing such acts by utilizing computer resource and other gadgets (Mobile) for sending such message.

The said individual has flowed the said hostile and false material on the web which is visible at ( provide the details of the web portal or platform where the message has been posted). The hostile material is not only false but silly, defamatory, abusive and insinuative and has been done with the intention to affront and criticize me and cause an embarrassment by defaming and slurring my character. This adds up to causing defamatory comment on social media and several persons have already asked me about the same believing the same to be true. This has been done with the intention to stigmatize and harm my character and reputation and cause damage to my character. The aforesaid person is liable for prosecution for offensive comment on social media and other offenses.

I would request you to promptly investigate into the aforesaid offences, against the person and take strict action against him in law.

Copy of a snapshot along with the printout of the said offensive message and material is being enclosed herewith for your perusal and action.

Thanking you in advance for your efforts.

Regards,

Mr. X

Mobile No. +91 84********.

Cyber Crime Complaint for Identity Theft

The procedure to file the complaint for this type of cyber crime is the same as that of other cyber crimes. Only difference is in the description of the crime committed in the letter and the documents annexed according to this crime.

Identity Theft Complaint Format

To,

The DCP/SP

Place: Room No. – 107, Ist Floor,

PS Saket, New Delhi – 110017

Date: 3 July 2019

Sub: Complaint under Section 66C of the Information Technology Act, 2000

Sir,

I, introduce myself as Mr. X son of Mr. Y, resident of  ABC colony Saket aged 24 currently employed at iPleader near Lingya Academy School.

Sir, someone has used my identity to engage in the following types of fraudulent manner:

Credit Cards

The following is a description of the identity theft incident: Two charges were made to my Axis Bank credit card within the last two weeks that i never authorized. One charge was for clothes purchased at H&M in Select CityWalk on June 23rd 2019 and the other charge was for two movie tickets purchased at DLF Place Saket Mall Theatre on June 27th 2019. The thief charged, in total, INR 6,000 to my credit card account.

I become aware of this theft when i received and read my monthly statement on June 30th, 2019.

I have also experienced the following problems as a result of the identity theft:

I have lost 5 hours of my time due to the identity theft and faced mental trauma. I don’t know if the identity thief used the internet to open accounts or purchased goods or services.

I would request you to promptly investigate into the aforesaid offences, against the thief and take strict action against him in law.

Copies of required documents has been attached with the complaint for your perusal and action.

Thanking you in advance for your efforts.

Regards,

Mr. X

Mobile No. +91 84********

What to do if cyber cell refuses to accept your complaint?

If cyber cell refuses to file or accept your cyber complaint one can directly approach the nearest  judicial magistrate stating the fact that the complaint has not been accepted under any circumstances.

Jurisdiction

Information technology Act, 2000 has been dealing with the computer and internet related crimes and according to this act cyber crimes are committed all over the country. Cyber Crime Investigation Cell has the jurisdiction all over the country as per section 1 and section 75 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 which deals in guiding principles concerning cyber jurisdiction and has the power to investigate all such crimes with the jurisdiction Police officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police can  investigate any offense under this Act.

The central government shall appoint an officer, not below the rank of a Director to the Government of India or an equivalent officer of a state government to adjudicate and inquire the matter.

Those who do not have cyber cell in their districts can file an online complaint on the cyber cell of India.

Cyber policing in India

Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS)

CCTNS is a project under the National e-Governance plan. It direct at creating a nationwide networking infrastructure for an IT-enabled criminal tracking and crime detection system. The project is approved by the cabinet committee on economic affairs in 2009, with an allocation of INR 2 billion.

Online complaints

In order to tackle cybercrime the central government recently announced that they would be setting up a ‘Centre Citizen Portal’. The advantage of this portal is that it will allow citizens to file complaints online with respect to cybercrimes including online financial fraud, cyber stalking and many more. Another feature of this portal is that any complaint on the portal will trigger an alert at the relevant police station and allow the police department to track and update its status. It also allows the complainant to view updates and escalate the complaint to higher officials.

Cyber Police Stations

Cyber police stations generally include appropriate equipment to analyze and track digital crimes as well trained personnel. If any person becomes a victim of cyber crime then he/she can file a complaint in a cyber police station and where there is no cyber police station available in the city then in such case complainant can file a complaint in the local police station.

Predictive Policing

It refers to the usage of the mathematical, predictive analysis, data mining and other analytical techniques in law enforcement to identify potential criminal activity. In India, Jharkhand police, Delhi police and Hyderabad city police working on the predictive policing in order to scan online records to study crime trends and in order to prevent crime.

Types of Cyber Crimes

Hacking

Access is basically a means or an opportunity to approach or enter a place or a way etc. it further involves instructing or communicating with the resources of a computer device like logical resources, arithmetical resources, memory function resources etc. A  person makes unauthorised use of or access to the computing device of the other person when he does that without taking the permission of the actual owner of the device.

Hacking, on the other hand, is an act of breaking into the network or computer of the other person. It also involves stealing the credit or debit card information or other bank details for making personal monetary gains.

Real-life example of Hacking

Vladimir Levin a Russian programmer with a computer software firm in St. Petterburg managed to get access and stole millions of dollars in 1995 from citibank network.

Trojan attack

Trojan or a trojan horse is normally disguised as a legitimate software which is employed by the person committing cyber theft or by hackers as well to gain access to and extract information of the systems of other users. It enables the cyber criminal to have access to the sensitive information of the legitimate user, spy on them and have a backdoor access on their systems. It also includes deleting, modifying, blocking and copying data along with disrupting the performance of various computer systems. Trojans can attack a legitimate owner in various ways based on the action performs, thus, it is classified as follows-

• Backdoor – it acts like a remote control and authorises the hacker to have a control in the infected network or computer. It can involve sending or deleting files and also rebooting the computer.
• Trojan- banker- it is used for stealing the legitimate owner’s bank or account details, which includes the details of credit and debit cards as well.
• Trojan downloader- it helps in installing and downloading a new version of malicious software in a particular computer.
• Trojan spy- it helps in tracking data or getting a list of applications etc.

Example of Trojan

A trojan named as Zbot has infected more than 37,000 computers in the United Kingdom through a drive by download. Users visiting a compromised site would unknowingly receive the virus as a cookie and then it steals all the data of the users.

Virus and worm attack

Virus is the programme which has the capability of infecting the other programmes. It also has the capability to make copies of itself and spread it into other programmes. Worms are programmes which help in multiplying like viruses and spread it from device to device.

Example of Virus and worm attack

A virus named Melissa is considered to be the most damaging virus ever released. It was the fastest spreading email-based worm ever. Melissa lured people by claiming in an email that it contains the list of passwords for pornographic sites and when the message opened it created havoc on the computer systems.

Identity theft 

Identity theft is one of the most common and prominent forms of cyber crime in which a person committing the crime steals the information of the other person by the use of the internet. There is a broad scope of criminal activities under the purview of cyber crime.

Internet acts as a great source of making things accessible easily without moving from one place. Though the internet at one point is proving to be a boon in today’s scientifically updated community but on the other hand, it is unfortunate that some people are indulging in unlawful activities by committing cyber crimes and making misuse of the technology.

Example of Identity Theft

Abraham Abdallah duped several credit score companies into providing them with information, and then steal millions of dollars from America’s richest people including Warren Buffet and Steven by using their identity.

Email related crimes

Email spoofing

This is a fraud act which makes an email to appear originating from a particular person and from a particular place which in reality is not the original source. Thus, as the message appears to be from one source which is actually not an original source. With the help of a working Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, an email spoofing can easily be achieved. The recipient can inspect the email source code to check whether the email is spoofed or not. Also, the recipient can track the IP address of the email and trace it back to the original sender.

Email spamming

Spamming is a deliberate act of sending email to a large number of people in the similar to a chain letter and to use network resources. It can be combined with email spoofing.

Email booming

In this identical email messages are sent to a particular IP address by the abusers on repeatedly.

Phishing

It is a type of cyber crime in which the hacker sends the URLs and email attachments which are malicious in nature to the users. The purpose of the hacker in phishing is to gain access to systems of legitimate users. The users get trapped into the trick played by the hackers who send the emails claiming the user the need to change their password or update their account information which easily gives access to the criminals of their system.

The purpose is to extract personal information like passwords, credit and debit card numbers etc. Criminals have an objective of gaining access to the login credentials of the real owner of the system, network or device etc. through this kind of attack. By being cautious of these kinds of suspected email attachments the user can protect itself from the phishing attack and at the same time protect its personal information.

The scammers may try to trap a person in this scam by claiming fake information that unauthorised or suspicious activity is happening on a particular person’s account.

HDFC Bank guidelines on Cyber Crime

How to avoid phishing scams?

The guidelines to avoid phishing scams by HDFC Bank are followed as-

Identify signs of fraud

To know about phishing websites and email, you need to look carefully on the subject matter which is delivered by the websites or email as in phishing websites and email will often be riddled with grammatical errors and fake branding.

Inspect a website before interacting with it as look at the URL or website address closely. As you will never see a misspelling in the bank name and a genuine bank website address will always be prefixed with ‘https’. That is an indication that all communication between your browser and the bank’s website is encrypted.

Click cautiously

Another way to identify phishing websites or email is most phishing sites spread their reach on the internet by posting flashy and lucrative links on websites with high user traffic. It is advisable to inspect links before interacting with them because clicking on them can seriously compromise your security. If you find anything suspicious then do a quick web search to identify the bank’s official website address or URL.

Exercise caution

The best way to avoid phishing is to become more and more cautious by using only trusted and genuine software and services when banking online. Access websites only through official links and sources, and follow proper security procedures.

Also, check if the website is secure by inspecting its URL for the SSL certificate and also it is advisable to have two devices – one for work and one for personal use- so that the security of the work device is never compromised.

How to recover from a phishing attack?

The guidelines to recover from a phishing attack by HDFC Bank are followed as-

Change all your passwords

The first step you should take to keep the damage minimum from phishing is to change your login credentials and passwords. Since the scammer could have access to all your accounts so it is advisable to change your credentials and passwords as soon as possible and to keep them out of the system and prevent further damage.

Contact the officials

The next important step would be to call your bank and explain the situation to them. As by informing them they will then freeze your account so that no further transaction can be conducted. After informing your bank officials it is also advisable to inform the cybercrime division as most states have a cybercrime division.

Scan your system

The third important step to recover from a phishing attack is to scan your system to ensure the attacker did not install any malware or backdoor software on the device for future attacks.

Delete emails from unknown sources

It is also advisable to the customers to go through your inbox once a week and delete marketing mailers and emails from unknown sources.

If you ever find yourself at the receiving end of a phishing scam, don’t panic because even the most complicated attack can be resolved with the help of your bank and the police authorities. Above all, remember to exercise caution in all your online transactions.

Trolling

The word itself indicates that it is an act of defaming the other person online in front of the whole world. The purpose of this is to tarnish the reputation or lower down the image of the innocent person. It disrupts the online communication.

Cyberbullying

when an unknown attacker uses the electronic form of media or internet to post photos, videos, texts, messages of such type which can be embarrassing in nature. It is a form of harassment which involves the use of some harsh terms to affect the victim fully.

The intention is to insult the victim publicly. Posting humiliating rumours, nasty comments, posting hate comments to trigger the political, religious and ethical beliefs or point of views of the people are some of the types of cyberbullying.

Steps to prevent Cyberbullying

Today’s generation has grown up using technology and is well versed with it. So it is essential to keep a check on them and it is the duty of the parents to keep a check on the activities of their children. Because the teenagers have less maturity and understanding to make a difference between what is right and what is wrong that is the reason why they are more vulnerable to cyberbullying and that is why it is crucial for parents to have a constant check on the activities of their children while they use the internet.

There are various warning signs to be looked upon to check whether the person at your place is bullied or might be bullying someone. These signs are as follows-

• Time fluctuation in the use of phone or laptop by an adult  or child,
• The tendency to avoid healthy discussions online,
• Hiding of profile from others,
• Indifferent behaviour towards social activities.
• Signs of becoming stressed or depressed etc.

After observing all the warning signals if there is a situation of the person facing cyber bullying then it is essential to report the case to the cyber crime cell as soon as possible.

The steps to prevent cyberbullying are followed by as-.

Step 1: Educate yourself

If you want to prevent cyber bullying then it is very important for you and for your children to understand what exactly it is.

Step 2: Protect your password

To prevent cyber bullying it is also very important for the netizen that you must safeguard your password and all private information from curious peers. Never ever give bullies the opportunity to post anything embarrassing about yourself.

Step 3: Raise awareness

It is the responsibility of all parents and individuals to bring awareness to cyber bullying whether it be through a movement, a club an event or campaign.

Step 4: Setup privacy controls

Change your privacy controls and restrict who can see your profiles to only trusted friends.

Step 5: Never open messages from people you don’t know

There is an old saying that ‘precaution is better than cure’ never open messages from people you don’t know, delete them without reading them as they could contain viruses and infect your computer. It is best to not engage and ignore them.

Step 6: Always log out of your accounts on public computers

Staying logged in public computers you run the risk of the bully changing your password and locking you out for a period of time. So, don’t give anyone the slightest chance to pose as you or to share false information.

Step 7: Don’t be a cyber bully

We cannot see the change in society until and unless we promised to change ourselves. It is your responsibility to treat others as you want to be treated. If you find someone getting cyber bullied then help him and don’t become a cyber bully.

Ransomware

It is a form of malware or malicious software which after taking control of the computer restricts the person to access his own system. To prevent the system from ransomware infection it is essential to defend one’s own system by keeping it updated and by installing the software only after knowing every detail about it. Such defensive steps shall be necessarily taken into consideration.

Installing anti-virus software is another defensive step which helps in detecting such malicious software. Keeping a back-up of documents and files is really important and automatic back up shall also be done.

Cyberstalking

The term stalking refers to keeping a check or surveillance on some particular person by an individual or a group of individuals. When it is done through the means of the internet or by following the other person constantly on his/her social media account then it is known as cyberstalking. It often takes a form of harassment and is overlapping with cyberbullying.

There were no specific laws dealing with cyberstalking prior to February 2013 amendment. But the scenario has changed after this year. Section 354D of Indian Penal Code deals with providing punishment for cyberstalking. According to this provision any man who repeatedly follows or contacts a woman or tries to do so for the purpose of fostering personal interaction despite clear indication by a woman showing her disinterest or who monitors the internet, email or other forms of electronic communication used by a woman, then it amounts to the offence of stalking.

There is an exception to this section that stalking done for following purposes will not be liable to punished under section 354D –

• If a man pursued it for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime and the man accused has been entrusted with the responsibility of preventing and detecting the crime by the State; or
• It was pursued under any law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any law; or
• In particular circumstances such conduct was reasonable and justified.

Steps to protect yourself against cybercrime

The steps to prevent yourself against cybercrime are followed as-

Step 1: Use a good internet security suite

There are many good internet security suite available in the market. Just buy the premium version of any security suite which helps you to protect your financial information whenever you go online.

Step 2: Use strong passwords

It is advisable to change your passwords regularly and don’t repeat your passwords on different sites, always try to make them complex like using a combination of at least 12 letters, symbols and numbers.

Step 3: Keep your software updated

Whenever your system ask you to update your software always update it. As cyber criminals frequently use known exploits, or flaws, in your software to gain access to your system. When your system software is updated then there are less chances that you’ll become a cyber target.

Step 4: Manage your social media settings

It is advisable to keep your personal and private information locked down because cybercriminals can often get access to your personal information with just a few data points, so the less you share publicly, it better would for you.

Step 5: Strengthen your home network

It is advisable to use a strong encryption password as well as virtual private network. Use a VPN whenever you use a public wifi network, whether it is a cafe, hotel, airport or library.

Step 6: Know what to do if you become a victim

The first thing you can do is to identify what kind of cybercrime has been committed then, the next thing is you need to alert the cyber cell of your city in case, if you don’t have any cyber cell in your city then you need to alert the local police. It is important even if the crime seems minor because it may prevent such criminals from taking advantage of other people in the future.

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