19 A. INTRODUCTION In 21 st Century, the societies are increasingly getting transformed into Knowledge Societies and their inhabitants into Knowledge Networkers who are more informed of the events happening locally and globally. Their actions are based on the strong foundation of knowledge which is universal, objective, timely and retrieved from various sources. People are becoming more aware of their rights and opportunities. However, this revolutionary change is brought by computer, internet and information technology. In fact, in the 21 st Century Knowledge Society, the way people communicate and interact with each other all over the globe has changed drastically due to globalization and e-revolution the paper based communication of earlier times is fast being substituted by electronic communication. This has lead to new ways of functioning of government and business. 1 B. CYBER SPACE 1. Meaning of cyber space The term ‘cyber space’ was first used by William Gibson in his science fiction ‘Neuromancer’ in 1982, which he later described as “an evocative and essentially meaningless buzzword that could serve as a cipher for all of his cybernetic musings. Now it is used to describe anything associated with computers, information technology, the internet and the diverse internet culture. Thus, “cyberspace’ is the electronic medium of computer networks, in which online communication takes place and where individuals can interact, exchange ideas, share information, provide social support, conduct business, direct actions, create artistic media, play games, engage in political discussions etc. 2 According to Chip Morningstar and F. Randall Farmer, cyberspace is defined more by social interactions involved rather than its technical implementation. The core characteristic is that must be an environment which consists of many participants with the ability to affect and influence each other. In cyberspace, the computational medium is an augmentation of the communication channel between real people. 3 Thus, cyberspace may be described as a conceptual collegeum where world’s information resources come together without being seen or sensed. 4 2. Salient features of cyber space 1 Justice T. Ch. Surya Rao, “Cyber Laws – Challenges for the 21 st Century”, Andhra Law Times, 2004, p. 20 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberspace#cite_note-1, accessed on 15.07.2009 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberspace#cite_note-3, accessed on 15.07.2009 4 Asian School of Cyber Laws, Fundamentals of Cyber Law, 2005, p. 93.
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A. INTRODUCTION
In 21st Century, the societies are increasingly getting transformed into Knowledge
Societies and their inhabitants into Knowledge Networkers who are more informed of the
events happening locally and globally. Their actions are based on the strong foundation of
knowledge which is universal, objective, timely and retrieved from various sources. People
are becoming more aware of their rights and opportunities. However, this revolutionary
change is brought by computer, internet and information technology. In fact, in the 21st
Century Knowledge Society, the way people communicate and interact with each other all
over the globe has changed drastically due to globalization and e-revolution the paper based
communication of earlier times is fast being substituted by electronic communication. This
has lead to new ways of functioning of government and business.1
B. CYBER SPACE
1. Meaning of cyber space
The term ‘cyber space’ was first used by William Gibson in his science fiction
‘Neuromancer’ in 1982, which he later described as “an evocative and essentially
meaningless buzzword that could serve as a cipher for all of his cybernetic musings. Now it is
used to describe anything associated with computers, information technology, the internet
and the diverse internet culture. Thus, “cyberspace’ is the electronic medium of computer
networks, in which online communication takes place and where individuals can interact,
exchange ideas, share information, provide social support, conduct business, direct actions,
create artistic media, play games, engage in political discussions etc.2
According to Chip Morningstar and F. Randall Farmer, cyberspace is defined more by
social interactions involved rather than its technical implementation. The core characteristic
is that must be an environment which consists of many participants with the ability to affect
and influence each other. In cyberspace, the computational medium is an augmentation of the
communication channel between real people.3
Thus, cyberspace may be described as a conceptual collegeum where world’s
information resources come together without being seen or sensed.4
2. Salient features of cyber space
1 Justice T. Ch. Surya Rao, “Cyber Laws – Challenges for the 21st Century”, Andhra Law Times, 2004, p. 20 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberspace#cite_note-1, accessed on 15.07.2009 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberspace#cite_note-3, accessed on 15.07.2009 4 Asian School of Cyber Laws, Fundamentals of Cyber Law, 2005, p. 93.
Charles Babbage, an English Mathematics Professor, is the Father of modern
computer. In 1822, he proposed a machine called ‘Difference Engine’ to perform
differential equations. Subsequently he stopped working on this machine and
developed the ‘Analytical Engine’ in 1833.
v. Herman Machine
In 1889, Herman Hollerith used cards to store data information, which he fed into a
machine that compiled the results mechanically.
vi. Mark-I Machine
The start of World War II produced a substantial need for computer capacity,
especially for the military purposes. However, Mark I, was first successful attempt
which was built as a partnership between Harvard Aiken and IBM in 1944. This
electronic calculating machine used relays and electromagnetic components to replace
mechanical components.7
vii. Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC)
In 1946, John Eckert and John Mauchly developed ENIAC (Electronic Numerical
Integrator and Calculator). This computer used electronic vacuum tubes to make the
internal parts of the computer. It used almost all the components and concepts of
today’s high speed electronic digital computers.
viii. Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC)
Subsequently, Eckert and Mauchly developed EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable
Automatic Computer) which was the first electronic computer to use the stored
programme concept introduced by John Von Neumann.
ix. Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC)
In 1949, at the Cambridge University, a team headed by Maurice Wilkes developed
EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) which was also based on
John Von Neumann’s stored programme concept. This machine used mercury delay
lines for memory and vacuum tubes for logic.
7 T.K. Vishwanathan, “Chasing Mirages in Cyberspace”, CBI Bulletin, July, 2000, p. 4
23
x. Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC)
In 1951, the Eckert-Mauchly Corporation manufactured UNIVAC (Universal
Automatic Computer) and its implementation marked the real beginning of the
computer era. During this period, the major computer manufacturers begin to offer a
range of capabilities and prices, as well as accessories such as card feeders, page
printers and cathode ray tube displays.
xi. Computer
During the 1970s there came a large range of applications for cheaper computer
systems and many business organizations adopted computers for their offices. The
vacuum deposition of transistors became the norm and entire computer assemblies
became available on tiny chips.8
xii. Personal Computers (PCs)
In 1980s Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) design, in which hundreds of
thousands of transistors were placed on a single chip, became common. The
‘shrinking’ trend continued with the introduction of personal computers (PCs), which
are programmable machines small enough and inexpensive enough to be purchased
and used by individuals. Microprocessors equipped with Read Only Memory (ROM),
which stores constantly used, unchanging programs, performed an increased number
of functions. By the 1980s, some personal computers were run by microprocessors
that, handling 32 bits of data at a time, could process about 4,000,000 instructions per
second.
xiii. Advanced Personal Computers (APCs)
By the 1990s, personal computers became part of everyday life. This transformation
was the result of the invention of the microprocessor, a processor on a single
integrated circuit (IC) chip. The trend continued leading to the development of
smaller and smaller microprocessor with a proportionate increase in processing
power.
The computer technology continues to experience huge growth. Computer
networking, computer mail and electronic publishing are just a few of the applications that
have grown in recent years. Advances in technology continue to produce cheaper and more
8 Anantachari, T., “Computer Crime”, Seminar, 1985 May; pp. 39-41.
24
powerful computers offering the promise that in the near future, computers or terminals will
reside in most, if not all, homes, offices and schools.
3. Generation of computer
A generation refers to the stage of improvement in the product development process.9
In computer we have following 5 generations:
i. First Generation (1940-1956): Vacuum Tubes
The first generation computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums
for memory and were often very big in size taking up entire rooms. They were very
expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, they generated a lot of
heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions. First generation computers relied on
machine language to perform operations and they could solve only one problem at a time.
While easily understood by computers, machine languages are almost impossible for
humans to use because they consist entirely of numbers. Therefore, computer programmers
use either high level programming languages or an assembly language programming. An
assembly language contains the same instructions as a machine language, but the instructions
and variables have names instead of being just numbers.
a. Features of First Generation of Computers
The vacuum tubes were used in the circuits of these computers.
The input and output operations were done using punched card technology.
For external storage, magnetic tapes were used.
The machine was capable to do one job at a time, therefore batch processing was
adopted.
The operations like setting of switches have to be done by humans.
The language used by these computers was machine language and assembly
language.
9 Dr. K.P.C. Gandhi, “An Introduction to Computer-Related Crimes”, CBI Bulletin, June, 1996, p. 6
25
b. Examples of First Generation of Computers
The examples of first generation computers are UNIVAC-I, ENIAX and IBM-650.
ii. Second Generation (1956-1963): Transistors
In the second generation computers, the transistors replaced vacuum tubes. Transistor
is a device composed of semiconductor material and was far superior to the vacuum
tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient
and more reliable than their first generation predecessors. Though the transistor still
generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage, it was a vast
improvement over the vacuum tube. Second generation computers still relied on
punched cards for inputs and on printouts for output.10
Second generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to
symbolic or assembly languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions
in words. High-level programming languages were also being developed at this time
such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the first
computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from magnetic
drum to magnetic core technology.11
a. Features of Second Generation of Computers
Transistors were used in the circuits.
The input operations were performed by using punched cards and magnetic
tapes and for output operations punched cards and papers (printout) were used.
For external storage, magnetic tapes were used.
The orientation was toward multiple users i.e. the machine was capable to
process multiple tasks concurrently.
Human intervention is required for punched card operations only.
The high level languages like FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC etc. were used as
the languages by the computers.
b. Examples of Second Generation of Computers
The examples of 2nd
generation of computers are IBM-1400, General Electric-635 etc.
iii. Third Generation (1964-1971): Integrated Circuits
10 Id. at p. 8 11 Id. at p. 9
26
In the third generation of computers, transistors were substituted by integrated
circuits (ICs) of silicon chips which were smaller in size and called semiconductors.
The ICs drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers and require less
energy. Third generation computers used keyboards for input and monitors for
output. Further, these were having an operating system which allowed the device to
run many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored the
memory. Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because
they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.
a. Features of Third Generation of Computers
Integrated circuits replaced transistors. Inspite of their smaller size, they were
capable to perform better than transistors.
For data input operations keyboards and output operations monitors were used
instead of the punched cards.
For external storage magnetic disks were used.
Sophisticated operating systems, which were capable of handling several jobs
concurrently, were used.
More advanced high level languages like PASCAL were used.
b. Examples of Third Generation of Computers
The examples of third generation computers are IBM system/360 etc.
iv. Fourth Generation (1971-1990): Microprocessor (VLIC)
The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of
integrated circuits were rebuilt onto a single silicon chip commonly known as Very
Large Scale Integration (VLSI). A silicon chip contains a Central Processing Unit
(CPU). In the world of personal computers, the terms ‘microprocessor’ and ‘CPU’
are used interchangeably. At the heart of all personal computers and most
workstations sits a microprocessor. Microprocessor also controls the logic of almost
all digital devices, from clock, radios to fuel-injunction systems for automobiles.12
a. Features of Fourth Generation of Computers
12 S.K. Verma and Raman Mittal, Legal Dimensions of Cyberspace, Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, 2004, p. 16
27
The circuits used VLSI and microprocessors of virtually microscopic size,
which led to drastic cut on the size of computer.
The input output devices were the same monitors, keyboard, printer etc. but
refined.
Micro computers have evolved.
Magnetic disks were the primary devices used for external storage.
The use of special software for maintaining large data bases became popular.
The application software for micro computer became popular in this
generation.
b. Examples of Fourth Generation of Computers
The examples of fourth generation of computers are IBM, Systems/370, Burroughs
B-7700 etc.
v. Fifth Generation (Late 1990–Future): Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in
development. Artificial Intelligence is the branch of computer science concerned
with making computers behave like humans. The term was coined in 1956 by John
McCarthy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. Artificial intelligence
includes games playing, expert systems, neural networks, robotics etc.
As we move from first generation of computers to the fifth generation of computers
the speed, accuracy, versatility and reliability increases whereas the cost and size
decreases.13
4. Types of Computers
According to size and capabilities, the computers can be of following 5 types:
i. Micro computers
These are the most widely used category of computers which we commonly term as
personal computers (PCs). The word ‘micro’ suggests only the size, but not the
capacity. These computers can fir themselves on to a desk top. They are capable of
doing all sort of input-output operations. They can also be connected to few
peripheral devices.
ii. Mini computers
13 Id. at p. 18
28
These computers are relatively smaller and less expensive than mainframe and
medium sized, but they can be portable in comparison with mainframes. They are
relatively faster and it can support about 10-20 user terminals connected to it. These
types of computers are generally easy to use. They can handle database, statistical
problems, accounting etc. using special software designed for above uses.
iii. Medium-sized computers
These computers are mini versions of mainframe computers, they are relatively
smaller than mainframes and have smaller power than mainframes. Their processing
speeds are relatively high with support for about 200 remote systems.
iv. Mainframe computers
They have capability to support many peripheral devices and terminals, which can
process several million instructions per second (MIPS) and can support more than
thousand remote systems. Mainframes are mostly used for system like railway
reservation etc.
v. Super computers
These are the computers which are characterized as being the fastest, with very high
processing speeds, very large size, most powerful and most costly of all their
cousins. These computers are used widely in complex scientific applications like
processing geological data, weather data, genetic engineering etc. These computers
recognize words up to length of 64 bits and more. Their speed of calculations is up to
1.2 billion instructions per second and they can take input from more than 1000
individual work stations. PARAM is an example of super computer developed in
India.14
5. Major components of computer
A computer has following 2 major components:
i. Hardware
Computer hardware is the collection of various physical components of the computer
like the computer itself, the input-output devices, printers and other peripheral
devices. The computer hardware can blindly perform some basic operations like
addition, subtraction, data transfer, control transfer and simple tests. These
components are tangible, which one can see and feel. To enhance the capabilities of
14 Jyoti Rattan, Cyber Laws, Bharat Law House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2011, p. 26.
29
the hardware and to perform complex operations, we need to take help of software
component.
ii. Software
Software is a set of instructions usually termed as programmes which are required for
processing activities of the computer. These set of programmes can be used to solve
real world problems. The capability of computer depends largely on the software
component. Software refers not only to the programmes which make the computer
work, but also those programmes which are used to solve real life problems.15
6. Characteristics of computers
Computers are developed to perform various operations, such as calculations and
data processing, or simply for entertainment. They have the following basic
characteristics16
:
i. Speed
The computers process data at an extremely fast speed, at millions of instructions per
second. In few seconds, a computer can perform such a huge task that a normal
human being may take days or even years to complete. The unit of speed of a
computer is MHz (Megahertz) i.e. one million instructions per second. At present, a
powerful computer can perform billions of operations in just one second.
ii. Accuracy
The computers are very accurate. However, sometime there could be error which is
due to error in instructions by the user. Therefore, its level of accuracy depends on
the instructions and the type of machines being used. As computer works according
to instructions given, therefore, faculty instructions for data processing may lead to
faulty results. This is known as GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out).
iii. Reliability
The reliability is the measurement of performance of a computer, which is measured
against some predetermined standards. Generally, the output generated by the
computer is very reliable, but it is reliable only when the data, which is passing as
input to the computer and the program which gives instructions are correct and
reliable. Inconsistent, incorrect and unreliable programs and data makes the
15 Id. at p. 28. 16 Anurag Gupta and Anshuman Sharma, Fundamentals of Internet Applications, 2007, p. 3.
30
computer erroneous and unreliable i.e. for computer to be reliable, the input should
be reliable. The popular phrase ‘Garbage In Garbage Out’ i.e. GIGO represents the
reliability constraint of the computer. Further, the major reason behind the reliability
of the computer is that, at hardware level, it does not require any human intervention
between its processing operations.
iv. Diligent
As computer is a machine, so it does not feel tired or distracted. Its performance is
consistent even to an extent of more than 10 million calculations, it does each and
every calculation with same speed and accuracy.17
v. Intangible benefits
Computers give many intangible benefits like flexibility, ability to accommodate
changes and expansion, competitive advantage, better service etc.
vi. Cost reduction
As we move from 1st generation to 4
th generation of computers, the cost factor has
reduced. Further, the benefits which computer give, override the costs, thereby
making the cost incurred to be recovered within no time, in turn reducing the
effective cost, thus one can have competitive edge over others.
vii. Large storage capability
Computers can store large amounts of data. Though the main memory of the
computer is relatively small and it can hold only a certain amount of information but
the data is stored on secondary storage devices such as magnetic tapes or disks.
Small sections of the data can be accessed very quickly and brought into the storage
devices, as and when required, for processing.
viii. Versatility
The computer performs 3 basic operations. Firstly, it is capable to access and accept
information through various input-output devices from the user. Secondly, it
performs basic arithmetic and logical operations on data as desired. Thirdly, it is
capable to generate the desired output in the desired form. It can work upon numbers,
graphics, audio, video etc. making it really versatile. Further, it can perform multiple
tasks simultaneously. For e.g. at one moment it can be used to draft a letter, another
17 Id. at p. 5
31
moment it can be used to play music and in between, one can print a document as
well. All this work is possible by changing the program (computer instructions).
ix. Resource sharing
In the initial stages of development, computers were used to be isolated machines.
With the tremendous growth in computer technologies, today computers have the
capability to connect with each other. This has made the sharing of costly resources
like printers possible. Apart from device sharing, data and information can also be
shared among groups of many users.18
7. Limitations of computer
A computer has the following disadvantages:
i. It is a machine and does not work by itself, it requires set of instructions to be
provided for else computer hardware is a waste.
ii. It is not intelligent, it needs instructions for each and every task to be performed
by it, which should be given in detail.
iii. It cannot take decisions on its own, one has to program the computer to take an
action if some conditions prevail.
iv. Unlike humans, the computers cannot learn by experience.
E. NETWORKS
The value of a computer increases when it is connected to other computers. It is just
like a telephone. If A has telephone then he can use his phone to call any of his friends
provided all his friends have telephone. Hence, where his friends are not having telephone
then it is useless for A to have telephone. Similarly, where A has computer it will be more
useful for him in case it is connected to other computers. This connection among the
computers constitute network. Therefore, a network is a collection of computers that are
connected through a communication channel i.e. cables, fiber optics etc. to share data,
hardware and software.19
1. Types of networks
Network can be classified into following 2 broad categories depending on their scope
and connectivity:
i. Basic type networks
18 Id. at p. 7 19 L.C. Amarnathan, “Crimes Related to Computer Network”, CBI Bulletin, February, 1999, p. 39
32
It is of following 2 types:
a. Local Area Network (LAN)
These networks connect computer and other information processing devices, which
are located in a limited physical area (roughly 1 Km radius) like office, classroom,
building, factory, worksite etc. LANs are essentially a part of many organizations for
providing telecommunications network capabilities to the end users.
Most of the LANs use a range of communication media like twisted pair wire, co-
axial cable, wireless radio etc. to interconnect various microcomputers and work
stations. For making this communication possible, every PC has the circuit board
known as Network Interface Unit (NIU). Most of the LANs use a powerful
microcomputer having a large hard disk, commonly known as network server, which
has a network operating system which controls telecommunications and the use and
sharing of network resources.20
Now a day’s all the computers are designed so that it is easy to connect them to a
LAN without buying any extra equipment. When A wants to send some information
through his computer to B, then he will put the information in its NIU with address of
B’s computer. The job of NIU is to deliver the message safely to the computer of B.
the NIUs of all the computers are connected to an electronic circuit called hub.
Therefore, such interconnection of computers in a small area is called LAN.
b. Wide Area Network (WAN)
Some of the organizations are very widespread, where offices are not limited to a
building but are spread throughout large city or metropolitan area. The
communication networks which cover large geographic area (roughly 100 sq. Km.)
are called WANs. These may be called by different names depending upon the area
e.g. communication networks which cover metropolitan area like Mumbai, Delhi,
Kolkata etc. is called Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs).
The connection between computers in a MAN is usually throughout the local
telephone network. In India, telephone company Mahanagar Telephone Nigam
Limited is playing very important role in metropolitan cities. For e.g. DELNET is
MAN which is a local network connecting the libraries in Delhi. Any user may use
DELNET to see which material is available in which library.
20 Chetan Srivastava, Fundamentals of Information Technology, 2000, p. 341.
33
ii. Interconnected networks
It is of following 3 types:
a. Intranet
The network which connects the various locations and gives connectivity within the
organization is called intranet. These networks are limited to the organization and
these are designed in such a way so as to provide easy access to the information
available on the Internet website to the end users.
b. Extranet
Those networks which link some of the intranets of the company with those of its
business partners, customers, suppliers, consultants etc. who can access selected
Internet websites and company’s database are known as extranet.
c. Internet
The term ‘Internet’ is derived from 2 words ‘interconnection’ and ‘networks’. Internet
is a worldwide system of computer networks i.e. network of networks which allows
the user to share information on those linked computers. It consists of thousands of
separately administered networks of various sizes and types. Each of these networks
comprises number of computers. LANs are connected by using public switched
network to create a WAN and when number of WANs and other interconnected
networks such as intranet and extranet are connected, it results in Internet. All
computers connected to the Internet communicate to each other only by using a
common set of rules which are known as protocol. For this communication, each
computer should have its own address which is called as IP address.21
2. Evolution of Internet
i. Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET)
Signing of Internet started in 1960, when it grew out of an experiment conducted by
the US Department of Defence. They wanted to create a computer network that could
continue to function in the event of a disaster, such as a nuclear war. Even if a part of
the network was damaged or destroyed, the rest of the system would continue to
work. That network was known as Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
21 Id. at p. 345
34
(ARPANET) which linked US scientific and academic researchers. It was the
forerunner of today’s Internet.
ii. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
By 1970s, Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) helped in the development of
a new protocol known as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
for transferring data between the networks. The TCP/IP is the core of Internet.
iii. National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET)
Internet really took off in the 1980s when the National Science Foundation (NSF)
and ARPANET linked its 5 regional super computer centres at major universities so
that many users could share their work. Later on, NSF created NSFNET (National
Science Foundation Network) which is a series of networks for research and
education communication. This network was based on ARPANET protocols and it
was provided free to any US research and educational institution.
iv. World Wide Web (WWW)
In the 1980s, Usenet newsgroup and Electronic-Mail (e-mail) came into picture.
Internet really became popular in the 1990s after the development of the World Wide
Web (WWW). Before that, it was open for a handful of sites only. It is amazing that
in June 1993, there were only 130 websites, but now there are millions.22
v. Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
In 1991, CERN (Conseil European pour la Recherche Nucleaire) released World
Wide Web, also known as the web. The CERN team developed the protocol based on
hypertext (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol i.e. HTTP) that makes it possible to connect
content on the web with hyperlinks. Earlier, the Internet was largely a text based
system. However, the WWW permitted access to information using a Graphical User
Interface (GUI) and the use of hypertext link to access information across the network
without being a computer expert and without knowing the exact physical location.
Now the websites are able to provide users with a range of experiences such as
pictures, multimedia, sound, video and interactivity.
With the growth of Internet, the quality and variety of information has also grown.
Today the Internet is a repository of every consumable type of information.
22 A.G. Noorani, “Cyberspace and Citizen’s Rights”, Economic and Political Weekly, June, 1997, p. 1299
35
3. History of Internet in India
i. Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) – 1995
Internet was initially available in India through ERNET. It was made available for
commercial use by the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) in August 1995.
Initially it started with dial-up in 6 cities on August 14, 1995 and gradually developed
as a potential source of e-commerce in India.23
The role of fibre optics communication
from Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) has accelerated the growth of
Internet in the new millennium.
ii. Rediff.com - 1996
The rediff.com was launched by Shri Ajit Balkrishnan in 1996.
iii. First Cyber Café – 1996
India’s first cyber café started in 1996.
iv. First Online Banking by ICICI – 1997
India’s first online banking was launched by ICICI Bank in 1997.
v. Internet Service Provider Policy – 1998
With the introduction of Internet Service Provider Policy (ISP) in 1998, the monopoly
of VSNL on Internet came to an end. Satyam Infoway (Sify)24
was the first ISP which
started functioning in India. The expanding dimensions of Internet25
offered vast
scope and opportunities to human beings to identify, evaluate and exchange
information for the benefit of public26
all over the world. It provided new
environment, new culture, new business links and commercial networks virtually
revolutionizing all walks of human life.
4. Services of Internet
Internet mainly provides following 4 services:
i. Communication services
The communication services available on the Internet are used to access different
types of information and some are used to exchange information with other persons or
23 India ranks 33rd in the world in terms of e-commerce and on-line shopping 24 Satyam Infoway (Sify) was incorporated in 1995 and was registered under different domain names. 25 In 2006, there were about 40 million net users and Internet cyber cafes and more than 10 lakh persons
engaged in online share trading. 26 The Indian Railways launched online site in 2001 and Air Deccan was the first airline to start online air-
ticketing in 2004.
36
groups according to their interests. The communication services27
are of following 7
types:
a. Electronic Mail (E-mail)
An e-mail is one of the most common Internet services. It is used to send and receive
electronic messages between persons anywhere in the world. It may consist of text,
images, audio clips, video clips etc. this service also allows us to attach files that
contains text documents, executable programs, spreadsheet, graphs etc. The main
advantage of e-mail over the conventional mail system is that the delivery of e-mail is
much easier, cheaper and faster. Moreover, the same message can be sent
simultaneously to a group of people. However, e-mail can also be used for threat,
defamation, stalking etc.28
Some of the most commonly used e-mail programs are
Microsoft Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, and Eudora etc.
b. Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
IRC is a multi-user chat system that allows people from all over the world to
communicate simultaneously in real time. These conversations take place on
thousands of channels which are virtual locations on IRC network where users need to
join in order to chat with others. These channels are usually based on specific topics
of interest. When a user sends a message to a channel, a copy of it is received by all
the active participants of a given channel. The participants can either read those
messages and reply with an appropriate response or ignore them. The channel remains
active as long as the users are connected to it. However, when the last person leaves
the channel, then it vanishes automatically. To access IRC, one needs to run IRC
software on his computer. Some of the IRC softwares are WSIRS, VIRC, MIRC etc.
c. Internet Telephony
Internet Telephony is also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). It lets users
talk across the Internet to any PC equipped to receive the call for the price of only the
Internet connection rather than as on Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Each person on the Internet phone call needs a computer installed with Internet Phone
Program alongwith a microphone and a speaker. When a connection is established,
27 Anurag Gupta and Anshuman Sharma, Fundamentals of Internet Applications, 2007, pp. 18-19. 28 “E-Mail Threat to Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit”, The Tribune, January 11, 2002, p. 1
37
voice conversation can take place, although sound quality can be poor during the
transmission process.
d. Telnet
Telnet is one of the oldest Internet services that allow us to log on to a remote
computer that is attached to the Internet. It acts as an intermediator between your
computer and the remote computer that you want to access. However, with Telnet,
only those users are permitted to access the information from the remote computer
which is allowed by the organization.29
e. Newsgroup
It is a forum for interested people to discuss topics of common interest such as news,
computers, science, business, recreational activities, cooking, social issues, research
and development etc. Some of the newsgroups are accessed freely while others need
to be subscribed and users need to agree on the terms and conditions of the
newsgroups provider. Further, to participate in a discussion, the user sends a message
to the newsgroup using Electronic Bulletin Boards (EBB) which is seen by all the
members of the newsgroup. After reading the message, the other users in the
newsgroup can choose to reply either to the whole newsgroup or to the originator of
the message. The entire collection of Internet newsgroups is known as ‘Usenet’ which
contains thousands of newsgroups on a large number of topics.
f. Mailing Lists
A mailing list is an organized way to enable group of Internet users to share
information through e-mail usually on a specific topic or for a specific purpose. The
user must subscribe himself to the mailing list server if he wants to be a part of a
mailing list. Once subscribed, he can send/receive all messages relating to that topic
to/from all other subscribers through e-mail. It looks similar to a newsgroup except
that it uses e-mail mailing list server instead of bulletin boards. Some of the
commonly used mailing list software programs are LISTSERV, List Proc, Mailman,
Majordomo etc.
g. Instant Messaging
29 P.N. Grabosky, “Crime in Cyberspace”, CBI Bulletin, February, 1999, p. 14
38
Instant Messaging is an online, interactive real time communication between 2 or
more people who are connected to the Internet. It has a unique combination of useful
chat features such as check for the availability of users, chat privately with a single
sending and receiving, file transfer, group chat and alter the user when his friends sign
in or exits. Some of the most commonly used instant messaging programs include
Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, America Online Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger etc.30
ii. Information retrieval services
Internet is a collection of thousands of servers which maintain incredible amount of
information. The users can access information from these huge databases but there is
no central listing of sites and the data they contain. Therefore, users find very difficult
to locate the desired information quickly. In order to overcome these problems, many
information retrieval services have been designed which allow you to retrieve
information in a quick manner. Most of these services are provided free of cost. The
information retrieval services31
are of following 5 types:
a. File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
FTP enables the users to transfer files between computers connected to the Internet.
After user connects to the FTP server, he can navigate directories that are accessible
to FTP and look for the file he wants to retrieve. Once he has located, it can be
transferred on his computers. All this is done using a FTP client program that is
installed on user’s computer. Using FTP, you can download files containing books,
articles, software, games, images, application forms etc. Some FTP servers store files
that can be accessed by anyone, these servers are known as ‘Anonymous Servers’.
However, some FTP servers require username and password to log in.
30 Dr. M. Ponnaian, “Cyber Crimes, Modern Crimes and Human Rights”, The PRP Journal of Human Rights,
July-September, 2000, p. 14 31 Anurag Gupta and Anshuman Sharma, Fundamentals of Internet Applications, 2007, pp. 20-21.
39
b. Archie
These are many FTP servers on the Internet containing huge volume of information.
In order to find a particular file, a user has to login to each FTP server one by one to
find the server that contains the required file which is very daunting task. This
problem is solved by archie which is a database of public FTP sites and their contents.
It regularly monitors the large number of FTP sites and keeps the database containing
the information about the software, documents and data files available for
downloading up to date. If you need to search a file, you simply type its name in the
archive server’s homepage which returns the list of FTP sites that contains files on the
required topic.
c. Very Easy Rodent Oriented Netwide Index to Computer Archives (VERONICA)
It is an archie variation. It is gopher based resource that provides access to the
information resources stored on most of the world’s gopher servers. It supports an
index of title on which a search can be performed. When the VERONICA’s user
submits a query using a gopher client, it results in a gopher menu containing
information items whose title contains the specified keyword to be searched. This
gopher menu can further be used like any other gopher menu.
d. Gopher
A gopher provides hierarchical menu based system that can be used to search, retrieve
and display documents from remote sites on the Internet. Each gopher server contains
its own system of menu listing subject-matter topics, local files and links to other
gopher servers. When a user wants to search for a particular topic through a gopher
client program, a menu of choices is displayed to the user. Each menu item consists of
short self explanatory phrase. On clicking the menu items, one may either get the
contents of a data file or reference to a menu on another gopher server. This process
continues until the required file is obtained. This hierarchical menu based approach of
the gopher helps to narrow the search and locate information quickly from anywhere
in the world. One of the commonly used gopher client program is Turbo Gopher.
e. Wide Area Information Service (WAIS)
WAIS is an Internet search tool which works in accordance with Client-Server
principle. The WAIS client program interacts with a WAIS server that enables the
40
user to specify the databases requested for search and to conduct a search on the basis
of keywords specified from those databases and send a response back to the WAIS
client program in the form of menu, listing all the files that contain those keywords.
iii. Web services
Web services are the web based enterprise applications that are used for exchanging
data between applications or systems. It allows software applications written in
various programming languages and running on various platforms to interact
smoothly with each other over the Internet using open XML (Extensible Markup
Language) based standards and transport protocols.
Web services provide an ability to deliver applications to the user at a much lower
cost as the distribution cost is reduced significantly. Microsoft NET is one of the
major XML web service providers.32
iv. World Wide Web (WWW)
The World Wide Web (WWW) or W3 or Web is one of the most important services
which was developed by Timothy Berners Lee in 1989. It is a mechanism for
accessing linked documents spread over thousands of servers all over the Internet.
These documents, also known as web pages, support not only text strings but also acts
as a link to other related pages anywhere in the world. These links are known as
hypertext links.
Each time, the user clicks on these links, the www retrieves the appropriate page from
the server and displays its content. Users are able to navigate around the web freely
with no restrictions, following their own logic, needs or requests. Users primarily
access the web through the web browser applications such as Internet Explorer,
Netscape Navigator, Web 2000, Lynx, Mozilla etc.33
5. Limitations of the Internet
Internet is acting as a double edged technological weapon. On one hand, it is
providing so many benefits in the form of different services whereas on the other hand it is
also an extremely powerful tool in the hands of bad elements for committing cyber crimes.
The misuse of the Internet is also growing every day. Bad elements are getting better
32 Anurag Gupta and Anshuman Sharma, Fundamentals of Internet Applications, 2007, p. 22. 33 Ibid.
41
networked, facilitating cyber crime. The cyber crimes are pretty easy to commit with very
little resources, but the damage caused could be very huge.
The effect of cyber crime committed through virtual world on the real world is
devastating. It is observed by Lalitha Sridhar that, “our understanding of the virtual world is
woefully slim; and of cyber crimes, even less. But, as law enforcers are finding out, their
effect on the real world is devastating.”34
In some countries, problems have arisen from the use of new information and
communication technologies for trafficking in women and children and for purposes of all
forms of economic and sexual exploitation.35
F. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)
The term ‘information technology’ consists of 2 words ‘information’ and
‘technology’. Information is essential in our daily life for making decisions, communication,
knowledge and productivity. Information means a collection of facts gathered by various
means or communication to draw a conclusion. It is the representation of knowledge such as
facts, data or opinions in any form i.e. textual, numerical, graphic, audio or video form.
However, technology is the study of science. It is the specific information and knowledge
required for the practical purposes like development in various fields. Therefore, the term
‘Information Technology’ refers to scientific, technological and engineering disciplines as
well as management technologies used in information handling, communication, processing,
their applications and associated software, equipment and their interaction. Hence IT
comprises hardware, software, people and data.36
G. CYBER CRIME
The term ‘Cyber Crime’ is frequently used in 21st century knowledge society and is
created by combination of 2 words ‘cyber’ and ‘crime’. The term ‘cyber’ denotes the
cyberspace i.e. virtual space and means the informational space modeled through computer,
in which various objects or symbol images of information exist. It is the place where the
computer programs work and data is processed.
34 Lalitha Sridhar, “Cyber Crimes and the Real World”, Women’s Feature Service
http://www.surinenglish.com/noticias.php?Noticia=286, August 8-14, 2003 35 United Nations, The Beijing ‘Outcome Document’, New York, 2000. 36 Pearson, Introduction to Information Technology, 2006, p. 189.
However the term ‘crime’ refers to a social and economic phenomenon and is as old
as the human society. Crime is a legal wrong that can be followed by criminal proceedings
which may result into punishments.37
As per Lord Atkin “the criminal quality of an act
cannot be discovered by reference to any standard but one, is the act prohibited with penal
consequences”38
Cyber crime is multiplying like mushrooms. According to the latest data available
from the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police the number of registered cyber crimes in the city has
gone up by 1.5 % when compared between 2008 and 2009. About 67 e-mail hacking cases
were registered in 2008 while 171 cases of e-mail hacking came to light in 2009. In 2008,
about 812 cyber crime complaints were registered by Delhi Police while in 2009 this number
went to 1257.39
H. CYBER CRIMINAL
The emerging information and communication technology inevitably has an immense
impact on the life of the people in modern time, but the advantages and benefits global
connectivity have brought with them certain dangers emanating from inter-connectivity of
information networks which provide scope for cyber criminals to carry on their criminal
activities in cyberspace.40
Unlike traditional offenders, the cyber criminals are hi-tech knowledgeable persons
who invade rights of computer users by unauthorized access to their computer system or
computer networks. Cyber criminals usually indulge in techno-vandalism causing damage to
files and programs of the computer user by unauthorized access, not necessarily for monetary
gain but may be prompted by an adventure or harassing the victim.
Cyber criminals may constitute various groups or organizations according to object of
their criminal activities. Besides the techno-criminals, the other category of cyber criminals
may be as follows:
1. Children and Adolescents between the age group of 8 to 18 years
Quite a large number of amateur hackers and cyber criminals are teenagers who do
not know that what they are doing is an act prohibited by law or is a crime. The reason for
37 Granville Williams, Britain’s Media: How They Are Related, 1996 38 Proprietary Articles Trade Association v. A.G. for Canada, (1932) 39 “Investigators Feel the Heat as Cyber Crimes on the Rise”, The Pioneer, February22, 2010, p. 8 40 Ahmed Farooq, Cyber Law in India – Law on Internet, 2005, p. 31.
43
this kind of delinquent behavior among children and adolescents are mainly due to
inquisitiveness and curiosity of knowing and craze for grasping new things. For them, it is an
adventure or fun to hack into someone’s computer system or website. Other cognate reason
may be to prove themselves over-smart among their friends and colleagues. Adolescents may
also be psychologically motivated to explore new website by unauthorized access without
really knowing that they are doing a criminal activity.
2. Professional Hackers/Crackers
The vast use of computers for e-business and industrial management for storing data
and information in electronic form has led these enterprises to employ some hackers41
to filch
the credible, reliable and valuable information for commercial gain. The attraction for the use
of professional hackers in business or industrial intelligence also flows from the fact that no
physical presence is required to gain access to sensitive documents which hacking can
retrieve. They are also employed to crack the system of the employer as a measure to make it
safe by detecting the loopholes.
Hackers are mostly organized together to accomplish certain objective. Hacktivists
are the hackers with a particular motive which may be to avenge their political bias,
fundamentalism or an act done for some big business organization for causing damage to its
rival competitors. Thus, the reason may be political, communal or commercial activism etc.
Pakistani hacktivists are known to be world’s most notorious hackers. They mainly target the
Indian Government sites with political motives. The attacks on nearly 250 prominent
websites by a group of hackers known as ‘Pakistani Cyber Warriors’ is a good example of
political hacktivists at work.42
3. Disgruntled Employees
This category of employees includes those persons who have either been sacked by
their employers or are reprimanded for their nefarious activities. In order to avenge their
discontentment, these persons generally resort to hacking the computer system of their
employers to cause him financial loss or damage. With the extensive use of computers and
automation processes in modern times, it is easier for the disgruntled employees to do more
41 ‘Hacker’ is a person who is good at programming or operating systems and maliciously meddles with the
computer software to extract sensitive information by poking around. Hackers who meddle with the computer
system maliciously or for criminal purposes are technically called as ‘Crackers’. 42 Indian Express, (Bombay edition), dated July 10, 2001
44
harm to their employers by hacking the computer which can bring the entire system down
and thus paralyze the employer’s business related activities.43
I. MALWARE OR MALICIOUS COMPUTER CODES
The malware or malicious computer codes means any code which affects the normal
functioning of the computer. These are of following types:
1. Viruses
Virus or Vital Information Resource Under Siege is basically a program written for
destructive purpose. The term ‘computer virus’ was used for the first time by Fred Cohen44
in
his thesis published in 1986 wherein he referred to viruses that propagate by attaching
themselves directly to the computer programs. These viruses are widespread today as a real
danger to most computers and, therefore, the computer users are expected to have basic
knowledge of the working of the viruses in order to save their computer against viral
infections.45
A virus may temporarily intercept the computer service to display a message on the
screen, or it may bring down the infected computer system. Thus, it may be disruptive or
destructive. Most viruses need some kind of activation mechanism to set them off. They may
remain dormant and undetected for long periods of time.46
Thus, a computer virus is a program designed to replicate and spread, generally with
the victim being oblivious to its existence. Computer viruses spread by attaching themselves
to other programs or to the boot sector of a disk. When an infected file is activated or
executed or when the computer is started from an infected disk, the virus itself is also
executed. It often lurks in the computer memory, waiting to infect the next program that is
activated or next disk that is accessed.47
The viruses are classified into following categories48
:
i. File infectors
43 The disgruntled employee find it good substitute to resort to ‘hacking’ rather than going on strike, which
causes them monetary loss due to ‘no work no pay’ rule. 44 Dr. Fred Cohen in his doctoral thesis on electrical engineering presented to the University of Southern
California in 1986 defined ‘computer virus’ as a program that can infect to other programs by modifying them
to include replicate version of itself. 45 R.K. Suri and T.N. Chhabra, Cybercrime, 2003, p. 579 46 R.C. Mishra, Cybercrime: Impact in the New Millennium, 2002, p. 89. 47 Jaffrey & B. Gregory, Fighting Computer Viruses, 1997, p. 113 48 http://www.topbits.com/types-of-computer-viruses,html ; http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ILOVEYOU
The file infector viruses attach themselves to ordinary program files. They usually
infect *.COM or *.EXE programs, though some can also infect any program for which
execution is requested such as *.SYS, *.OVL, *.PRG and *.MNU files. When a user runs an
infected application, the virus code executes first and installs itself independently in the
computer’s memory so that it can copy itself into subsequent application that the user runs.
The file infectors may further be sub-classified into following categories49
:
a. Direct action file infectors
They infect a program each time it is executed.
b. Resident infectors
They use the infected program to become resident in memory from where they attack
other programs as they are loaded into the memory.
c. Slow infectors
They infect files as they are changed or infected, thus ensure that the infection is
saved.
d. Sparse infectors
These viruses seek to avoid detection by striking only certain program on occasional
basis.
e. Companion infectors
They create new infected programs that are identical to the original uninfected
programs.
f. Armoured infectors
They are equipped with defence mechanism to avoid detection by anti-virus
technology.
g. Polymorphic infectors
These viruses change their appearance each time an infected program is run so as to
avoid detection.
ii. Boot-Sector viruses
Boot sector viruses infect executable code found in certain system areas on a disk,
which are not ordinary files. Boot sector viruses reside in a special part of a diskette or hard
disk that is read into memory and executed when a computer first starts. The boot sector virus
normally contains the program code for loading the rest of the computer’s operating system.
49 R.C. Mishra, Cybercrime: Impact in the New Millennium, 2002, p. 91.
46
Once loaded, a boot sector virus can infect any diskette that is placed in the drive. It also
infects the hard disk so that the virus is loaded into memory when the system is restarted.
Such viruses are always memory resident viruses.50
iii. Macro-viruses
Macro-viruses are independent of operating systems and infect files that are usually
regarded as data rather than as programs. These viruses use an application’s own macro-
programming language to distribute themselves. They have potential to inflict damage to the
document or to other computer software. They can infect Word files as well as any other
application that uses a program language. They can spread much more rapidly than other
viruses because many people share ‘data files’ freely. The first macro-virus ‘Concept’ was
observed in 1995 which infected its Microsoft Word document and is now the most prevalent
virus in the world. Presently, more than 1,000 macro-viruses are known to exist.
iv. Multi-partite or Boot and File viruses
They are of following 8 types:
a. File systems or cluster viruses
File systems or cluster viruses are those that modify directory table entries so that the
virus is loaded and executed before the desired program. The program itself is not
physically altered, but only the directory entry is affected.
b. Fast and Slow infectors
A fast infector is a virus which, when it is active in memory, infects not only
programs which are executed but also those which are merely opened. The result is that if
such a virus is in memory, running a scanner or integrity checker can result in all programs
becoming infected at once. The slow infector is a virus that, if it is active in memory, infects
only files as they are modified or created.51
c. Sparse infectors
These viruses infects only occasionally. For e.g. every 10th
executed file or only files
whose lengths fall within a narrow range etc. By infecting less often, such viruses try to
minimize the probability of being discovered by the user.
d. Stealth virus
50 Kamath Nandan, Law Relating to Computers, Internet and E-commerce, p. 286. 51 Ramesh Subramanium, “Computer Virus – How to Combat it”, The Administrator, April-June, 1990, p. 54.
47
A stealth virus hides the modifications it has made in the file or boot record, usually
by monitoring the system functions used by programs to read files, and forging the result of
such system functions so that program which try to read these areas see the original
uninfected form of the file instead of the actual infected form. Thus, the viral modifications
go undetected by anti-viral programs. However, in order to do this, the virus must be resident
in memory when the anti-viral program is executed.
e. Polymorphic virus
A polymorphic virus is one that produces varied, yet fully operational, copies of itself
in the hope that the virus scanners will not be able to detect all instances of the virus. The
most sophisticated form of polymorphic virus discovered so far is ‘Mutation Engine’ written
by Bulgarian virus writer who calls himself as the ‘Dark Avenger’.
f. Companion virus
A companion virus is one that instead of modifying an existing file, creates a new
program, which unknown to the user, gets executed by the command-line interpreter instead
of the intended program. On exit, the new program executes the original program and
therefore, things will appear to be normal. This is done by creating an infected .COM file
with the same name as an existing .EXE file.
g. Armoured virus
An armoured virus is one that uses special tricks to make the tracing, dispute-
assembling and understanding of its code more difficult. For e.g. Whale virus.52
h. Virus hoax
A virus hoax generally appears as an e-mail message that describes a particular virus
that does not exist. These e-mails carry the message that if you download an e-mail with a
particular subject line, your hard drive will be erased. Such messages are designed to panic
the computer users. The e-mail contains a warning and a plea for the reader to forward it to
the others. The message then acts much like a chain letter propagating throughout the Internet
as individuals receive it and then innocently forward it. The best thing to do on receipt of
such an e-mail is to ignore and delete it.
2. Trojan
i. Meaning of Trojan
52 Supra note 47, p. 115
48
The term ‘Trojan’ has its origin from the classical myth of the Trojan horse. In the
12th
Century B.C., Greece declared a war on the city of Troy. The dispute arose when the
Prince of Troy abducted the Queen of Sparta and declared that he wanted to marry her. This
naturally angered the Greeks and they besieged Troy for 10 years but met with no success as
Troy was very well fortified. In the last resort, the Greek Army pretended to be retreating and
left behind a huge wooden horse. The people of Troy saw the horse and thinking that it was
some kind of present from the Greeks, pulled the horse into their city unaware of the fact that
the hollow wooden horse had some of the best Greek soldiers sitting inside it. Under the
cover of night, the soldiers snuck out, opened the gates of the city, and later, together with the
rest of the Army, killed the entire Army of Troy. Similar to the wooden horse, a Trojan horse
program pretends to do one thing while actually doing something completely different.53
In software field, Trojan means an unauthorized program, which passively gains
control over another’s system by representing itself as an authorized program. The most
common form of installing a Trojan is through e-mail. It is a malicious, security breaking
program that is disguised as something benign, such as a directory lister, archiver, game or
even a program to find and destroy viruses.
ii. Types of Trojan
Trojans are mainly of following 6 types:
a. Remote Administration Trojan (RAT)
These are the most common Trojans. They let a hacker access the victim’s hard disk
and also performs many functions on his computer like shut-down his computer, open
and close his CD-ROM drive etc. Modern RATs are very simple to use. They come
packaged with 2 files namely, the server file and the client file. The hacker tricks
someone into running the server file, gets his IP address and gains full control over his
computer.
b. Password Trojan
Password Trojans search the victim’s computer for password and then send them to
the attacker or the author of the Trojans. Whether it is an Internet password or an e-
mail password, there is a Trojan for every password. These Trojans usually send the
information back to the attacker via e-mail.
53 Ranbir Singh and G. Singh, Cyberspace and Law – Issues and Challenges (NALSAR University Press), p. 97.
49
c. Privileges elevating Trojan
These Trojans are used to befool the system administrators. They can either be bound
into a common system utility or pretend to be something harmless and quite useful
and appealing. Once the administrator runs it, the Trojans will give the attacker more
privileges on the system.
d. Key-loggers
This type of Trojans is very simple. They log all the victim’s keystrokes on the
keyboard including the password and then either save them on a file or e-mail them to
the attacker. Key loggers usually do not take much disk space and can masquerade as
important utilities, thus making them very difficult to detect.54
e. Destructive Trojans
These Trojans can destroy the victim’s entire hard drive or just scramble important
files. Some might seem like joke program, while they are actually ripping every file
they encounter to pieces.
54 Id. at p. 99
50
f. Joke Programs
Generally joke-programs are not harmful. They can either pretend to be formulating
your hard drive sending all your passwords to some hacker, self-destructing your
computer, turning in all information about illegal and pirated software that you might
have on your computer. In reality, the programs do not cause any damage. For e.g.
Back Orifice (BO), Net Bus 2 Pro, Deep Throat V2 etc.55
3. Worm
Historically, the term ‘worm’ was used for the first time by John Brunner in his book
on science fiction entitled ‘The Shockwave Rider’. In his book Brunner described a
totalitarian form of government, which kept control over their citizens by the use of a
powerful computer network. A freedom fighter who opposed to this dictatorial
misrule, introduced in the said computer network system a contaminant, which was
called ‘tapeworm’. This tapeworm infected the computer system and forced the
government to shut down the network and in this way its source of power was lost.56
A computer worm is a self contained set of programs that is able to spread functional
copies of itself or its segments to other computer systems usually via network
connections. Unlike viruses, worms do not need to attach themselves to a host
program, instead, program propagates over a network reproducing itself as it goes.57
In addition to replication, a worm may be designed to do any number of things such
as delete files on a host system or send documents via e-mail.
Worms are of following 3 types:
i. Host computer worms
They are contained in the computer they run on and use network connections only to
copy themselves to other computers. They are also called as ‘rabbits’ which infects
other machines via multiplications. It is so named because of the speed at which it
clogs the system with copies of itself, thus reducing system’s performance, before
crashing.58
ii. Network worms
55 Nagpal Rohtas, What is Trojan, 2006, p. 5. 56 William Stallings, Cryptography and Network Security, 1998, p. 136. 57 Dr. R.K. Tiwari, P.K. Sastry and K.V. Ravi Kumar, Computer Crime and Computer Forensics, 2002, pp. 73-
74; See also A. Santosh Kumar, “Computer Forensics”, Andhra Law Times, 2002, p. 23 58 R.K.Choubey, An Introduction to Cybercrime and Cyber Law, 2008, p. 309.
51
These consist of multiple parts called as ‘segments’, each running on different
machines and using the network for several communication purposes. Network
worms that have one main segment which coordinates the work of the other segments
are sometimes called as ‘octopuses’.
iii. Internet worm
The Internet worm of 1988 was world’s famous worm which was developed by
Robert J. Morris of the Cornell University on November 22, 1988. It infected nearly
3,000 computers during 8 hours of its activity. It disabled all computers by making
copies of itself and thus clogged them. Another famous worm having devastating
effect was Christmas Worm, 1987 which managed to paralyze IBM network on the
Christmas day in 1987. It asked the users to type ‘Christmas’ on the screen. Then it
drew a Christmas tree and sent itself to all the names of people stored in the user file
and in this way propagated itself.59
4. Logic Bombs
These are event dependent programs i.e. these programs are created to do something
only when a certain event called as ‘trigger event’ occurs. A logic bomb is a computer
instruction that codes for a malicious act when certain criteria are met such as specific
time in a computer’s internal clock or a particular action such as deletion of a program
or a file. In a computer program, a logic bomb, also called as ‘slag code’ is
programming code inserted intentionally and is designed to explode under certain
circumstances such as lapse of certain period of time or failure of program user to
respond to a program command. A logic bomb when exploded, may be designed to
display or print a spurious message, delete or corrupt data or have other undesirable
effects.60
59 Exgene H. Spafford, A Report on Internet Worm, dated November 29, 1988. 60 Rohtas Nagpan, What is Cybercrime?, p. 143
52
J. REVIEW
In the knowledge society of 21st century the computer, Internet and ICT or e-revolution
has changed the life style of the people. Today paper based communication has been
substituted by e-communication, paper based commerce by e-commerce and paper based
governance by e-governance. Apart from positive side of e-revolution, there is seamy side
also and the computer, Internet and ICT in the hands of criminals have become weapon of
offence. Accordingly, a new branch of jurisprudence emerged to tackle the problems of e-
commerce and of cyber crimes in the cyber space i.e. Cyber Law or Cyber Space Law or
Information Technology Law.61
For the first time, a Model Law on E-commerce was adopted in 1996 by the United
Nations Commission on International Trade and LAW (UNCITRAL). It was further adopted
by the General Assembly of United Nations by passing a resolution on January 31, 1997.
Further, India was also a signatory to this Model Law, and had to revise its national laws as
per the said model law. Therefore, India also enacted the Information Technology Act, 2000.
