Abstract
According to NCRB findings, 65,893 people in one lakh are victims of cybercrime. The Internet has become a large part of our lives, considering how we depend on it for even the smallest of necessities. This has given criminals an opportunity to attack the vulnerable links in the digital platform, exploring several ways to make money out of technology. This form of exploitation is called cybercrimes. The most affected population group? Women. Both their mental and physical health is at stake if they fall prey to cybercrimes. Even though there are cyber laws to eradicate cyber crimes, are they sufficient? This paper explores several aspects and nature of cybercrime and India’s state of cybersecurity.
Key words
Cybercrime, cyber laws, digital threats, cyber fraud, cybersecurity, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Data.
Introduction
In this day and age, there is not a single purpose the internet cannot serve. From purchasing daily necessities to securing a seat in an institution, the digital platform has proved its competence. While this development in technology is definitely progressive, it is also frightening. The tech savvies have found the opportunity to put their knowledge to use through the loopholes and lack of surveillance in the digital world. The targets of crime include people from different age groups and are indiscriminate of gender. These scams include fraud, hacking, online harassment and many more, broadly known as cyber-crimes.
Basically, cyber-crimes can be defined as illegal activities committed targeting a person in order to receive funds through threats and fraud. There are several ways hackers obtain the information and use it to lure the targets into their trap. Artificial Intelligence has significantly aided these hackers, as they can successfully imitate and create the evidence they use to attract the victim. Considering the sensitivity of the information obtained, unfortunately, women were targeted and affected the most by these activities.
Research methodology
This study employs a mixed-methods research design, combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches to comprehensively explore the issue of cybercrime against women in India. Secondary data was gathered from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), legal case studies, and reports from organizations such as the National Commission for Women (NCW). This data provided a broader context and statistical analysis of cybercrime trends. The findings will contribute to the development of more effective policies and interventions to protect women in the digital space.
Review of literature
An extensive review of existing literature on cybercrime, specifically targeting women, was conducted. This includes academic journals and government reports to identify research gaps and inform the study’s framework.
Factors contributing to the increase in cybercrimes
One of the main reasons for the increase in cyber-criminal activity is mushrooming usage of the internet by users. The rapid surge in online social interactions and business activities has provided cybercriminals to exploit the vulnerabilities in the system. There is also plenty of room for sophisticated techniques and traps given the recent development in technology, primarily artificial intelligence, which made it even easier to evade laws and achieve targets with ease. According to a report by the Cyber Crime Cell of the Mumbai Police, there has been a 91% increase in cyber stalking cases in India in the past year.
Further, Covid-19 pandemic has contributed greatly towards shifting the world to online entirely and giving all the correct reasons to conduct every necessary deed online. This further exacerbated the scope of cybercriminal activities. This abrupt surge towards the digital world was unexpected and led to lacunae in cyber laws and security, leading to effortless exploitation.
Anonymity and borderless nature of the internet has led to further complication in formulating stringent cyber laws. Crimes began to be conducted on an international level, highlighting the need for enhanced international cooperation to curb cybercrimes.
Digital Misdeeds Against Women
Given the manipulative nature of digital crimes, it is critical to acknowledge that most of the targets are vulnerable and yielding. Women often fit this category due to prevailing social norms and stigmas. Social media has facilitated easier interactions within the society, often anonymously, which unfortunately benefits the hackers and offenders who target women in the guise of friendly requests. They slowly extract personal information and either sell it or use it for blackmailing the woman for money.
There are different kinds of cybercrimes committed against women like cyberbullying, cyberstalking, cyber harassment, cyber pornography, cyber defamation, cyber grooming, trolling and morphing images. According to a study by the National Commission for Women, 54.8% of women have experienced cyber harassment, while 26% of them have reported cases of morphed images or videos. Cyberbullying and threatening include online circulation of false information to tarnish an individual’s reputation. Such crimes are not restricted to men, but women can be perpetrators as well. Whether it could be envy or revenge, there are multiple reasons behind such actions. Cyberstalking and harassment could also be for similar reasons, like romantic interests or petty revenges and also for financial benefits. Cyber pornography and morphing images are also used for defamation and obtaining money, threatening women that they would post it on the internet if they do not wire the money demanded. Criminals would also sell the footage on dark web to earn money. These can be termed as the dangerous of all types of crime, since it affects the woman’s mental health, leading to humiliation and distress. It will lead to cases of depression and unfortunately, suicide in some cases. All other types involve a similar kind of aim, to obtain private information and sell it or threaten using it.
One thing that hinders the offenders from getting caught is the anonymous nature of the internet and difficult to detect and prove. Lack of monitoring and specialists in digital space makes it difficult to enforce law and justice with respect to cybercrimes. It is also a common belief that blocking or logging out, or deleting the account, would solve the problems of harassment and stalking. However, many do not consider reporting the crime, due to factors such as delays in investigation and the inefficiency of the cyber police.
Financial fraud is also to be considered as a huge threat given the increase in transactions online. With digital banking, criminals found new ways to defraud unsuspecting victims. Rural women are also not much trained in the digital aspect, making them vulnerable targets.
Cybersecurity in India is certainly a cause of concern, given that India is one of the top five countries affected by cybercrime. Even though there are cyber laws to challenge and eradicate crimes, rapid development in technology left gaps in proper implementation of laws. Awareness regarding this matter is also low, given the lack of knowledge in elderly population and also in law enforcing agents is concerning. Overall, it has become greatly challenging to address the issue efficiently.
What Fuels Digital Misconduct Targeting Women?
Women are considered vulnerable compared to men, given the patriarchal society structure of India. There has always been gender bias and harassment towards women irrespective of the age we live in. Women are often objectified and treated as inferior to men, making them prey for social crimes. These facilitated online hackers to exploit the social stigma. Increasing presence and active participation of women on social media on par with men has increased the opportunity to commit the crimes. It is not that women can be blamed for getting targeted by cybercriminals, but the society, as it considers women to be mere household keepers.
To primarily mention the root cause of cybercrime against women, Gender based violence is certainly the one. It comes in different forms like domestic, sexual and physical violence. The same formula is applied in the cyberworld to yield a woman by harassment and threat to violence. In most of the cases, perpetrators were acquaintances of the victim. According to a report by the National Crime Records Bureau, over 93% of rape cases in India were committed by someone known to the victim. Coming to patriarchy, male dominance as a primary norm has established itself in society. Even in the case of cybercrime being exposed against a woman, the lack of support from the family discourages them to report. It is considered humiliation and shame for the family that a woman is cheated online. Owing to this fear, some women don’t even come out with the accusation. In 2020, a woman in Delhi was harassed and threatened with revenge porn by her former partner, who was angry about their breakup. The woman did not report the incident due to fear of retaliation and lack of support from her family. According to a report by the National Family Health Survey, over 30% of women in India have experienced physical or sexual violence by their intimate partners. According to a report by the National Crime Records Bureau, there were over 4,000 cases of cybercrimes against women in India in 2019.
Cyberlaw framework in India
Increase in cybercrimes has become a major threat to Indian society and economy. And as a result, the Information Technology Act and certain provisions in Indian Penal Code are amended to control cybercrime. These are called cyber laws which can be defined as measures to face challenges on digital platforms and legal issues in cyberspace. It can be described as an amalgamation of IPR and constitutional rights to see through the violation of the same. The challenge is combating the cybercrimes with cyberlaw, which is derived from physical laws. For example, it is implicit that reporting in police stations and physically filing FIR for crime is highlighted irrespective of category of crime, including cybercrime. This must be changed, considering the dangerous and anonymous nature of cybercrime.
Information technology Act
This act was introduced on 9th June, 2000 based on the UNCITRAL e-commerce model. Initially it is only made for regulating online transactions. The preamble of IT Act mentions the same. However, the emerging importance of net banking and various other digital programmes led to significant expansion of IT Act jurisdiction. It extends to govern several other areas including cybercrime, data protection and security, surveillance of digital communication sanctioned by government. In 2008, IT Act was amended to include cybercrimes relating to banking and financial transactions. Apart from that several other amendments and regulations were made in order to keep up with the emerging internet age and explosion of digital business and transactions.
The IT Act recognises cybercrimes and imposes penalties and punishments accordingly. Some of the listed offences include-
- Eliminating red tapism
- Introducing virus to other systems
- Dishonestly receiving stolen computer information
- Sending offensive messages through communication service
- Publishing of obscene information in electronic form
Legal safeguards for women in IT Act
There might not be specific laws for women initially, but as the crime rate increased, amendments were made in order to provide justice and relief to targeted women.
- Section 66E of the IT Act deals with the violation of the privacy of a person. Capturing, publishing or transmitting the image of a private area of any person without her consent, under circumstances violating her privacy, is punishable with imprisonment, which may extend to three years, and/or fine.
- Section 67 prohibits, and punishes with imprisonment extending up to three years and fine for first conviction and to five years and fine upon second conviction, the publication, transmission and causing of transmission of obscene content. Obscene content has been defined in the same manner as in Section 292 of IPC, and therefore the test of obscenity is to be the same as under that provision.
- Section 67A makes the publication, transmission or causing of transmission of sexually explicit material punishable with imprisonment extending up to five years and fine for first conviction and to seven years and fine upon second conviction.
- Section 67B makes publication/transmission of sexually explicit content depicting children punishable.
These cyber laws were able to provide a basic understanding of how to face cybercrimes. They were also helpful in clarifying the legal and illegal transactions, recognition of several digital models of business and identifying offences along with the appropriate punishments. However, the lack of efficient implementation and experts in this field has always been a drawback. It must be pertinent that these drawbacks must be rectified or the society would suffer.
BNS and women’s safety online
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (“BNS”), India’s new penal code, that came into force on 1 July 2024 and replaced the oldest penal law, the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (“IPC”) in India, recognizes the growing threat of cybercrime and introduces provisions specifically designed to address these challenges. Cyber Crimes against women mat not be specifically categorised, but the section included the required description and clarification for conviction and reporting.
- Sexual Harassment: Section 75 of the BNS deals with sexual harassment committed by showing pornography against the will of a woman or making sexually coloured remarks (physically or using electronic means).’ [Section 354A IPC]
- Voyeurism: Section 77 of the BNS is directly applicable to cybercrimes involving the unauthorized recording and dissemination of private images, often referred to as “revenge porn” or “upskirting”. It criminalizes the act of watching or capturing the image of a woman engaging in a private act without her consent. [Section 354C IPC]
- Stalking: Section 78 of the BNS addresses the crime of stalking, including cyberstalking. This provision specifically targets individuals who repeatedly follow or monitor a woman’s online activities, despite her clear disinterest. By using technology to harass or intimidate a woman, such as through persistent messaging, tracking her location, or creating fake profiles, a person can be held liable for cyberstalking under this section. [Section 354D IPC]
- Outraging the modesty of the woman: Section 79 of the BNS addresses the offence of outraging the modesty of a woman by uttering words, making sounds or gestures, exhibiting objects with intent to insult or invade a woman’s privacy. While primarily focused on offline acts, the provision can also be relevant to certain cybercrimes, particularly those involving online harassment or threats such as deepfakes. In these cases, the actions of the perpetrator can be seen as “uttering words,” “making sounds or gestures,” or “exhibiting objects” in electronic form, with the intent to insult the modesty of the woman. [Section 509 IPC]
Indian Penal code was the oldest penal code in India and it required certain changes considering the development in technology and change of times. BNS was successfully able to fill all the gaps relating to modern crimes and laws, including introduction of petty organized crimes and acts endangering the sovereignty of the nation. Even though BNS doesn’t specifically define cybercrime, it broadly encompasses crimes relating to technology like hacking, phishing and other such crimes.
Other initiatives for women’s digital safety
Cybercrimes are vast and without specific regulating laws, it is difficult to curb them. IT Act and BNS include cyber laws, but they are insufficient. It is important that the issues must be addressed individually and make sure to formulate policies based on that. Some of the other acts and laws include-
- The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 focuses on preventing and prosecuting offenders involved in cybercrimes like violating privacy, confidentiality, and integrity of information through computer-related criminal activities.
- The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act regulates and prohibits the indecent representation of women through the media and publications, which also includes the audio-visual media, the content in electronic form, and distribution of material on the Internet and the portrayal of women over the web.
- The Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) scheme is introduced to develop effective measures to handle cyber crimes against women and children in India. It allows a cybercrime victim to file a complaint through an online cybercrime reporting platform.
- National commission for women reported certain actions in order to address crime immediately, which include the following inputs-
- Online Women specific Crime Reporting Unit -Interlink with NCW should be made in such a manner that if a woman wants to make a complaint about cybercrime to NCW, it should be sent to MHA Crime Reporting Unit with acknowledgement to NCW and a copy to the complainant. It will encourage quick disposal of the complaints that too with the assistance of the IT professionals.
- Monitoring Unit for Cyber Crimes-Monitoring unit should provide monthly reports on the complaints received through NCW
- National Forensic Laboratory-Investigations of crime against women are delayed due to pending reports from forensic laboratories so NCW agreed to it.
- Capacity Building-It should include capacity building of protection officers appointed under Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
Challenges in cyber law enforcement
Legislation of cyber laws provides an understanding and assurance in case of cybercrime. But would that suffice? Efficient implementation of laws is as important as the existence of laws. While in the former aspect, India faces significant challenges.
One of the main issues in lack of implementation is that there is a rapid growth in cybercrimes due to increase in penetration of the internet into our daily lives. It provides abundant opportunities to exploit the business transactions online and defraud the victims.
Cyber terrorism is also one of the raging forms of cybercrimes fleeting in this age. Development of technology has also expanded the prospects of war. Lack of international cooperation and cumulative laws in the cybersecurity front piloted towards terrorism, malware attacking countries incessantly. Pegasus malware is the perfect depiction of cyber terrorism.
Lack of infrastructure and training regarding the cyber laws is one of the major concerns. There are no special training institutes for cyber security officers and no specific educational courses for it. It is also one of the least demanded prospects for professional choice.
Data breaching is also one of the major issues. Lack of security and vigilance with respect to the data online causes data breaches and information theft. Awareness regarding cybercrimes and inadequate knowledge about technology also contributes to cybercrimes. Elderly population and women are not well endorsed in this front and careless practice is asking to be defrauded.
Women are especially vulnerable considering the sophisticated methods to hack into a person’s phone and get access to their private information and other apps. Installation of cameras and obtaining footage of women has become a major issue these days. This comes unsuspecting, as the cameras are installed with skill in hidden places and are smaller in size. Women are threatened that footage will be uploaded on the internet if the demands are not fulfilled.
Solutions
To begin with, the basic solution for every problem is creating awareness. So, in the same way creating awareness about cybercrimes and several approaches the criminals opt to while committing a crime can be circulated. Elders can be provided with easier tools and instructions to operate the digital mechanisms. Courses can be instilled regarding cyber laws and candidates can be trained specifically for cybersecurity.
Websites and apps must install cybersecurity protocol and in case of complaint or report, immediate response must be given. Government should monitor digital activity but also see that they are not violating the privacy of users.
Legislations must be made specifically for women safety and restraining cyber crimes against women. For this, there are certain important aspects that must be considered-
- Awareness
- Immediate response
- Maintaining confidentiality in case of crime
- Taking proper measures so as to reduce the damage on her reputation
- Punishing the offenders so as to set an example for the society
- Strengthening data protection laws
- Alert social media platform in case of complaint
- Updates to the cyber laws according to the changing technology
Conclusion
Technology has proven its worth regarding its use to human survival and development. But what of the crimes it has led humans to commit? We cannot hold technology or the internet liable for that. It is humans who need to change and utilise technology for good. Cybercrimes are dangerous if not contained. All the possible measures should be taken to confront these crimes. Women must be cautious of such acts, especially social media. Cameras cannot be trusted easily these days, even that of gadgets like mobile phones and laptops.
Cybercrimes are indeed difficult to solve and convict the offenders, considering the anonymous nature and wide application. However, it can be prevented from happening. Government and the society must work together in order to challenge the crimes. As they say, prevention is better than cure.
Thrishitha Kolukuluri
Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University