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JIS UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF JURIDICAL SCIENCES

IT OFFENCES AND CYBER CRIMES

NAME-AKASH DUTTA

ROLL: 20JS011022

SEMESTER: 7th semester

SUBJECT CODE: ZLA7007

STREAM: BBA.LLB
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all those who gave me the
possibility to complete this Assignment. Special thanks to due to our It offences
and cyber crime Assistant Professor Ms. Somdatta Mukherjee, whose help,
stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped me in all time of fabrication
process and in writing this Assignment. I also sincerely thanks for the time spent
proofreading and correcting my many mistakes. I also thank to all my friends who
have more or less contributed to the preparation of this Assignment. I will always
be indebted to them. Although, this Assignment has been prepared with utmost
care and deep routed interest, Even then I accept respondent and imperfection.
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HACKING

The Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) is the primary law in India that
deals with cyber crimes. The Act defines cyber crimes as “any offence committed
against the confidentiality, integrity or availability of computer resources”.

Hacking is nothing but identifying weakness in computer systems or networks to

exploit it to gain access to its data and sources. Hacking is an attempt to invade a
private/public/ corporation/organisations network via computer to gather
information without permission. In simple words, it is the unauthorised or
unconsented access to or control over the computer network and security systems
for some wrong or illicit needs and purpose. It is the deliberate and intentional
access or infiltration of a computer program without valid consent from its owner.
It affects all arms and feet of information and communication technology of an
entity. These include threats through the web, communications, and email, social
media scams, data breaches, cloud and data storage compromises, and critical data
breaches. The sole objective of hackers is to steal confidential data or
embezzlement of funds causing business disruptions, etc.
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Methods of hacking
▪ Phishing – This simply means duplicating the original website to gain access
to the users’ information like account password, credit card details etc. It is
the most common hacking technique in which the hackers will either send
you a fake message with a fake invoice or ask to confirm some personal
information or entice the person with some free stuff.
▪ Virus attack – By this method of hacking, the hackers release the virus into
the files of the website which can corrupt or destroy the important
information stored in our computer if they are downloaded or get inside our
computer system.
▪ UI redress – In this method, a fake user interface is created by which when
the user clicks on it, it redirects them to another vulnerable website. For
instance, if we have to download a song, as soon as we click on the
“download” tab, a new page is redirected which is usually a fake website.
▪ Cookie theft – Sometimes, the website containing information about the
users in the form of cookies is hacked using special tools. These cookies can
be decrypted and read to reveal one’s identity which can be further used to
impersonate the person online. Cookies are generally stored as plain text or
in some form of encryption.
▪ DNS spoofing – The cache data of a website which the user might have
forgotten is used by hackers to gather information about users. Here, a user
is forced to navigate to a fake website disguised to look like a real one, with
the intention of diverting traffic or stealing the credentials of the users
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Indian legal provisions for hacking

Section 43 and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 cover the
civil and criminal offenses of data theft and hacking respectively.
According to Section 66 of the IT Act, the following are the essentials for an
offence to count as hacking:
▪ There should be the malicious intention of the accused to tamper or break
into the computer of the other person and steal or destroy its data or sources.
▪ A wrongful act or damage to the data must be done pursuant to the wrong
intention.
▪ Also, according to Section 378 of the Indian Penal Code,1860 which
relates to “theft” of movable property also applies to theft of any data online
or otherwise with the two most important parts of crime i.e., mens rea and
actus reus. When a person takes away or steals the information in order to
move it away from the access of the authorised user, it can be termed as theft
under Section 378 of IPC. If such an act fulfills all the essentials of the theft,
the act committed will attract penal consequences under IPC as well.
▪ Furthermore, laws of torts as well, such as trespass to the person and
property,can be applied, as well, since there is trespass to a computer system
which is an intangible property. Therefore, any kind of unauthorised
intrusion in the computer sources governed by a bad intention can come
under the purview of criminal trespass which can make a person liable for
the tortious liability as well.
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Punishment
Under the Information and Technology Act, According to Section 66, the
punishment is imprisonment up to 3 years, or a fine which may extend up to 2 lakh
rupees, or both.
According to Section 43, liability is to pay damages by way of compensation to
the person affected by the stealing of the data. Section 66B entails punishment for
receiving stolen computer resources or information. The punishment includes
imprisonment for one year or a fine of rupees one lakh or both. The maximum
punishment for theft under Section 378 of the IPC is imprisonment of up to 3
(three) years or a fine or both.

Remedies
As soon as cybercrime i.e., hacking is committed, a person should complain about
the same to the cyber cell.
Following are the steps to be followed for reporting hacking in India:
STEP 1: Visit https://cyber crime.gov.in/Accept.aspx
STEP 2: Select ‘Report other cyber crimes’ from the menu.
STEP 3: Choose ‘File a Complaint.’
STEP 4: Read the conditions thoroughly and acknowledge them.
STEP 5: Mobile number needs to be registered along with name and State.
STEP 6: Complete all the relevant details about the offence witnessed.

One can also report the offence anonymously.

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Indian case laws on hacking

▪ Case law 1: Jagjeet Singh v. The State of Punjab
In this case, it was alleged by the company that some of its ex-employees have
stolen their content and databases and transferred it to some other company. The
main issue in the case was whether the petitioner can invoke the non-bailable
offences under IPC i.e, data theft and hacking?
Verdict – The apex court held that in cases of data theft and hacking, the offences
under the Indian Penal Code will also be applied along with the penal provisions
of the IT Act, and this would not exclude the application of the IPC. This shows
the gravity with which the judiciary has regarded the crime of hacking holding
hackers or the culprits liable under two acts i.e., IPC and IT Act.

▪ Case Law 2: Kumar v. Whiteley

Facts
The accused, i.e Kumar gained unauthorised access to the Joint Academic Network
(JANET) and deleted, added files, and changed the passwords to deny access to
the authorised users which led to a loss of Rs 38,248 to the users.
Verdict
The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Chennai sentenced N G Arun
Kumar, the accused to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year with a fine of
Rs 5,000 under Section 420 IPC (cheating) and Section 66 of the IT Act (Computer
related Offense).
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Conclusion
As it is rightly said, “It is not that we use technology, we live technology.” This era
is indeed known as the technological era and there is no aspect of life that is not
touched upon by the technological developments and the comfort in which we are
living. But since every coin has two sides, similarly, these developments have both
pros and cons. Cybercrime has increased annually and with the advancement, there
have been developments in cyber-attacks too.

Therefore, the need of the hour is that the legislative body of India has to also move
ahead with the change in the surrounding and frame laws which are effective and
useful in curbing the rate of cybercrimes in India. Indian legislature can get
inspiration from GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) of the European
Union, Laws from the US, and other countries to frame a stringent and effective
law for India. Further, it will be the duty and responsibility of the executive body
to implement the laws.
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Bibliography o Vultur Malware Uses New Technique To Steal Banking

Credentials, https://techilive.in/vultur-malware-uses-new-technique-to-steal-
bankingcredentials/.
o What is Hacking? Introduction and Types, GURU99,
https://www.guru99.com/what-is-hacking-an-
introduction.html#:~:text=A%20Hacker%20is%20a%20person,with%20
knowledge%20of%20computer%20security.&text=He%2Fshe%20breaks
%20into%20computer,them%20to%20the%20system%20owner. o What is
Hacking? Common Objectives, Types, and How to Guard Against it,
Hackernoon, https://hackernoon.com/what-is-hacking-commonobjectives-
types-and-how-to-guard-against-it-ab99897ff00b, 4th March, 2019