RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Statement of the problem

Internet and Computer crimes will always involve some type of computer-
security breach. “computer-security breach” and “computer crime” are not
synonymous. They are related concepts, but not identical ones. When computer
professionals begin working with computer crime and forensics, they often make the
mistake of assuming the two terms mean the same thing. The earliest days of
computer crime, the 1960s and 1970s, were very insignificant from a computer-
crime perspective. The majority of incidents were actually just pranks played on
computer systems causes minimal damages. There were actually few laws against
such activities, so they literally were not construed as crimes. The entire purpose of
hacking, in those days, was simply to understand a given system.

A major reason for lesser computer crime during this period was a lack of
widespread access to computers and networks. In those ‘prehistoric’ days of
computer crime, there was no wide spread public access to networks, no Internet,
and no laws regarding computer activities. In fact, the only people who had any
access to computers and networks tended to be university professors, students and
researchers.

To understand the history of computer crime, one needs to understand the

history of the Internet. As the Internet grew and online communications became more
commonplace, so did computer-based crimes. Before there could be any networks,
much less the Internet, there had to be some method of moving a data packet from
point A to point B. The first crime on packet switching was by Leonard Kleinrock at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1961. Now, this may seem a somewhat
arcane incident, a phone system being hacked was in the early 1970s. John Draper, a
former U.S. Air Force engineer, used a whistle that generated specific tones to place
free phone calls. During this time, phones particularly pay phones used a different
tone for each key pressed. Simulating the tones would actually send specific
commands to the phone system via the phone. Mr. Draper used his engineering
knowledge of phone systems in order to exploit this feature of the phone systems.

1981 was not only the year of the first arrest for a computer crime, it was also a
pivotal year in the history of computer viruses. The first widely known viruses found
‘‘in the wild’’ were the Apple I, II, and III viruses, first discovered in 1981. These
viruses targeted the Apple II operating system and spread initially in the Texas A&M
University systems via pirated computer games. This incident is particularly
interesting because it actually involved two crimes: The first crime was the actual
release of the computer virus; the Second was the fact that many victims of the virus
became victims through their own criminal activity, theft of data via software piracy. It
remains a fact to this day that pirated software, illegal music downloads, and illicit
Web sites are hot spots for viruses and spyware. This is certainly not meant to imply
that everyone who gets a virus is engaged in criminal activity themselves, of course.

The Cyber crimes in the 21st century saw organized crime embrace the Cyber
world in a significant way. The Internet has become a hotbed of organized criminal
activities, and criminal groups are using cyberspace in every see organized criminal
groups using the Internet for money laundering and identity theft. And it does not take
a very computer-savvy person to find prescription for painkillers on the Internet, or to
find ads for “escort services”. Drug dealer and Prostitution now have an Internet
component. The 21st century has witnessed Internet that is replete with all manner of
computer crimes. There are now even seeing organized groups of hackers utilize their
skills to provide services for other criminals such as stolen identities, money
laundering, and assistance with computer-based crimes. In June of 2002, Russian
authorities arrested a man they accused of being a cyber spy for the CIA. They
accused him of hacking into systems of the Russian Domestic Security Service (FSB)
and gathering secrets, which he then passed on to other countries.
Like traditional crimes, when one frequents high-crime areas, one is just as
likely to become a victim of a crime. Of late many educated people are becoming
victims of fictitious mail and SMS which attract them by saying people won in the
Lotteries, selected as the best customers, they would transfer the unaccounted
money to account for conversion etc., and exploiting the public.
3.2 Background of the problem

Of late, cyber space became the major domain of warfare after land, sea, air
and space. The younger generations spend more than 80 percent of their time in
computers and internet, particularly in Tamil Nadu giving more way for criminal
occurrences either unknowingly or knowingly.

Cyber crimes not only affect the adult population but also the children, the
pornography and the ways in which pedophiles try to lure children on the Internet.
This research agenda has a little scope to Review the literature on cyber crimes. The
literature indicates that there are many factors to consider cyber crimes. It’s one of the
major social problem confronting the society and its impact has significant effect on
the socio-cultural and economic development of the country.

Greenberg (1993) emphasized the need to more fully consider the social
determinants of fairness that were not recognized by the prevailing emphasis on the
structural aspects of outcome of distributions and procedures. He proposed a
taxonomy of justice classes formed by cross-cutting the two commonly accepted
categories of justice, procedural, and distributive, with two focal determinants, social
and structural. The distinction between social and structural determinants is based on
the immediate focus of the just action. Structural determinants reflect the situation
whereby justice is sought by focusing on the environmental context in which the event
occurs which include cyber crimes and ensures fairness by structuring a decision-
making context (Judicial). The social determinants of justice focus on the treatment of
individuals and help ensure fairness by focusing on the interpersonal treatment one
receives. Greenberg proposed classes of justice that include: systemic (structural
procedural); configural (structural-distributive); informational (social-procedural); and
interpersonal (social-distributive). The concepts of procedural and distributive justice
are relatively well accepted in the study of organizational justice.

It’s the need of the Day to identify the impact of such cyber crimes in Indian
scenario particularly in Tamil Nadu. Statistics shows that India ranks fifth in the world
in cyber crimes. The report of U.S based internet crime complaint centre states that
India becomes home to fourth highest number of Internet users in the world and the
cyber crime is rising at more than 50 percent per year. Tamil Nadu is not an exception
for it and the recent incidents like bank looting, fraud in Banks, child abuse, extortion,
deceptive callers, phishing mails, internet hacking, etc., are on the increase in Tamil
Nadu and magnified as major social problem which is causing concern for everyone
in the society. An attempt is made to research on cybercrimes in Tamil Nadu.

3.3 Cyber crimes in India

Success in any field of human activity leads to crime that needs mechanisms
to control it. Legal provisions should provide assurance to users, empowerment to law
enforcement agencies and deterrence to criminals. The law is as stringent as its
enforcement. Crime is no longer limited to space, time or a group of people. Cyber
space creates moral, civil and criminal wrongs. It has now given a new way to
express criminal tendencies. Back in 1990, less than 100,000 people were able to log
on to the Internet worldwide. Now around 500 million people are hooked up to surf the
net around the globe. Until recently, many information technology (IT) professionals
lacked awareness of and interest in the cyber crime phenomenon. In many cases, law
enforcement officers have lacked the tools needed to tackle the problem; old laws
didn’t quite fit the crimes being committed, new laws hadn’t quite caught up to the
reality of what was happening, and there were few court precedents to look to for
guidance.

Furthermore, debates over privacy issues hampered the ability of enforcement

agents to gather the evidence needed to prosecute these new cases. Finally, there
was a certain amount of antipathy—or at the least, distrust between the two most
important players in any effective fight against cyber crime: law enforcement agencies
and computer professionals. Yet close cooperation between the two is crucial if it is to
control the cyber crime problem and make the Internet a safe “place” for its users.

Law enforcement personnel understand the criminal mindset and know the
basics of gathering evidence and bringing offenders to justice. IT personnel
understand computers and networks, how they work, and how to track down
information on them. Each has half of the key to defeating the cyber criminal. IT
professionals need good definitions of cybercrime in order to know when (and what)
to report to police, but law enforcement agencies must have statutory definitions of
specific crimes in order to charge a criminal with an offense. The first step in
specifically defining individual cybercrimes is to sort all the acts that can be
considered cybercrimes into organized categories.

Cybercrime spans not only state but national boundaries as well. Any illegal
behavior committed by means of, or in relation to, a computer system or network,
including such crimes as illegal possession [and] offering or distributing information by
means of a computer system or network. Of course, these definitions are complicated
by the fact that an act may be illegal in one nation but not in another.
There are more concrete examples, including:
 Unauthorized access
 Damage to computer data or programs
 Computer sabotage
 Unauthorized interception of communications
 Computer espionage.
These definitions, although not completely definitive, do give a good starting point,
one that has some international recognition and agreement for determining just what
is meant by the term cybercrime.

In Indian law, cyber crime has to be voluntary and willful, an act or omission
that adversely affects a person or property. The IT Act provides the backbone for e-
commerce and India’s approach has been to look at e-governance and e-commerce
primarily from the promotional aspects looking at the vast opportunities and the need
to sensitize the population to the possibilities of the information age. There is the need
to take in to consideration the security aspects. In the present global situation where
cyber control mechanisms it’s important to push cyber laws.

Cyber Crimes are a new class of crimes to India rapidly expanding due to
extensive use of internet. Getting the right lead and making the right interpretation are
very important in solving a cyber crime. The seven stage continuum of a criminal case
starts from perpetration to registration to reporting, investigation, prosecution,
adjudication and execution. The system cannot be stronger than the weakest link in
the chain.

In India, there are 30 million policemen to train apart from 12,000 strong
Judiciary. Police in India are trying to become cyber crime savvy and hiring people
who are trained in the area. Each police station in Delhi will have a computer soon
which will be connected to the Head Quarter. The pace of the investigations however
can be faster; judicial sensitivity and knowledge need to improve. Focus needs to be
on educating the police and district judiciary. IT Institutions can also play a role in this
area.

Technology nuances are important in a spam infested environment where

privacy can be compromised and individuals can be subjected to become a victim
unsuspectingly. Most cyber criminals have a counter part in the real world. If loss of
property or persons is caused the criminal is punishable under the IPC also. Since the
law enforcement agencies find it is easier to handle it under the IPC, IT Act cases are
not getting reported and when reported are not necessarily dealt with under the IT
Act. A lengthy and intensive process of learning is required. A whole series of
initiatives of cyber forensics were undertaken and cyber law procedures resulted out
of it. This is an area where learning takes place every day as all are beginners in this
area. There is a search for solutions faster than the problems can get invented so as
to put an end to all these problems.
The real issue is how to prevent cyber crime. For this, there is need to raise the
probability of apprehension and conviction. India has a law on evidence that
considers admissibility, authenticity, accuracy, and completeness to convince the
judiciary. The challenge in cyber crime cases includes getting evidence that will stand
scrutiny in a foreign court. For this India needs total international cooperation with
specialized agencies of different countries. Police has to ensure that they have seized
exactly what was there at the scene of crime, is the same that has been analysed and
the report presented in court is based on this evidence. It has to maintain the chain of
custody. The threat is not from the intelligence of criminals but from our ignorance
and the will to fight it. The law is stricter now on producing evidence especially where
electronic documents are concerned.

The computer is the target and the tool for the perpetration of crime. It is used
for the communication of the criminal activity such as the injection of a virus/worm
which can crash entire networks. The Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000[11],
specifies the acts which have been made punishable. Since the primary objective of
this Act is to create an enabling environment for commercial use of I.T., certain
omissions and commissions of criminals while using computers have not been
included. With the legal recognition of Electronic Records and the amendments made
in the several sections of the IPC vide the IT Act, 2000, several offences having
bearing on cyber-arena are also registered under the appropriate sections of the
IPC.[3]

During the year 2003, 60 cases were registered under IT Act as compared to
70 cases during the previous year thereby reporting a decline of 14.3 percent in 2003
over 2002. Of the total 60 cases registered under IT Act 2000, around 33 percent (20
cases) relate to Obscene Publication / Transmission in electronic form, normally
known as cases of cyber pornography. 17 persons were arrested for committing such
offences during 2003.

There were 21 cases of Hacking of computer systems wherein 18 persons

were arrested in 2003. Of the total (21) Hacking cases, the cases relating to
Loss/Damage of computer resource/utility under Sec 66(1) of the IT Act were to the
tune of 62 percent (13 cases) and that related to Hacking under Section 66(2) of IT
Act were 38 percent (8cases). A total of 411 cases were registered under IPC
Sections in 2003 as compared to 738 such cases during 2002 thereby reporting a
significant decline of 44 percent in 2003 over 2002. Andhra Pradesh reported more
than half of such cases (218 out of 411) (53 percent). Of the 411 cases registered
under IPC, majority of the crimes fall under 3 categories viz. Criminal Breach of Trust
or Fraud (269), Forgery (89) and Counterfeiting (53). Though, these offences fall
under the traditional IPC crimes, the cases had the cyber tones wherein computer,
Internet or its related aspects were present in the crime and hence they were
categorized as Cyber Crimes under IPC.

During 2003, number of cases under Cyber Crimes relating to Counterfeiting of

currency/Stamps stood at 53 wherein 118 persons were arrested during 2003. Of the
47,478 cases reported under Cheating, the Cyber Forgery (89) accounted for 0.2 per
cent. Of the total Criminal Breach of Trust cases (13,432), the Cyber frauds (269)
accounted for 2 percent. Of the Counterfeiting offences (2,055), Cyber Counterfeiting
(53) offences accounted for 2.6 percent.

A total of 475 persons were arrested in the country for Cyber Crimes under IPC
during 2003. Of these, 53.6 percent offenders (255) were taken into custody for
offences under Criminal Breach of Trust/Fraud (Cyber) and 21.4 percent (102) for
offences under ‘Cyber Forgery’. The age-wise profile of the arrested persons showed
that 45 percent were in the age-group of 30-45 years, 28.5 percent of the offenders
were in the age-group of 45-60 years and 11 offenders were aged 60 years and
above. Gujarat reported 2 offenders who were below 18 years of age. Fraud/Illegal
gain (120) accounted for 60 per cent of the total Cyber Crime motives reported in the
country. Greed/Money (15 cases) accounted for 7.5 percent of the Cyber Crimes
reported. Eve-teasing and Harassment (8 cases) accounted for around 4 per cent.
Cyber Suspects include Neighbours / Friends / Relatives (91), Disgrunted employees
(11), Business Competitors (9), Crackers Students / Professional learners (3).

Statistics shows that India ranks fifth in the world in cyber crimes. India
becomes home to fourth highest number of Internet users in the world and the cyber
crime is rising at more than 50 percent per year.
UK has the largest number of infected computers in the world followed by the
US and China. Financial attacks are 16 events per 1000, the highest among all kinds
of attacks. The US is the leading source country for attacks but this has declined.
China is second and Germany is third. It is hard to determine where the attack came
from originally. The number of viruses and worm variants rose sharply to 7,360 that is
a 64% increase over the previous reporting period and a 332% increase over the
previous year. There are 17,500 variants of Win.32 viruses. Threats to confidential
information are on the rise with 54% of 6the top 50 reporting malicious code with the
potential to expose such information. Phishing messages grew to 4.5 million from 1
million between July and December 2004. Statistics shows that India ranks fifth in the
world in cyber crimes. The report of U.S based internet crime complaint centre states
that India becomes home to fourth highest number of Internet users in the world and
the cyber crime is rising at more than 50 percent per year.

3.4 Problem formulation

This research intends to provide answers for the following questions in the study
on cyber crimes:
 What are the basic causes of cyber crimes?
 How to measure or rate causes?
 Why is the need to measure and rate cyber crimes?
 Which are attitudinal parameters for becoming a pray to cyber crimes?
 What are the various methods available for preventing the cyber crimes?
 How to mitigate the rate of cyber crime in virtual e’ space, more particularly in
Tamil Nadu?
 What are the other social problems raised in consequence of cyber crimes?
 Can this virtual problem leave any pattern for successors?
 Is there any constraint in measuring the intensity of the problem?
 How far does the Autopsy help to find out the sequential pattern?
 How to interpret the results with demographic variables to make an
investigation about factor with education level and social linking web pages?

3.5 Problem formulation

 To study the issues on cyber crimes from various available literatures, surveys
and discussions.

 To understand positive and negative impacts of web pages on the internet.

  To clarify the conceptual perception on cyber crimes to create social
awareness.

 To explore the issues and loop holes due to the impact of jurisprudence on
cyber case by Autopsy.

 To examine the sociological, psychological, impacts of various cyber crimes in

Tamil Nadu,

 To test the validity of the AUTOPSY- postmortem (decided relevant laws)

system by developing a prototype to demonstrate the primary features, to
investigate the results, and to derive findings by observing the results.

 Describe selected cases handled by the Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Branch
Department to find out the sequential pattern following selected personal
demographic characteristics: Age, Gender, Ethnic Group and Level of
education.

 To study the cases registered in cyber crime and identify the fairness and
justice done to the affected victim of the crimes.

 To investigate the causes and the sequential pattern, if any in the repeated
cyber crimes.

 To identify the efficacy of the Legal system to curb the activities.

 To discuss the counter measures for avoidance and reduction of cyber crimes.

3.6 Choice of the Subject and City

As there is no specific qualitative tool available for assessing the cause and
consequences of cyber crimes, it becomes imperative for the to collect the primary
data from the cases registered in the wing and to adopt technique - Autopsy of
selected (decided relevant laws) cases and justice rendered of the on this
phenomenon.
 This research work also attempts to study the significance of legal system to
curb fast growing menace of cyber crimes and the integrated approaches for
mitigating the social problem.

The research has been focused mainly in the state of Tamil Nadu as the area for the
research. The present study is an attempt to study and analyze the causes of cyber
crimes and its impact on the society at large by using Autopsy of the case study
handled by the Department of Crime branch.

3.7 Scope and Limitation of the Study

The research has been focused on the cases recorded and handled by the
Tamil Nadu police department as the preferred location for undergoing the study for
the research, as there is dearth in terms of research or study in the state.

Obtaining information from the cyber crime handling authorities is very difficult,
as they like to keep privacy and confidentiality in managing the cases. Due to the
restrictions in providing permission to collect information for their privacy policy, some
of the offices could not cooperate due to the time constraint. The research had some
difficulties while obtaining permission for conducting even the pilot study in their
departments.

The primary data are collected only from the cases registered. The cases
registered again in specific in Tamil Nadu. The published sources of information and
mimeo are the other major sources of data collection.

3.8 Empirical methodology of study

Empirical research is a way of gaining knowledge by means of direct and

indirect observation or experience. Empirical evidence (the record of one's direct
observations or experiences) can be analyzed quantitatively or qualitatively. Through
quantifying the evidence or making sense of it in qualitative form, a researcher can
answer empirical questions, which should be clearly defined and answerable with the
evidence collected. Research is based on observed and measured phenomena. It
reports research based on actual observations or experiments using quantitative
research methods and it may generate numerical data between two or more
variables.

3.9 Methodology of research

The research was done using the Empirical methodology for the study. This
type of research requires that data be collected. Thus, empirical research is grounded
in reality rather than in some abstract realm. Data may be collected by observation or
by experiment. The purpose of empirical research is to explain the data collected
through the development of a model or theory that hypothesizes about the
relationship between the data and relevant variables of the environment. The results
of empirical research should be able to be replicated as adherence to this method
implies the use of objective, reliable and valid research methodology and criteria.

It is more of a fact finding study based on data. In this research, the primary
data of the cases registered in the cyber crime wing from 2003-2011 are relied upon.
Besides, Autopsy of the cases (closed) also become supplementary method of
research followed in the present work.

3.10 Sampling and design

One of the best ways to achieve unbiased results in a study is through random
sampling. Random sampling includes choosing subjects from a population through
unpredictable means. In its simplest form, subjects all have an equal chance of being
selected out of the population being researched. In random sampling, three methods
are most common when conducting surveys. Random number tables, more recently
known as random number generators, tell researchers to select subjects at an interval
generated randomly. Mathematical algorithms for pseudo-random number generators
may also be used. Another method used is physical randomization devices, which
could be as simple as a deck of playing cards.

Radom sampling method was used to collect the data from the cases
registered in the cyber crime wing of Tamil Nadu. The registered cases from 2003-
2011 was considered for the research.
 Post-facto design for Autopsy is administered to find out the sequential pattern.
Post-facto design has two main types: Prospective and Retrospective designs: find
naturally occurring groups (thus, "after the fact") and follow them forward
(prospective) or trace their histories (retrospective).

It is not practically possible to collect the primary data from all the virtually
accused. This has been taken to have an in-depth study, attempting to cover any type
of cyber crimes like source code tampering, bomb threat SMS, copy rights and so on.
However attempt is made to justify the design made in this research. From this,
generalization can be made by extending the findings from one to many, from typical
to universal, and from microcosm to macrocosm.

3.11 Pilot study

A pilot study was conducted for six months over 30 cases registered in
Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The period taken into account was between 2003-2011. A pilot
experiment/study is often used to test the design of the full-scale experiment which
then can be adjusted. It is a potentially valuable insight and should anything be
missing in the pilot study it can be added to the full-scale (and more expensive)
experiment to improve the chances of a clear outcome. It often provides with ideas,
approaches, and clues that may not be foreseen. Such ideas and clues increase the
chances of getting clearer findings in the study. It helps more to refine research
hypotheses.

3.12 The Universe

The universe or the total population for the research is 5572. It covers the total
number of cases registered and petitions received in the cyber crime cell in 2003-
2011 (up to September) [5].

3.13 Sample size

The sample size is 500 out of the total population of 5572, which is
representative sample cut across all categories of the crimes registered and
unregistered. Random and stratified techniques is used to identify the samples Out of
the 500 samples identified, 18 are rejected, as these respondents are not traceable
during the study. As a result 481 are valid samples and it constitutes 8.63 %, hence
taken for the research study. The secondary sources- published and mimeo (Un
Published) are relied upon to articulate further data for the research.

3.14 Tools of data collection

The primary data was collected by using the Questionnaire-cum-schedule

method. The tool for the data collection was constructed by the researcher which was
pre tested by a pilot study. The tool was standardized by deleting the insignificant
questions and after the validation the Tool was used for this research. As there is no
standard tool available for this type of research constructed the tool based on the
review of related literature and the objectives of the study.

The instruments used during the study included a web-based survey,

telephone interviews, e-mail statements, face-to-face interviews, case studies and
questionnaires.

The pilot study conducted had a number of variables to get an in-depth

measurement on the research study. The pilot study was administered in the target
place by getting permission from the cyber crime cell. But it has been conducted for 6
months without giving prior notice to the cyber criminals so that the results are casual
and true. The purpose of the study and the confidentiality of the data are assured to
the concerned.

3.15 Cyber crimes in Tamil Nadu

When Sri Lankan national Umesh, alias Jatti, conned several people in
Canada into parting with their credit card details and swindled several lakhs, he
exposed the vulnerability of internet users to phishing scams and fake sites. Umesh,
who was, had been running a fake credit card manufacturing unit in Valasaravakkam
and had bought credit card and bank information from the international internet black
market, which sells such data for as little as Rs 20 for a card. He’s just one of the few

Upto
Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
sep'

scamsters who fell into the police net though.

Table 2.1: Total number of petitions year wise upto September’ 2011 (TN)

The cyber crime wing of the city police has been seeing a steady increase
over the years in the number of such complaints. Till November 2009, the cyber crime
wing received 920 complaints compared to a mere 35 in 2003. In 2005, the cyber
crime wing had got 173 complaints, of which they registered 28 cases. Subsequently,
this number doubled to 350 in 2006, of which 17 cases were booked. In 2007, the
number of complaints further doubled to 702 and the cyber crime branch booked 22
cases. In 2008, the crime branch got 852 complaints and registered 31 cases. In
2010, while the complaints had shot up to 1269, 47 cases had been registered. It’s
the highest since the wing was formed. Below are tables listing number of cases year
wise.[10]

[5]
Jaishankar K, (Ed.) (2011), ‘Cyber Criminology: Exploring Internet Crimes and Criminal behavior’,
Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group

[10]
http://cybercrimeindia.org/
 2011

No. of
35 91 173 350 702 852 982 1269 426
petitions

Table 2.2: Cases registered in cyber crime cell year wise upto Sep’ 2011 (TN)

Year Upto Total

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 sep'
2011
No. of
cases 7 12 28 17 22 31 31 47 31 226
registered

“We are dealing with hacking of e-mail ids, online cheating, software theft, and
posting of obscene pictures, apart from other computer and mobile phone related
crimes. Recently, many Nigerians were arrested for an online lottery scam,” a cyber
official said. With white collar crimes on the rise, the cyber crime wing clearly finds
itself snowed under a pile of investigations.

The cyber crime wing of the city police has seen a rise in the number of
complaints relating to hacking of e-mails, online cheating, software theft and other
computer and mobile phone related crimes. “We are assisting in all white collar

crimes reported to the central crime branch and the city police. In the last six
months, we have received more complaints relating to phishing and online lottery
scams, rather than distress calls, abusive SMSes and other cyber cases,” central
crime branch deputy commissioner of police had said. “We have helped crack at least
200 cases this year for our counterparts in Tamil Nadu as well as in other states,” said
a police. The below table shows the category of cases handled in cybercrime year
wise.
 Table 2.3: Category of cases registered in cyber crime cell year wise (TN)

Upto
Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 sep' Total
2011
Source code
2 11 3 2 18
tampering

Data theft 1 4 6 1 5 4 4 25

Hacking of
1 1 1 3
system/server
Hacking of
1 1 2
website
Hacking
1 1 2 4
email
Online
6 13 7 26
cheating

Phising 1 1 2

Misuse of
4 4
credit card
Obscenity
1 3 1 1 2 4 12
email

Obscenity call 1 1 1 3 6

Obscenity
4 3 4 2 1 4 18
sms/mms
Obscene
1 1 1 1 3 2 2 11
social sites
Bomb threat
1 1
sms
Other than IT
3 1 9 16 4 2 35
Act 2000
Threatening
1 2 2 2 7
email/sms
Threatening
1 1 2 1 4 1 2 12
calls
Email bomb
1 3 1 3 8
threat
Letter bomb
1 1
threat
Phone-bomb
3 1 4
threat

Net telephony 1 1 1 3

Counterfeit 13 13

Cloning of
1 1
IMEI Number

Copy right 2 2

ATM
3 3
withdrawl
Misuse of
digital 1 1
signature
Cheating 4 4

Total 7 12 28 17 22 31 31 47 31 226

The city police upgraded its cyber lab this August, investing Rs 70 lakh on
technology. The upgraded lab has 68 forensic tools, 43 relating to hardware and 25 to
advanced software. Initially, the cyber crime wing dealt only with obscene SMSes
and MMSes. Over the years, however, the systems have been upgraded and the
cyber crime wing sleuths trained to tackle all sorts of crimes. One of the biggest cases
busted was the arrest of the Dutch national Wilhelmus Weijdeveld for uploading
pornographic pictures of young children.[9]
“The number of cyber crime cases reported now a days could have been so
high because of better awareness. Earlier people would not have reported cases of
obnoxious mails, use of expletives, foul language and threatening mails. But now
people are aware about the legal recourse they can seek,” said an information
security firm. He added that India still does not have a high level of incidence when it
comes to more serious cyber crimes compared to other countries. Also now a days
though there are many petitions filed there are very minimum cases registered due to
lesser awareness.
[9]
Vivek Sood, ‘Cyber Crimes, Electronic Evidence & Investigation’ Legal Issues, Nabhi Publications, Edition 2010

3.16 To sum up

Survey recently found the two in 10 people globally who use the internet do not
have any security software installed and 33% of Indians were found not to have
installed any security software. Another cyber security expert said that as internet
usage increases, so will cases of cyber crime. But in India there are not many serious
cyber crimes when compared to other parts of the world. Serious cyber crimes can be
defined as crimes that are committed by illegally leveraging digital media for financial
gains or other gains.