Bazee Hit and Sify Awakes

The arrest of bazee.com CEO has put other portals on guard. Sify which until 17th carried an "Erotica Store" and was putting products on sale has today stated "There is no product in this category". Hope India's biggest pornographic web portal namely the timesof india.com also wakes up.(See: Advertising Code?..or Section 67 of ITA 2000?).

The DPS Saga..Some reflections

"..Fellow students claim the girl wanted to be 'cool' and gain some instant popularity. Unfortunately for them, the film reached the Principal who expelled the two... It is being said that on being questioned by the Principal, both students did not appear to be ashamed of what they had done. In fact, the girl even reportedly retorted, "Who doesn't do it? Haven't you done it?" The boy is equally nonchalant about what he had done, according to his peers. ..."

These are the revelations of a concerned observer of the episode. This indicative trend of the current generation of our children is truly alarming. ..More

Are Mobile Phone Service Providers Liable?

An interesting debate has ensued on the liability of Mobile Phone Service Providers in issues such as the distribution of MMS clippings which may violate Section 67 of the ITA-2000. Similarly, the issue of "Whether a Portal Owner Is Responsible for Contents within a Video sold in his site" is also being debated.

In short, it can be categorically stated that both these issues should be covered under Section 79 of the ITA-2000 and unless "Lack of Due Diligence" is proved, the service providers should be considered as protected. Portal owners should however be careful on what they say in the introduction to a product and whether it conveys knowledge of the illegal content.

In the excitement sorrounding the media interest in the DPS case, there is a danger of the offence being blown out of proportion. Care should be taken to ensure that this does not create any precedents which may come to haunt the Netizen community in the long run. ..Related Article in rediff.com

Buyers of DPS Video also being Arrested

According to the report in TOI, Delhi Police are in the process of arresting people who purchased DPS Video on the Net. At the same time, the person who created it in the first place and was the origin of the distribution, is yet to be arrested. The appropriateness of the arrest of persons who bought the clip is debatable since it is not subject to the provisions of Section 67 of ITA-2000. It is doubtful even if Section 292 of IPC would be applicable to such persons.

Related Articles: Sify.com  : Express India : TOI : HT

IT Lab Set Up in Chennai by ICAI

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in India has set up an IT Lab in Chennai with a  view to give it's members, hands on training in IT Security Audit. Inaugurating the facility today (17th December 2004), Mr Sunil Goyal, President of ICAI highlighted the need for CA's to adapt to the changing business environment...More

Will ITA-2000 be Amended to protect IPR on Database?

It is reported that an amendment is being contemplated by the Government of India in ITA-2000 to provide some extraordinary protection to foreign data base owners.

It is reported that according to reliable sources, Section 2 of the IT Act be amended to ensure that the database of the foreign companies are protected and the amendment in this Section has become necessary in view of oft-repeated complaints of large MNCs abroad that their Indian counterparts pirate their data in a manner that accrue them commercial benefits during the course of their business transactions.

It may be stated here that ITA-2000 is not the legislation that should be tinkered with for "Copyright Protection" even if such a measure is necessary. Secondly, it is the Indian entrepreneurs who need protection from the irresponsible use of IPR under the WTO regime and the reported objective of the legislation if true is regrettable. I wish that the Expert Committee supposed to have been appointed for this purpose does not allow themselves to be used to serve vested interests...Related Article in BL

BBC To Take Action on the Attempted Fraud

A few days back, naavi.org had reported an attempted Nigerian mail type fraud using an article appearing in bbc.co.uk as a supporting information. BBC authorities have confirmed that they have initiated some legal action in this regard..

Netizens are once again warned to keep away from any such offers from strange persons....Related Article

Bazee.Com CEO Arrested

As a follow up to the arrest of the IIT student for selling DPS video on the Bazee site, it is reported that the CEO of bazee.com has now been arrested. It was sad to hear the IIT student admit before camera that he would not have indulged in the act if he had known that it was illegal. Unfortunately, ignorance of law is not considered an offence. When ignorance is exhibited by otherwise educated persons, it is difficult to pardon it.

But I would like to re-iterate that the parents and teachers are to be blamed for the ignorance of the young students since making Computer users "Cyber Law Aware" is part of the Computer education process.

Yet Another Privacy Violation Charge

In what is a repeat of some of the recent reportings using a Camera Mobile to capture sexually explicit pictures of Celebrities and publishing and distributing them on the Internet, a Mumabi tabloid is reported to have published some picture of a well known actress Kareena Kapoor. It is understood that the actress is taking legal action alleging that the picture is fake...Details in IE

Australian Police Gets Powers to Install Spyware

In an attempt to arm the Police with statutory powers to install surveillance software such as Key Loggers and Trojans, Australia has enacted a law under Surveillance Devices Act. The move is frought with risks of misuse and could cause problems in the days to come.  Details

Wise Techies realize that Law Can Bite

The arrest of an IIT Kharagpur student in connection with the sale of obscene videos through Internet should open the eyes of Technology Intoxicated youth of the day who show scant respect for law. It is one thing to oppose any law as unfair, unnecessary or even bad. But violating law is a risk not worth taking for making a fast buck or to satisfy personal ego or just as a show of adventurism...Details in TOI

US Video Voyeurism Bill Goes for President's Signature

It is interesting to note that while a hot debate is happening in India on the irresponsible use of Camera Phones or other means  to capture photographs or videos in violation of normal limits of decency and privacy rights, a law is about to be enacted in US. Called the Video Voyeurism Protection Act 2004 , this act makes it a crime to surreptitiously capture images of people in situations in which they have an expectation of privacy. Under the new law, video voyeurism committed on federal lands would be punishable by a fine of not more than $100,000 or imprisonment for up to one year, or both..More

BBC Made to Endorse a Fraud

In a clever manipulation of a news story published in a website, a fraudster uses BBC to substantiate his Nigerian Fraud Mail. In the context of the discussions we have been having on the vicarious responsibilities of website owners, it would be considered necessary for BBC to post a disclaimer along with the above story as soon as they come to know of it. The incident is being reported by Naavi.org to BBC. We need to wait and see how they respond. Silence on their part would be contributing to many innocents being defrauded for which inaction from BBC would be held responsible...More

Delhi Police Register Case..Bazee Needs to Explain

Delhi Police has booked a case regarding the same of MMS Video clipping of the Delhi Public School. It is no surprise that Bazee.com which was used as a conduit in the distribution is being questioned. What we have discussed for Blogs in our "Bloggers Beware" series of articles will apply in principle to Bazee.com also. Details in IE

The Entire set of 10 articles on legal Issues in Blogging are available here.

The entire set of ten articles written here on the legal issues in Blogging is together available here for easy access. I suppose if any blog owner wants to alert the users about the legal issues involved in maintaining of the blog or posting comments, he can provide a link to this file. All views expressed here may be contested and disagreed. However, they still remain issues and drawing the attention of the Blog users to these issues would be  the first step in "Cyber Law Compliance" for a Blog owner. I would welcome Blog owners to become members of Cyber Society of India and help me develop a standard Cyber Law Compliance Certification system  for Blog owners. Very shortly, Cyber Society is likely to open a chapter in Bangalore apart from its present location in Chennai.

Need For Self Governance of Blogs

Continuing the discussion on Bloggers Beware, Naavi presents the next article in the  series of articles on various issues that concern Bloggers. ...Details

"Law Takes Its Own Course"

Continuing the discussion on Bloggers Beware, Naavi presents the next article in the  series of articles on various issues that concern Bloggers. ...Details

Invoking Section 292 of IPC and Section 67 of ITA-2000 together

Continuing the discussion on Bloggers Beware, Naavi presents the next article in the  series of articles on various issues that concern Bloggers. ...Details

The issue of Defamation on Blogs

Continuing the discussion on Bloggers Beware, Naavi presents the next article in the  series of articles on various issues that concern Bloggers. ...Details

The Ethics of posting comments in a disguised identity

Continuing the discussion on Bloggers Beware, Naavi presents the next article in the  series of articles on various issues that concern Bloggers. ...Details

The Nuisance of Electronic Obscenity

While we are in the midst of discussion of the responsibilities of a Blogger, Mr Praveen Dalal has posted a very informative article on Electronic Obscenity. He discusses the implications of Section 292 of IPC as well as ITA-2000 on websites. He also has expressed his valuable opinion on the restrictions to "Freedom of Speech" which should be of interest to those who are following the series of articles on "Bloggers Beware"....Details

Is the Blog owner responsible for Copyright Violations if he posts a picture?

Continuing the discussion on Bloggers Beware, Naavi presents the next article in the  series of articles on various issues that concern Bloggers. ...Details

Is the Blog owner responsible for a hyper link posted by a visitor?

Continuing the discussion on Bloggers Beware, Naavi presents the next article in the  series of articles on various issues that concern Bloggers. ...Details

Is there a difference in "Creating an Object of Information" and "Publishing the Object"? 

Continuing the discussion on Bloggers Beware Naavi presents the next article in the  series of articles on various issues that concern Bloggers. ...Details

Is there a difference between a Forum and a Blog?

Continuing the discussion on Bloggers Beware, Naavi presents a  series of articles on various issues that concern Bloggers. Here is the next article in the series which discusses the difference between a Forum and a Blog....Details

Bloggers Beware

Internet was born free..But the truth is that the Indian law at present applicable to the Internet usage, represented by the Information Technology Act 2000 (ITA-2000) has a section 67  containing a stringent provision for publishing and distribution of obscene material in electronic form. This provision is of great importance to all web site owners who are "Publishers" and also e-mail list owners, and mobile phone users who may be "transmitting" information in electronic form....Blog owners are therefore advised not to take the law lightly and immediately take steps to make their sites "Cyber Law Compliant"...Detailed Article

Justice Through E-Governance

ITA-2000 made specific provisions to enable use of Electronic Documents in E-Governance. Mr Praveen Dalal (Practicing High Court Advocate, Delhi), analyses how  judiciary in India is  actively and positively using Information Technology in the administration of justice, particularly the criminal justice. ..Detailed Article

Mobile Forensics and Digital Evidence

Following the article on Mobile Forensics in these columns, Mr Svine Y Williassen from Norway has sent a link to a highly informative paper on GSM Mobile System and Forensics published by him. I thank Mr Sveine for the information which I am sure would be considered valuable by all visitors to this site...Naavi

"Forensics and GSM Mobile Telephone System", by Svein Y Williassen, Senior Investigator, Cyber Forensics, Ibas, AS.

GNFC Unit registered as Certifying Authority

(n)Code Solutions (A division of Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers Company Limited) has been licensed as a Certifying Authority under ITA-2000. The details are available at www.ncodesolutions.com. Technically this is the 7th licensed CA in India, the other 6 being, Safescrypt,NIC, IDRBT, TCS, MTNL, and Central Excise and Customs Department.

DOTC Warns against SIM Card Cloning

It has been alleged that criminal syndicates have been cloning SIM cards allowing  making of  fraudulent calls using accounts of unsuspecting cellular phone subscribers...Details in money.inq7.net

Mobile Forensics..GSM and CDMA Technologies

The mobile industry in India is divided between the two technologies GSM and CDMA. While the earlier service providers had adopted the GSM technology, the new players have been using CDMA technology and have notched up a significant share of the Indian market. Hence any discussion on Mobile Forensics need to take into account the presence of the two technologies.

It is necessary for us to understand the basic differentiation of the two technologies as they may have an impact on the Forensics. An attempt is made here to present the fundamental technical aspects about the two systems...Details

TRAI delivers another blow to the Consumers

TRAI has announced that the tariff on Cable TV subscriptions will be raised by 7 % to accommodate for inflation from January 2005. In this context, it must be stated that over the last year since the Cable TV regulations have been under focus, TRAI has failed to take any action which could help the Cable TV consumers. It has failed to solve the STB issue in Chennai, failed to remove the monopoly of the Cable TV operators and their stifling hold on the consumers. It also failed to control the unreasonably high level of advertisements even in the paid channel allowing the broadcaster to make profits both through subscriptions and through advertisements beyond acceptable levels. Now it's concern on the inflationary effect on operators betrays where their true loyalties lie.

The entire problem arises because of the wrong structuring of TRAI as an institution that has to deal both with the Consumer interest as well as the industry interest. These are conflicting ideologies and cannot be handled by the same institution.

It is necessary that  an all India consumer association is formed to represent the Cable TV consumers and the same is given some statutory recognition under the TRAI act to provide relief to the consumers who are also affected by the same inflation which the TRAI is citing as the reason to burden them more.

Domain Name Space Control...What is brewing?

ICANN is presently facing a challenge to its Domain Name Space Control from the WSIS initiatives. Is ICANN trying to act smart?

The introduction of the "Wildcard" page by Verisign where by mistyped URLs would be redirected to its own "wild card" page with advertisements has been objected to and an arbitration notice has been served on Verisign. It is also said to be planning to terminate its contract with the Department of Commerce US.

What are the implications of these moves? ..Is ICANN trying to act smart?......Read this article by James Grimmelmann

Inspired by Film.. A Cyber Crime in Chennai

In another incident of an Internet related offence,  an youth was arrested in Chennai for sending e-mails to some Government officials stating that bombs will be exploded in some Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) depots.

The incident again underscores the responsibilities of our educational institutions and work places to inculcate knowledge of Cyber Crimes and their impact on youngsters in the society.

 It was sad to note that the current incident was inspired by a Tamil the film "Ramana" which was recently shown in TV where the hero revolts against the corrupt administration through a revolutionary movement.

Avail Verify4lookalikes.com Service when you think of Dot In domain name

E-Book in Kannada on Cyber Crimes

Naavi's book in Kannada titled "Antarjaala AparadhagaLu" (Cyber Crimes)  will now be available as an e-book for direct sales from naavi.org. The e-book is meant for Cyber Cafes to load in each of the computers so that users can read the book if required and familiarize themselves with their responsibilities. (Download zip file of Extracts)( See some Screenshots online)

The price of the 136 page book is Rs 100/- per book. The e-books will be in self executable Windows format and password protected.  On specific request book will be given in PDF format.   Contact naavi@vsnl.com for details. Payment can be made through Naavi's Payment Center.

Mobile Forensics..A New Challenge

The increasing use of Mobile phones by the population as a personal means of communication has made Mobile Phones an important piece of evidence in many legal cases.  In the coming days, Mobiles will be used for e-commerce and the relevance of Mobile Evidence will assume greater importance.

..Manipulating SIM card data on the instrument is a very easy process and hence the data on the SIM card can only be taken as only an indicating evidence and has to be properly certified to be of any use in a court of law.

..It must be remembered that spoofing of SMS messages as well as voice messages is not impossible on a mobile....More

Book on Cyber Laws in Regional Language

The first book in a regional language in India on the subject of Cyber Laws is now ready. Titled "Antarjaala Aparaadhagalu" (Cyber Crime) in Kannada, the language of Karnataka, the southern State of India. The State is known in IT world for its Capital Bangalore City  often referred to as the Silicon Valley of India. The State also was the first Indian State to set up a Cyber Crime Police Station with Statewide jurisdiction and got international recognition for its e-Governance project "Bhoomi".

The objective of the book is to create Cyber regulatory awareness amongst the common masses including school children and Cyber Cafe owners.

The Book will briefly discuss provisions of Information Technology Act and the recently notified regulations on Cyber Cafes in Karnataka. (Distributor Enquiries Solicited). The book has 98 pages of content and is priced at Rs 50/-. Contact naavi@vsnl.com for details...Naavi: 20.11.2004

Metatags in Trade Mark Infringement

Trade mark infringements have often been alleged in the meta tags which are machine readable source code elements not normally visible to the visitor of a web page. Mr A. Sinha, an advocate from Kolkata discusses the legal issues of Trademark infringement through meta tags...Detailed Article

Microsoft Extends Indemnity to Customers

Microsoft has been extending indemnity to its high value  customers from possible legal threats stemming from their use of Microsoft software. The company is now extending protection to virtually all users of its products. Microsoft's indemnification program protects customers from exposure to legal costs and damage claims related to patent, copyright, trade-secret and trademark claims. Report in Computer World

Is Hacking Possible Without Network Connection?

We often talk of Network security in the context of networked computers. In the present days of wireless connectivity we also understand that network connection can be established without a wired connection.

But a question which is now doing the rounds is "Is it possible to manipulate a computer through electro magnetic impulses sent from a distance" without any network connecton.?

This is what is termed as Van Eck Phreaking...More

Strong Opposition to Karnataka Cyber Cafe Regulation

"Terrorists also use motorcycles and cars; is the government going to ban these as well?" ...The Internet is an open medium and it is unnecessary to go so far in the name of security,"

is reported to be the reaction of Mr Kiran Karnik, the Chairman of Nasscom to the Cyber Cafe regulation proposed by Karnataka. Report in HT

If a lady's digital photograph is taken by the Cyber Cafe owner, the mischief that is possible is well known. Will Cyber Cafes be then out of bounds for the ladies?..is a question that arises.

Probably the regulation will be more breached than followed and every body will be happy or kept happy.

Recognizing the futility of forced regulation, Naavi.org recommends a voluntary Cyber Law Compliance programme for the Cyber Cafes which will be audited and certified by independent organizations such as the Cyber Society of India.  ..For details contact Naavi

Related Article in bbc.co.uk

Crackdown in Ahmedabad..Report in ahmedabad.com

Petition Against Electronic Voting Machines

For some time discussions are going on on the reliability of the electronic voting machines (EVM) used in India. During the last elections, a PIL had been filed questioning the use of EVMs in the Supreme Court which had then dismissed the case advising that the dispute can be taken up with the Election Commission. Now a case has been filed in Nagpur High Court and a detailed affidavit has been filed by one of the experts who has been campaigning in this regard for some time, namely Mr Ravi V.S.Prasad. In view of the academic interest in the topic the copy of the affidavit filed in the Nagpur court has been reproduced here.

Creating Young Responsible Netizens

The recent spurt of Cyber Crime activities seen in the context of the first successful conviction of an accused in a Section 67 case should open the eyes of the responsible persons in the society of the dangers of Internet. The law to prevent Cyber pornography in India is strict and will hurt all those who violate. unfortunately many violators will be youngsters who may jeopardise their careers in a fit of youthful exuberance. In such cases it is not only the youngster who undergoes punishment but also their parents.

It is the responsibility of all those who promote Internet amongst the young to also promote the responsible use of Internet. Naavi.org urges parents and school authorities to discharge their responsibilities of properly educating their wards before letting them on to Cyber Space. In pursuance of this objective Cyber Law College has suggested a movement to create "Young Responsible Netizens" through a 12 week training programme.

First Conviction Under Sec 67 of ITA-2000

In what could be the first conviction under Section 67 of ITA-2000 in India, a Chennai court sentenced a person who had posted obscene and defamatory information about a lady in a Yahoo group message board, with a sentence of 2 years under Section 67 and another 3 years under IPC.

The case (The State of Tamil Nadu Vs Suhas Katti)  had been followed with interest since it was one of the first cases of such nature to approach judgement  in fairly quick time. It was also one of the first cases to be booked by the Cyber Crime Cell of Chennai Police headed presently by Assistant Commissioner S.Balu and the accused had been secured in Mumbai within a few days after the complaint had been made. It was also notable that the entire case came to a conclusion within about 6 months and the accused had been refused bail all through the trial period..., Nov 5, 2004.. Report in IE : More on the Case

[P.S: The name of the accused had been wrongly reported in some news papers as Suhas Shetty.]

DOT In Domain Name Policy

The new Dot In domain name policy ready for introduction in India from early next year opens up the domain name registration system and places it ion par with the international generic domain name registrations.

These policy changes were long overdue and are therefore welcome. It is however necessary for us to remember that with this policy changes, it would be necessary to use the services such as verify4lookalikes service. to avoid disputes....More

Domain Name Law in India

The original role of a domain name was to provide an address for computers on the Internet. The Internet has, however, developed from a mere means of communication to a mode of carrying on commercial activity..Praveen Dalal Analyses the law in India.

The Era of Truncated Cheques

India amended the age-old Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 with a Negotiable Instruments Amendment Act 2002 (NIAA) which became effective from February 6, 2003. Since then the undersigned has had several discussions with leading Software Companies in India about the need to develop a suitable software package...

Hopefully the advent of the Truncated Cheque Era will remove the marketing complacency of the Indian IT Companies and enable them to harness new opportunities that arise out of the Cyber Law Regime....More

Cheque Truncation Raises Fraud Concerns

Cheque Truncation which became a legal possibility in India since February 2003 is yet to be introduced in practice. According to current reports it is expected to be in place by January 3, 2005. It is interesting therefore how the similar law in US which became effective from October 28, 2004 has raised concerns of increasing frauds...Read this article in eweek.com

Lack of Vision in Indian IT Companies

The news item that RBI has indicated to Banks to be ready for Cheque Truncation by 2005 has suddenly made headlines. (See report in ET). This is a business opportunity which was ready to be picked up about two years back and none of the so called super powers of IT in India were able to see the opportunity coming.

The undersigned has personally discussed this need of the market with most of the major IT Companies in India over the last two years. However, none of them showed the vision to understand what the opportunity meant to them.

The response was typical .."Let some Bank give me an order. Then we will think".. No doubt that Indian IT Companies do not want to raise above being Cyber Coolies.

I urge entrepreneurs and HR Managers of IT Companies to the lack of "Marketing Instinct" amongst the top management personnel in IT Companies. Unless there is a significant change in the skill profile of the top managers to include "Marketing Acumen", the IT "Superpowers" of today will be nothing more than "Also Rans"  in the coming days....Naavi, October 30, 2004

A Complete Forensic Lab in Your Briefcase ICS Presents Road Masster II

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