Cyber Laws - CAST
Cyber Laws - CAST
Presented by:
Zibber Mohiuddin
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Abstract ............................................................................................................3
2 Background ......................................................................................................4
2.1 Internet Origin............................................................................................................ 4
2.2 The World Wide Web (WWW) ....................................................................................... 4
3 Cyber Crime......................................................................................................6
3.1 Emergence of Cyber Crime .......................................................................................... 6
3.2 Disputes in the Cyber World ....................................................................................... 6
3.3 Cyber Crime v/s Conventional Crime .......................................................................... 6
3.4 Complexity of Cyber Disputes ..................................................................................... 7
3.5 Types of Cyber Crime .................................................................................................. 7
3.6 Targets of Cyber Crime ............................................................................................... 8
4 Cyber Law....................................................................................................... 10
5 International Aspects of Cyber Law ................................................................. 11
6 Role of Pakistan in the Cyber World ................................................................ 17
7 Conclusion...................................................................................................... 19
8 Recommendations............................................................................................20
9 Bibliography ................................................................................................... 22
1 Abstract
The revolution in information technologies has changed society fundamentally and will
probably continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Where originally only some specific
sectors of society had rationalized their working procedures with the help of information and
communication technology, now hardly any sector of society has remained unaffected. They
have changed our society profoundly.
These developments have given rise to unprecedented economic and social changes, but
they also have a dark side: the emergence of new types of crime as well as the commission
of traditional crimes by means of new technologies. Moreover, the consequences of criminal
behavior can be more far-reaching than before because they are not restricted by
geographical limitations or national boundaries.
Along with encouraging the use of Information and Communication technologies from their
inception, countries have been looking at ways to counteract the negatives simultaneously.
Technical measures to protect computer systems are being implemented along with legal
measures to prevent and deter criminal behavior.
Pakistan has seen an adequate increase in the use of Information and Communications
Technologies over the past half decade. We now have 75,00,0001 internet users, grown by
5,501.2% from 2000-2005. The technology is currently less penetrated, 4.6%2, and yet to
compete with international standards.
This paper tends to probe into the networked economy, its impact on society in general and
economic wellbeing of states along with the parallel and anticipated downsides. We analyze
the increased and far increasing dependency on the networked economy impacting
individuals, companies and nations both nationally and globally. The loop holes in the cyber
space leading to cyber crimes pressurize countries to look for jurisdictions. A situational
analysis of the international aspects of cyber law is carried out to analyze how China, USA,
European Union among others have achieved a level of control over cyber activities while
trying to minimize the negative impact on their societies.
Finally, the Electronic Transactions Ordinance 2002 and the Electronic Crime Act 2004 as a
basis, for the way forward for Pakistan is discussed.
1 Nielsen//NetRatings ,2005
2 Internet Usage Statistics – The Big Picture: World Internet Users and Population Stats, www.InternetWorldStats.com, Copyright 2005,
Miniwatts International, LLC.
2 Background
From their modest beginnings some 20 years ago3, computer networks have become a
critical element of modern society. These networks not only have global reach but
they also have impact on virtually every aspect of human endeavor. Networked
systems are principal enabling agents in business, industry, government, and defense.
Major economic sectors, including defense, energy, transportation,
telecommunications, manufacturing, financial services, health care, and education, all
depend on a vast array of networks operating on local, national, and global scales.
Internet has changed the very perceptions of mankind. Internet today represents and
embodies the single most important development in the history of civilization. On-line
culture has become an integral part of modern existence.
In 1969 the U.S. government undertook an experiment, today known to people all
around the world as the 'Internet'. The purpose of this experiment was to create a way
of preserving communications in the event of a nuclear war. Through the collaboration
of ARPA (Advanced Research Project Agency) and some academic institutions involved
in joint research on defence technologies via interconnected networks ARPANET, the
earliest version of the Internet was created.
As time passed the popularity of the Internet grew and what was originally a network
of a small handful of computers in the United States was now a growing phenomenon
amongst educational establishments and enterprising entrepreneurs who were
beginning to see the potential in selling Internet access into people’s homes.
In the 1980's the UK and Europe realized the potential of the Internet and an
academic network called CSNET, which enabled the computer science departments of
some universities to be connected, was established.
The CSNET further established the Internet with TCP/IP with the support of the
country's major networking companies.
Even though the Internet clearly existed since the 1980's it was not until the early
1990's that the corporate world were able to make use of it instead of just the
academic community and government sponsored organizations. This limited use was
due to the 'user unfriendly' nature of the system, which led to the need for an interface
to be designed to make the Internet easier to use. This interface is what is now known
as the WWW (World Wide Web).
In 1993 a researcher called Tim Berners-Lee with the aim of making the Internet a
user-friendly environment introduced the WWW. Designers had the task of designing
and formatting web pages with the use of HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) and
HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language) to link documents together electronically. This
new technology enabled a world wide web of information to be provided.
However real usability came shortly after the introduction of the WWW when in 1993 a
team led by Marc Anderson at the University of Illinois developed a browser called
Mosaic which was a graphical user interface for the Internet to facilitate point and
click navigation, more commonly referred to as browsing. N.Bandyo-padhyay cites
Reid (1997) who states that by July 1996, 150,000 server computers were 'web-
enabled'. In 1994, the same team developed Netscape, which is today the most
commonly used browser. Netscape was equipped with a search engine to type
keywords into and was created using advanced HTTP.
Being able to perform keyword searches was a huge factor in the increased popularity
of the Internet. Other browsers such as Internet Explorer by Microsoft soon followed
and shortly after that several websites dedicated to producing keyword searches such
as Yahoo and Lycos appeared. These are today known more popularly as search
engines. The WWW also contributed to providing increased levels of security on the
Internet by encrypting the messages that moved between servers. Security on the
Internet is today a huge cause of debate.
3 Cyber Crime
The first recorded cyber crime took place in the year 1820! 4 That is not surprising
considering the fact that the abacus, which is thought to be the earliest form of a
computer, has been around since 3500 B.C. in India, Japan and China. The era of
modern computers, however, began with the analytical engine of Charles Babbage.
Cyber crime is an evil having its origin in the growing dependence on computers in
modern life. In a day and age when everything from microwave ovens and refrigerators
to nuclear power plants are being run on computers, cyber crime has assumed rather
sinister implications.
Disputes are not new to our existence but disputes relating to on-line transactions
and culture are extensively different in their nature, scope and treatment.
CONVENTIONAL CRIME
Crime is a social and economic phenomenon and is as old as the human society.
Crime is a legal concept and has the sanction of the law. Crime or an offence is “a
legal wrong that can be followed by criminal proceedings which may result into
punishment.”6 The hallmark of criminality is that, it is breach of the criminal law. Per
Lord Atkin “the criminal quality of an act cannot be discovered by reference to any
standard but one: is the act prohibited with penal consequences”.7
CYBER CRIME
Cyber crime is the most complicated problem in the cyber world. “Cyber crime may be
said to be those species, of which, genus is the conventional crime, and where either
the computer is an object or subject of the conduct constituting crime”8. “Any criminal
activity that uses a computer either as an instrumentality, target or a means for
perpetuating further crimes comes within the ambit of cyber crime”. 9
A generalized definition of cyber crime may be “unlawful acts wherein the computer is
either a tool or target or both”10. Thus, crimes are unlawful acts wherein the computer
is either a tool or a target or both.
- The world itself becomes a big courtroom when cyber crimes across geographic
boundaries take place.
- Because of the global nature of the internet, the clarity as to which court would
have the exclusive jurisdiction to try the case is missing.
- Thirdly litigation and the legal systems in different countries are different and
can be extremely expensive and threaten to wipe out millions of legal entities
into oblivion.
- And there is considerable doubt relating to the efficacy of decisions given by the
courts of one jurisdiction on a global level and the sanctions are questionable.
Type Examples
Financial crimes Cheating, credit card frauds, money laundering etc.
Cyber pornography Pornographic websites etc.
Sale of illegal Sale of narcotics, weapons and wildlife etc., through websites or email
articles communication.
Online gambling Online gambling, money laundering etc.
Intellectual Software piracy, copyright infringement, trademarks violations, theft of
Property crimes computer source code etc.
Email spoofing Sending e-mails that appear to originate from one source but actually
has been sent from another source.
6 Granville Williams
7 Proprietary Articles Trade Association v. A.G.for Canada (1932)
8 Author of CYBER CRIME by Parthasarathi Pati (naavi.org)
9 Duggal Pawan
10 Nagpal R. – What is Cyber Crime?
Forgery Counterfeit currency notes, postage and revenue stamps, mark sheets
etc.
Cyber Defamation Publishing/distributing defamatory matter about someone.
Cyber stalking Victimizing someone online.
Unauthorized Hacking.
access to
computer
systems or
networks
Theft of Stealing information on computer hard disks, removable storage media
information etc.
contained in
electronic form
Email bombing Sending a large number of emails crashing email accounts or servers.
Data diddling Altering data.
Salami attacks Commissioning financial crimes.
Denial of Service Flooding systems by sending excessive demands etc.
attack
Virus / worm Spread of viruses and worms.
attacks
Logic bombs Triggering programs at events.
Trojan attacks Unauthorized programs.
Internet time Stealing internet hours.
theft
Web jacking Stealing control over websites.
Theft /damaging Theft of a computer, peripherals etc.
of computer
system
Unauthorized The cyber crime of “gaining entry into, instructing or communicating
Access with the logical, arithmetical, or memory function resources of a
computer, computer system or computer network”11 known as access
has the greatest impact Packet sniffing, tempest attack, password
cracking and buffer overflow etc. are some techniques for gaining
access.
Cyber crimes are targeted and have an impact at three levels: Individuals,
Organizations, Society at large 12 . Examples of crimes targeted at the three levels
mentioned is as follows:
4 Cyber Law
Achieving cyber-security depends upon the security practices of each and every
networked country, business and citizen.
Cyber law is the intersection of technology and law. Controversy exists in that one
school of thought thinks that the technology should not (or can not) be regulated.
Cyber law encompasses a wide variety of political and legal issues related to the
Internet and other communications technology, including intellectual property,
privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction.
Cyber law has been a vibrant field in which numerous developments took place in the
year 2001 on the global level. Cyber law tends to addresses a more definitive,
regulated and orderly cyberspace and towards evolving the regulated code of conduct
for online activities in the context of electronic mediums around it.
13 ITU secretary general Yoshio Utsumi International Telecom Union (ITU) 141st Anniversary 2006
Information and communications flow more easily around the world. Borders are no
longer boundaries to this flow. This causes difficulty, as the internet-based society has
no physical boundaries and thus much traffic escapes national supremacy. Criminals
are increasingly located in places other than where their acts produce their effects.
Over the past thirty years, developed nations’ transit from the industrial era to the
new information age has enabled them to develop the nascent technology and produce
ever greater quality in standards and value. Between 2000 and 2005, the average
internet user growth rate was of 183.4%, the highest rate being in the Middle East
with 454.2%. Not far behind was Africa with 423.9% and Latin America and the
Caribbean collectively with 342.5%14. It is clear from these statistics that these regions,
in which most developing countries subsist, are eager to implement and exploit the
advantages of ICTs and the internet superhighway.
As developing countries are jumping onto the bandwagon, penetration of Internet and
awareness is on an overall low level. Different National Governments in Asia have yet
to galvanize themselves into action vis a vis Internet and cyberspace. The future holds
tremendous promise for Asia and Asian countries have to respond to the same with
lightening speed. The problem is nonetheless that many have neither the expertise nor
the experience to deal with the legal and policy issues necessary.
14 Internet Usage Statistics – The Big Picture: World Internet Users andPopulation Stats, www.InternetWorldStats.com, Copyright 2005,
Miniwatts International, LLC.
15 NOTES: (1) Internet Usage and World Population Statistics were updated for March 31, 2006. (2) CLICK on each world region for
detailed regional information. (3) Demographic (Population) numbers are based on data contained in the world-gazetteer website. (4)
Internet usage information comes from data published by Nielsen//NetRatings, by the International Telecommunications Union, by local
NICs, and other other reliable sources. (5) For definitions, disclaimer, and navigation help, see the Site Surfing Guide. (6) Information
from this site may be cited, giving due credit and establishing an active link back to www.internetworldstats.com. ©Copyright 2006,
Miniwatts Marketing Group. All rights reserved.
The European Union, on the other hand, has enabled harmonized implementation of
regulation on electronic commerce through directives in almost all European countries,
with non-member countries aligning themselves with the EU movement. Similarly, the
US has both important knowledge and experience in the legal field of cyber security,
with significant influence in the area.
The U.S has a very well defined structure for reporting crimes. The primary federal law
enforcement agencies that investigate domestic crime on the Internet include: the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Secret Service, the United
States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) , the United States Postal
Inspection Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) . Each of
these agencies has offices conveniently located in every state to which crimes may be
reported. Contact information regarding these local offices may be found in local
telephone directories. In general, federal crime may be reported to the local office of an
appropriate law enforcement agency by a telephone call and by requesting the "Duty
Complaint Agent."
Each law enforcement agency also has a headquarters (HQ) in Washington, D.C.,
which has agents who specialize in particular areas. For example, the FBI and the U.S.
Secret Service both have headquarters-based specialists in computer intrusion (i.e.,
computer hacker) cases.
Following federal investigative law enforcement agencies are responsible for reporting
of crimes:
Division)
• Federal Trade Commission (online complaint)
• If securities fraud or investment-related
SPAM e-mails, Securities and Exchange
Commission (online complaint)
• The Internet Fraud Complaint Center
Internet harassment • FBI local office
Internet bomb threats • FBI local office
• ATF local office
Trafficking in explosive or • FBI local office
incendiary devices or firearms
• ATF local office
over the Internet
The US Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is
a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White
Collar Crime Center (NW3C). IC3's mission is to serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and
refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cyber crime. The IC3
gives the victims of cyber crime a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that
alerts authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations. For law enforcement and
regulatory agencies at the federal, state, and local level, IC3 provides a central referral
mechanism for complaints involving Internet related crimes.
Most domestic laws for the developed countries are generally confined to a specific
territory. Thus solutions to the problems posed must be addressed by international
law, necessitating the adoption of adequate international legal instruments.
Shenzhen, China and Saudi Arabia are two more examples of nations that have
achieved high degrees of success in regulating their citizens’ access to the internet.
China boasts of 111 million internet users, the world's second largest number after
the United States. But the lack of police supervision has caused rampant spread of
pornographic information, slanders and gambling on the Internet.
China's booming special economic zone of Shenzhen is leading the way in curbing
online crimes and the spread of hazardous information with the use of cyber police.
Shenzhen has about 4 million users and more than 5,000 major websites, 400 of
which support cyber forums and chat rooms. With rapid website development, on-line
crimes, such as on-line stealing, cheating and gambling, have become rampant.
The local police authorities said that since the cyber police appeared this year, the
amount of hazardous information at the city's major portal websites have reduced by
60 percent.18
Since January, cyber policeman and cyber policewoman have performed their duties
at major portal websites. Both have cartoon icons on Internet.
Considering the success of the cyber space in Shenzhen, the Ministry of Public
Security in early May decided to establish cyber police in another eight major cities.
For developing countries to trade with the developed ones, they must ensure that their
national legislation ensures the same level of protection granted by other countries
regarding storage and processing of personal data. This is imperative if these countries
want to trade with European Union countries, which have very strong data protection
laws.
Two treaties, negotiated under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO), the Copyright Treaty of 1996 and the Phonograms and
Performers Treaty of 1996 attempt to interpret traditional rules of copyright in the
new internet environment. These are implemented in the US, the European Union
(EU), Canada and other countries
The Council of Europe Convention on Cyber Crime in 2001 was the first
international initiative on computer crime. It has been signed by 37 States and
entered into force in July 2004. This Convention helps to foster international
cooperation by criminalizing the basic cyber crimes. The ideal is that all signatory
states have the same legislative foundation, regardless of further domestic laws in this
area, which will enable prosecution of crimes committed in one country but which
have an effect on several different countries.19
The United Nations Resolutions 55/63 and 56/121 on Combating the Criminal Misuse
of Information Technology tried to address the problem of safe havens for those who
criminally misuse information technology by requesting that States put into place laws
to eliminate such havens. Two further Resolutions were adopted, Resolutions 57/239
and 58/199 on the Creation of a Global Culture of Security and the Protection of
Criminal Information Infrastructure.
The Pakistan market has now grown manifolds with the largest majority of internet
users in Karachi and then Lahore and Islamabad. These three cities jointly provide
over 90% of the customer base and expansion in activity is also likely to remain
primarily confined to these cities because of the concentration of economic activity in
these cities.20
It is no surprise that Pakistan is not free from the cyber space dilemma. The
availability of computers and Internet connections provides unprecedented
opportunities to communicate and learn in Pakistan. However, certain individuals do
exploit the power of the Internet for criminal purposes as well.
Pakistan has a legal framework in place to address cyber crimes. The Electronic
Transaction Ordinance 2002 was passed by Pakistan Government with the objective
to recognize and facilitate documents, records, information, communications and
transactions in electronic form, and to provide for the accreditation of certification
service providers. With this legal framework we do have legal backing for electronic
information and communication, as any written and signed document. With ETO in
place, Pakistan has joined an exclusive band of countries that provide necessary
framework and an impetus for growth of electronic commerce in Pakistan.
The ordinance has laid down clauses for the following offenses related to electronic
transactions:
20 Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (ISPAK) Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (ISPAK)
21 Electronic Transaction Ordinance to help e-commerce growth- The News, 13/7/2002
http://www.jang-group.com/thenews/jul2002-daily/13-07/2002/metro/i3.htm
Furthermore, the Electronic Crime Act 2004 was prepared by the Ministry of
Information Technology, Pakistan with the Electronic Transaction Ordinance 2002 as
the basis.
The Act addresses and lays down legislative terms for the following cyber crimes:
• Criminal access
• Criminal data access
• Data damage
• System damage
• Electronic fraud
• Electronic forgery
• Misuse of devices
• Misuse of encryption
• Malicious code
• Cyber stalking
• Spamming
• Spoofing
• Unauthorized interception
• Cyber Terrorism
• Waging cyber war
• Enhanced punishment for offences involving sensitive electronic systems
• Attempt and aiding or abetting
Other initiatives taken by GoP include the formation of a National Response Center
to stop internet misuse and trace those involved in cyber crimes. The Accreditation
Council, in line with the National IT Policy and the Electronic Transactions Ordinance
2002, was also formed for Certificate Authorities by the Ministry of Information
Technology. This voluntary licensing program aims at promoting high integrity
licensed CAs that can be trusted. A CA wishing to get licensed will have to meet
stringent licensing criteria in various aspects, including financial soundness,
personnel integrity, strict security controls and procedures.
7 Conclusion
It is not possible to eliminate cyber crime from the cyber space in its entirety. However,
it is quite possible to check it. Any legislation in its entirety might be less successful in
totally eliminating crime from the globe. The primary step is to make people aware of
their rights and duties (to report crime as a collective duty towards the society) and
further making the application of the laws more stringent to check crime.
Developing nations must learn from the experiences of developed nations and leap
forward to prepare against the inevitable cyber crime. In order to strengthen the
overall infrastructure, efforts by each country must be made at an international level
to cooperate and coordinate with each other so as to come to harmonized terms on
matters regarding security. In this regards, international instruments such as the
Council of Europe’s Convention on Cyber Crime 2001, could prove extremely valuable
in fighting cyber crime at an international level.
However, in any draft legislation it is important that the provisions of the cyber law
are not made so stringent that it may retard the growth of the industry and prove to
be counter-productive.
8 Recommendations
Cyber crime is a global phenomenon and therefore the initiative to fight it should come
from the same level. The need of the hour is a worldwide uniform cyber law to combat
cyber crime.
Following is the proposed way forward and recommendations to equip the country to
counteract cyber crimes at the national and global levels.
i. Fostering Linkages
- Creating liaison with the international community will further create sharing of
experiences and good practices in the field of information security and network
security and encourage their use by all parties concerned.
- Co-operation between governments and the private sector in combating cyber crime
and the need to protect legitimate interests in the use and development of information
and communication technologies is essential.
- Setting up a cyber crime cell consisting of experts to deal with cyber-crime will
encourage reporting and evolve into a process inline with the legislature. These cyber
crime cells should be constituted in all metropolitan and other important cities.
- It is essential to educate and empower youth to safely and responsibly take control of
their Internet experience.
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