International Institute of InfoTech Law to be launched on 2nd June 2006

---

Cyber Law College to start offline course in Chennai

The "Jon Doe" Principle

The Delhi High Court recently admitted a petition from Integrix (India) Pvt Ltd  to sue a sender of some defamatory and damaging e-mails from a yahoo e-mail address (ashokintegrix@ yahoo.co.in). Yahoo.co.in and Bharti Infotel (ISP) have also been included in the complaint against the unknown holder of this e-mail ID represented by an IP address. Some have hailed this as a new development in Indian Jurisprudence and an equivalent of the American Concept of `John Doe' in information technology related litigation which however may not be entirely true.

It must be pointed out however that this development is nothing but a recognition of a "Digital Identity" and the concept of a "Netizen". This recognition is most essential for the carrying of justice in Cyber Space and an inevitable part of Cyber Jurisprudence.

The Delhi High Court is reportedly issued notices amongst other things to "Block the relevant IP Address" perhaps ignoring the fact that the IP address might be a "Dynamic Address". It would be interesting to observe further developments in this regard. Article in CIOL

Another area where this principle needs to be applied is in the concept of "Digital Signatures" in India where the current system does not either fully ignore the principle of "Digital Identity" or uphold the same.

Increasing Cyber Crimes is a Concern

Increasing Cyber Crimes in E-Commerce sites is causing concern amongst Credit Card users in India. The frauds in air line ticketing reported from Bangalore and similar cases reported from auction sites indicate that there is need to increase the security for the online credit card users. Solution to this problem is to be found not only in increasing security by the E-Commerce sites but also in revisiting the online payment system through  credit cards. One of the main reasons for these frauds in the inherent systemic weakness of the existing system where the same Card is used for both online and offline payments. Until this is avoided, Credit card frauds cannot be prevented.  Report in TOI

Cyber Cafe Registrations in TN Pick Up

Over 1000 Cyber Cafes have reportedly registered in TN under the new regulation for Cyber Cafes. The regulations were introduced after the Tirunelveli incident where a bomb threat on the Indian Parliament was sent through an e-mail which the investigating officers were unable to trace. (Interestingly, the case was investigated by the Delhi Police and not the TN police who could have perhaps done a better job).

Details of Regulations available here: Model licence: www.chennaicyberpolice.com/model.html : Condtions of licensing  www.chennaicyberpolice.com/terms.asp

PDF Versions of the documents are available at Lincense: Conditions  
 

Outsourced Security Services for Banks

Naavi has been pointing out that "Outsourcing of Security Services" is expected to be a high potential BPO business. Hence the concept of BPO for BPOs was mooted as a strategy for security. No where this is more relevant than mid sized Banks such as the "Cooperative Banks" in India. However, it is not clear how the RBI will look at such a strategy. In this context, it is interesting to note that in the highly security conscious Europe, the concept of Security outsourcing in Banking sector has become a reality. It is reported that the European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a three-year deal with Ubizen for managed security services. This is likely to be a critical development in removing the mental barrier amongst some Banks who are vary of outsourcing their security needs and think that "An inefficient in-house resource is better than a promising outside resource" in security perspective....Details at Silicon.com

Data Security.. A potential opportunity for BPOs

Of late, U S A has been emerging as a huge data security threat for consumers. There have been repeated security breaches at several US companies resulting in the compromise of thousands of credit cards and debit cards and undermining the confidence of the public on e-Commerce. The incidents quoted in detail in the enclosed report underscores the fact that Indian BPO industry has a lot to offer to e-business particularly if security is tightened up. However there is a need for Indian BPOs and Software companies to do some original work in developing security solutions and services to create an exclusive market niche. It is needless to mention that the frauds and data breaches also expose the companies to the underlying legal liability risks which can only be mitigated if the Companies have been following the "Techno Legal Information Security Model" being promoted by Naavi.org under the name "CyLawCom". Report in register.co.uk

Google ..Is it an Essential Service?

In a repeat of Microsoft experience where commercial success to a point of being a monopoly, Google is today facing legal suits demanding fairness in its services and more transparency. In a suit filed in  U.S. District Court in San Jose by KinderStart.com, has questioned the policy of black listing of sites by Google which removes some web sites who according to Google have used unfair means to improve its ranking. It is to be noted however that Google itself does provide listings based on payments on top of search results often misleading uninformed users of the search engine to believing the ads to be popular search results. Google has been protecting its method of listing or black listing as a trade secret and it would be interesting if the law suit forces Google to share its policy in defense...Article in Silicon Valley

Cyber for Safety Kids Act Proposed

A Bill has been proposed in US to introduce legislation to regulate proliferation of pornography on the Internet with suitable measures such as a separate domain name system to protect minors from the onslaught of pornography on the Internet. Additionally, an additional tax levy has also been proposed on the pornographic site owners. It would be interesting to see the developments in this regard since there is a strong opposition to the move based on "Freedom of Speech". Report in news.com

Complaints on line..in Bangalore

When the Cyber Crime Police Station was opened in Bangalore, there was a move to accept online complaints filed with digital signatures. However it appears that this system has not taken off in practice. In the meantime it is to be appreciated that after the recent disclosures by Lok Ayukta about corruption in the department, Bangalore City Police have announced that public may file complaints against any Police official online with the website www.bcp.gov.in. The complaints can be filed through an online form available at http://www.bcp.gov.in/english/complaints/newcomplaint.asp. This applies both to Cyber and Non Cyber Crimes.

High Court Sets Deadline for Dr Prakash's Trial

The Madras High Court on Thursday declined to quash the criminal proceedings against Dr. L. Prakash, an accused under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act, Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act. In their petitions, Dr. Prakash and two others submitted that the case was foisted against them as they had refused to pay lakhs of rupees to a police officer.

Rejecting the submissions, the court pointed out that the Public Prosecutor  had submitted that the trial would be completed before April 24, 2006, which is the deadline set by the High Court. ..Report in Hindu

Nigeria Contemplates New IT law

The Joint Action Committee for Information Technology JACITAD representing the IT industry in Nigeria has expressed its support to the  Bill  sponsored by Prof. Iyar Abubakar for regulation of the It industry. It needs to be examined if the Bill also addresses the global concerns on the frauds unfortunately carrying the brand of Nigeria.  Report

e-Extortionist Trojan on the prowl

The dangerous programme which can be termed "Ransomware" which takes control of the files of a victim and demands ransom to release them is once again on the prowl. According to lurhq.com, "cryzip" is the third such Trojan to hit the Cyber World. ..Details    : (Archive)

TN declares ITES as Public utility services

In a special measure, Information Technology and IT-related services have been declared public utility services and included in the first list of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. This move will ensure that no strikes or lockouts are declared in this sector without prior notice. This would, the government hopes, create an atmosphere of congeniality in this sector...Report in Frontline

Service Tax on E-Commerce

Shopping on the net in India is likely to become expensive with the Government deciding to impose Service Tax on E-Commerce transactions. According to the proposals in the budget foreign companies such as e-bay and Google may have to pay taxes on their services which eventually will be transferred to the consumers...More in ET

15 year imprisonment for Spamming?

It is interesting to note that an US woman is facing up to 15 years in prison for violating the CAN SPAM Act after taking a Monday guilty plea to sending bulk pornographic spam e-mails. It is alleged that the spam sent by the lady advertised pornographic Internet Web sites in order to earn commissions for directing Internet traffic to these sites. Details

Why Not E-Mail ID Portability?

TRAI should be congratulated for introducing "Number Portability" across mobile operators in India. This was a long felt need of the mobile users in India. At the same time it is necessary to point out that MCIT should also introduce through amendments to ISP contracts, portability of e-mail IDs across different access providers. What is meant by "Portability" here is the ability to use any valid e-mail ID of one of the licensed ISPs (eg xyz@vsnl.com) while using the access service of another service provider (eg Airtel Broadband Services) for sending e-mails through the relevant smtp servers. At present this is being wrongly treated as "Relays" and are blocked by the SMTP servers.

WiFi Security Risks

With increasing use of WiFi connectivity, consumers are at a higher level of security risks as highlighted by this informative article in Economic Times....Article

DGFT Makes Digital Signatures Mandatory

In what should be considered as a land mark development in  e-Governance in India, DGFT became the first  organization to make Digital Signatures mandatory for electronic filing of applications for various licenses. DGFT through its notification dated 10th January 2006 has announced that  from 16^th January 2006, all applications for issuance of Advance Licence (excluding Para 4.7 cases), Advance Licence for Annual Requirement and EPCG Licence shall be made on the DGFT website www.dgft.gov.in  only with a digital signature and the licence fee will be submitted through the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) mode only. No manual applications or ECOM applications without digital signature and EFT will be accepted.

It is also to be noted that DGFT has been sending e-mails indicating availability of digital certificates through its websites. The e-mails sent in the name of DGFT recommends use of a USB token and the cost of the system is Rs 5910 for one year and 6810 for two years from Dipesh Trading Corporation. (It is not clear whether DGFT has authorized Dipish Trading Corporation to use its name in marketing of the service. Also it is possible that other CAs may be offering a more economical service).

It is not however clear if the system suggested (Use of the USB Token) is fully compliant with the provisions of ITA-2000 and also if the users are adequately trained in the use of digital signatures. The information generally available in this regard indicates certain inadequacies which we hope that the department would sort out at the earliest in consultation with the CAs.