Recent Articles on ITA Amendment Act :   Copy of ITA 2008 : Comparison: ITA 2000 Vs ITA 2008  :

Indian Information Security Framework-IISF 309 : Copy of Notification on ITA 2008 :

...For a Copy of the E Book on Digital Signatures, Click here

Beware All Bridegrooms !..

October 30: A new variant of the Nigerian mail scam has reportedly arrived in India with a 23 year old young girl from Saudi Arabia proposing a contract marriage with anybody and offering over Rs 80 lakhs in return. In the backdrop of ITA 2008 which has become effective from October 27, 2009,  a duty is now cast on ISPs to block the e-mail and also enabled the CERT-IN with the first challenge to the powers imbibed under Section 69A of the Act... More

Data Breach Incidents and HIPAA Compliance

October 29: A recent Economic Times Report in India which reported a successful Sting operation by a UK agency in which some health related data was bought from a medical transcription company has evoked some predictable response in US. As could be expected, there are voices stating that the best way forward for Health Care Information  Security is not to outsource....After the recent report from Economic Times I have been working towards creating a “Security Consortium” for Medical Transcription Companies in Bangalore and invited interested Medical Transcription Companies to get in touch with me.

We hope that this data breach report becomes a trigger for an all India activity in which medical transcription industry is shaken up and driven home the need and advantages of being aware as well as implementing HIPAA security standards in India... More : A Response from US

ITAA 2008 Notified

October 27: Government of India has today (27th October 2009) notified the effectiveness of ITAA 2008, the amendments passed to ITA 2000 in December 2008. A press note in this regard is found here.

As per the copy of the notification, all the provisions of the Act are applicable from October 27, 2009. The Ministry has however released rules only for Sections 52,54,69,69A, 69B and 70B. Rules for other sections such as Sec 43A, 67C, 79 and others will be released subsequently. Copy of Notification

Inheritance of Virtual Assets

October 24: With the increasing penetration of ICT and the changing culture of the society, users of ICT are accumulating virtual assets of various kinds. For example, people buy domain names through registrars with substantial costs. They may buy web hosting and ASP services. They also hold e-mail accounts and online memberships for many paid service. Many professionals build assets such as "Content", "Photographs" etc with IPR and place them in the "Cloud". ...

Let's now imagine the unfortunate event of the death of the virtual asset holder. ....Though the "inheritance laws" are different statutes than the IT laws such as ITA 2000, there is a possibility of providing a relief for such cases under the ITA 2008 through the rules being framed. ..

www.ceac.in  will provide necessary guidance to Intermediaries (e-commerce sites, web hosting or domain name registration companies) on setting up of necessary procedures for inheritance management for their clients. It will also provide support and assistance to the public to claim and retrieve virtual assets of deceased persons....Details

 

Indian BPOs need to demonstrate their commitment to Data Security

October 19: The report in Economic Times suggesting a successful sting operation revealing the possibility of leakage of medical record information for a price by one transcription company in India calls for an urgent and appropriate response from the industry. It is necessary for us to remind the world that the IT industry contains a spectrum of operators and there will be the good, the bad and the ugly. One sting operation like the reported incident cannot be used to tarnish the image of the industry as a whole. A recent PWC survey on global scenario indicates that Information Security practices in India is reasonably good and compares well with the global standards. However more efforts are needed in this direction to ensure that accusing fingers are not pointed at India... More

Information Security Not Affected by Recession

October16:A global online survey conducted by PWC/CIO/CSO has observed that 63% of the respondents have opined that investments in Information Security will not be reduced because of recession. The HIPAA breach notification requirements is a key focus area for the Health Industry since more than 60% of the relevant respondents admitted that they did not have adequate measures at this point of time. Report : Detailed Report

37% of the respondents identified "Regulatory Compliance" as an important driver for IS investment with another 38% citing "Internal Policy Compliance". This finding corroborates Naavi's Theory of IS Motivation in which "Mandate" is considered as an important motivator for IS adoption.

Bogus ware Threat

October 14: Bogus software often projected as anti virus software is used to plant dangerous viruses/trojans in to the user's system. This threat is reported to have been on the increase in 2009. According to numbers published by the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), more than 485,000 rogue security samples were detected for 2009  more than double the statistical total for 2008.The APWG estimates more than 200 gangs throughout the world are responsible for the bulk of rogue security software applications floating around the internet, although only 10 of these gangs are responsible for more than 77% of the rogue malware infections.

A precaution that  users should take is that before deciding to use any software, a thorough search has to be made to find out any reported security risks. Often a simple Google search on the name of the software would reveal the views of others.  Related Article

Avoid Windows for Internet Banking !!

Oct 13: A detective Police from NSW Police giving evidence in a public hearing in Sydney expressed an opinion that using Windows is not safe from Internet Banking transactions. He recommended use of a Linux boot disk since the boot would bypass an infected hard disk. He also suggested that Apple iPhone could be another safe option since it runs only one process at a time and hence avoids risk of infection.  article in securecomputing.net.

Many others disagree that this opinion particularly on the Apple iPhone. The practicality of a common user able to use the bootable Linux is also debatable. Perhaps the Linux community needs to improve the user friendliness of Linux interface and make it a common man's product.

Future of Cyber Cafes in India

Oct 10: During the Bangalore Cyber Security Summit 2009, held on October 8th and 9th, one of the issues which came for discussion is the impact of the proposed amendments to ITA 2008 on various Intermediaries.

Now that the Cyber Cafe regulations are likely to be revisited when the ITA 2008 is notified, ...this could mean that ID management would be more strictly enforced along with data retention under Sec 67 C or otherwise. The penalties for non compliance would be much stricter. It is therefore necessary for Cyber Cafes to consider planning for proper compliance to reduce the risk related costs.

In this context the technology solutions discussed during the Summit appeared to hold promise for Compliance without the need for manual intervention. It was demonstrated that technology need not be expensive and also that the use of technology itself can open up new avenues of revenue so that instead of the revenue declining, we may actually see revenue of Cyber Cafes increasing....More

Significant Developments at Bangalore Cyber Security Summit 2009

Oct 10: The two day Summit on Cyber Security organized by the Karnataka Government in association with several agencies concluded on 9th October 2009 recording several significant commitments towards a better security in cyber space in India... Details : Recommendations of the Bangalore CSS Think Tank

Bangalore Cyber Security Summit 2009

The Government of Karnataka, (IT BT Department) is organizing a two day summit on Cyber Security at Bangalore on October 8th and 9th (postponed from September 4th and 5th) of 2009. As a part of an initiative to address the critical need of creating awareness of Cyber security threats and to find solutions therefore, the summit is bringing together professionals, law enforcement persons and policy makers on a single platform to discuss, understand the issues in depth and find out solutions.

The event would be inaugurated by the Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sri B.S.Yeddyurappa in the presence of the honourable IT Minister, Sri Katta Subramanya Naidu and Honourable Law Minister Sri Suresh Kumar. Valedictory address would be delivered by the honourable Union Minister of Law Sri Veerappa Moily in the presence of the the honourable State Home Minister Sri V.S. Acharya.

The summit which is expected to be an annual event is being organized at Nimhans Convention Center and several eminent speakers from all over the country would be sharing their views on the subjects of Cyber Law, Information Security, Privacy, Public Private Participation, Technical challenges, The issues of Cyber Forensics etc. Some of the speakers from US are also participating.

IT Secretaries, law enforcement personnel and Judicial officers from various states are expected to participate as invited delegates. Participation is by invitation only.

ITA 2008 Rules getting ready

Oct 2: The Secretary of the Union IT ministry has clarified that the proposed rules under ITA 2008 will incorporate strict security prescriptions. The DSCI has already drafted the rules to which final touches are being given. Report in ciol.com

ICANN Breaks Free of US Government

Oct2: Continuing the trend set several years ago, US Government has further withdrawn from the management of ICANN and its affairs. When ICANN was created in 1998, with the assistance of the United States Government, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) process was started with the objective of achieving a noble goal: the coordination of the Internet's unique identifiers by the private sector through a not-for-profit organization where policies were developed from the bottom up.

On 30th September, 2009, a new affirmation of commitments were signed by the US Government with ICANN, affirming that ICANN would remain a not for profit organization,  independent and self governed.  This is a significant milestone in the development of the Internet Society. Affirmation Text : Related Article

 

Naavi.org is India's premier portal on Cyber Law. It is not only an information portal containing information on several aspects concerning Information Technology Law in India but also represents the focal point of several services around Cyber Law carried on by Naavi.

The first such service is the Cyber Law College a virtual Cyber Law education center in India which provides various courses on Cyber Law.

The second key service is the Cyber Evidence Archival center which provides a key service to help administration of   justice in Cyber Crime cases.

The third key service is the domain name look-alikes dispute resolution service which provides a unique solution for websites with similar looking domain names to co exist.

The fourth key service is the online mediation and arbitration service another unique global service.

The fifth key service is the CyLawCom service which represents the Cyber Law Compliance related education, audit and implementation assistance service.

Additionally, Naavi.org is in the process of development of four sub organizations namely the Digital Society Foundation, Naavi.net, International Cyber Law Research Center and Cyber Crime Complaints and Resolution Assistance Center. Digital Society Foundation is a Trust formed with the objective of representing the voice of Netizens in various fora and work like an NGO to protect their interests. Naavi.net is meant to develop a collaborative distributed network of LPO consultants. International Cyber Law Research Center would support research in Cyber Laws and Cyber Crime Complaints and Resolution Assistance Center would try to provide some support to victims of Cyber Crimes.

Together, Naavi.org represents a "Cyber Law Vision" that goes beyond being a mere portal. Started in 1997, when the concept of Cyber Law was new across the globe, consistent efforts over the last decade has brought Naavi.org to the beginning of "Phase 2" in which the services are ready to reach out to a larger section. This is recognized as the phase of collaborations and growth by association. Naavi.org will therefore be entering into a series of associations to develop each dimension of its vision with an appropriate partner. Individuals, Organizations and Commercial houses which have synergistic relationship with the activities of Naavi.org are welcome to join hands in commercial and non commercial projects of Naavi.org.

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