FORMS OF CYBER TERRORISM
(I) Privacy violation:
The law of privacy is the recognition of the individual’s right to be let alone and to have his personal space inviolate. The right to privacy as an independent and distinctive concept originated in the field of Tort law, under which a new cause of action for damages resulting from unlawful invasion of privacy was recognized. In recent times, however, this right has acquired a constitutional status, the violation of which attracts both civil as well as criminal consequences under the respective laws.
The intensity and complexity of life have rendered necessary some retreat from the world. Man under the refining influence of culture, has become sensitive to publicity, so that solitude and privacy have become essential to the individual. Modern enterprise and invention have, through invasions upon his privacy, subjected him to mental pain and distress, far greater than could be inflicted by mere bodily injury. Right to privacy is a part of the right to life and personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. With the advent of information technology the traditional concept of right to privacy has taken new dimensions, which require a different legal outlook. To meet this challenge recourse of Information Technology Act, 2000 can be taken. The various provisions of the Act aptly protect the online privacy rights of the citizens. Certain acts have been categorized as offences and contraventions, which have tendency to intrude with the privacy rights of the citizens.
(II) Secret information appropriation and data theft:
The information technology can be misused for appropriating the valuable Government secrets and data of private individuals and the Government and its agencies. A computer network owned by the Government may contain valuable information concerning defense and other top secrets, which the Government will not wish to share otherwise. The same can be targeted by the terrorists to
facilitate their activities, including destruction of property. It must be noted that the definition of property is not restricted to movables or immovables alone.
(III) Demolition of e-governance base:
The aim of e-governance is to make the interaction of the citizens with the government offices hassle free and to share information in a free and transparent manner. It further makes the right to information a meaningful reality. In a democracy, people govern themselves and they cannot govern themselves properly unless they are aware of social, political, economic and other issues confronting them. To enable them to make a proper judgment on those issues, they must have the benefit of a range of opinions on those issues. Right to receive and impart information is implicit in free speech. This, right to receive information is, however, not absolute but is subject to reasonable restrictions which may be imposed by the Government in public interest.
(IV) Distributed denial of services attack:
The cyber terrorists may also use the method of distributed denial of services (DDOS) to overburden the Government and its agencies electronic bases. This is made possible by first infecting several unprotected computers by way of virus attacks and then taking control of them. Once control is obtained, they can be manipulated from any locality by the terrorists. These infected computers are then made to send information or demand in such a large number that the server of the victim collapses. Further, due to this unnecessary Internet traffic the legitimate traffic is prohibited from reaching the Government or its agencies computers. This results in immense pecuniary and strategic loss to the government and its agencies.
It must be noted that thousands of compromised computers can be used to simultaneously attack a single host, thus making its electronic existence invisible to the genuine and legitimate citizens and end users. The law in this regard is crystal clear.
(V) Network damage and disruptions:
The main aim of cyber terrorist activities is to cause networks damage and their disruptions. This activity may divert the attention of the security agencies for the time being thus giving the terrorists extra time and makes their task comparatively easier. This process may involve a combination of computer tampering, virus attacks, hacking, etc.
FACTORS AND REASONS
The growth of electronic Transaction of data has created the need for vibrant and effective regulatory mechanisms, which would strengthen the legal Infrastructure that is crucial to the success of electronic commerce. All of These regulatory mechanisms and the legal infrastructure come within the domain of cyber law. Cyber law is important because it touches almost all aspects of transactions and activities concerning the Internet, the World Wide Web and cyberspace. As the nature and scope of the Internet is changing, it is perceived as the ultimate medium ever evolved in human history. Every activity in cyberspace can and will have a cyber legal perspective. As the Internet grows, numerous legal issues arise relating to domain names, intellectual Property rights, electronic commerce, privacy, encryption, electronic contracts, Cyber terrorism, online banking, spamming and so on.
The arrival of the Internet and related technologies has made irreversible changes to the world today. In a world, which is moving steadily towards the information society and knowledge economy, it is essential that law must contribute its inputs to promote e-commerce. As cyber law develops around the world, there is a growing realization among different nations that their laws must be harmonized and international best practices and principles must guide implementation. Many countries are trying to establish legal regimes in order to promote online commerce. However, India has, enacted e-commerce laws. India enacted the Information Technology Act, 2000 India is an excellent example of how legal systems deals with the Cyber terrorism. United Nations‘ Definition of Cyber terrorism- This is age of information technology and there are no physical boundaries which can govern cyber law? Hence it makes more sense to have an International definition of cyber law so… Cyber terrorism spans not only state but national boundaries as well. Perhaps we should look to international organizations to provide a standard Definition of the crime. At the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders, in a workshop devoted to the issues of crimes related to computer networks, Cyber terrorism was broken into two categories and defined thus:
1. Cyber terrorism in a narrow sense (computer crime): Any illegal behavior Directed by means of electronic operations that targets the security of Computer systems and the data processed by them.
2. Cyber terrorism in a broader sense (computer-related crime): 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.
“Cyber terrorism is an evil having its origin in the growing dependence on computers in
modern life.”
Reasons for cyber terrorism
Cyber terrorist prefer using the cyber attack methods because of many advantages for it. It is Cheaper than traditional methods. The action is very difficult to be tracked. They can hide their personalities and location. There are no physical barriers or check points to cross. They can do it remotely from anywhere in the world. They can use this method to attack a big number of targets. They can affect a large number of people.
