Recently I came across two intresting information in one of the online security forums (InfoSec).

One is a statistics on registered Cyber Crime cases in India (http://ncrb.nic.in/CII2007/cii-2007/CHAP18.pdf)

Very intresting data collection and seems to follow the genral IT trends in india.

Cyber crime is classified under IPC and IT Act. IPC related cyber crimes are the generic crime which uses electronic medium as an aide (forged electronic documents) whereas IT Act is specifically related to Hacking and other very computer specific crimes.

Some highlights : Most of the defendents are in the age group 18-30, with most cases in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra and Maharashtra with metros leading. Obscene media distribution tops the list followed by hacking. IT savvy states are also leading the hacking incidences.

That brings me to the issue of IT Act amendement that was passed on Dec 23 2008.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3875931,prtpage-1.cms

http://prsindia.org/docs/bills/1168510210/1168510210_The_Information_Technology__Amendment__Bill__2006.pdf

There have been grumblings about how the bill was passed without any discussion. But keeping that aside, amendments do seem to be reflecting the cyber crime trends.

Specific amendements are added to deal with obscene content, privacy and data handling. Digital signatures are being made more legal and givernamnet is given more power for interception and analyses.

While bill is a welcome move, the overall issue in my opinion is still of Awareness and Enforcement of cyber laws.

On that note, wishing you a Very Happy New Year !!