Advertisment

Terror in Cyberland

author-image
DQI Bureau
New Update

The Internet occupies a central position in our lives. Today, there are

several disturbing things happening in cyberspace. One of the most important

issues concerning cyberspace today is that of cyber crime.

Advertisment

Cyber crime refers to all the activities done with criminal intent in

cyberspace. These could either be criminal activities in the conventional sense

or acts that evolved with the growth of the new medium. Because of the anonymous

nature of the Internet, it is possible to engage in a variety of criminal

activities with impunity and people with intelligence, have been grossly

misusing this aspect.

This

was the first time that the impact of an IT crime, planned

through cyberspace, was felt in the actual world. We saw

quantifiable losses of property, databases, networks and

information...

There can be no single exhaustive definition about cybercrime. However, any

activity, which offends human sensibilities, can also be included in its ambit.

Child Pornography on the Internet constitutes one serious Cyber crime.

Similarly, online pedophiles, using the Internet to induce children into sex,

are cyber criminals too.

Advertisment

Cyber crimes could be against persons, property, and the government. Cyber

crimes have been committed right since the worldwide web came into existence.

However, September 11, 2001 has proven to be the turning point in the history of

cyber crime in the world.

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four planes in different parts of

the United States of America. Two of the said planes were used as explosive

devices to crash into the twin World Trade Center Towers resulting in thousands

of casualties.

The cumulative effect of the WTC attacks shook the conscience of the entire

humanity. The world witnessed in great shock and horror the extensive television

coverage of the September 11 attacks.

Advertisment

Investigations have revealed that the Internet was used extensively to plan

and carry out the said terrorist acts. This was also the first time that the

real impact of a cyber crime, planned through cyber space, was felt in the

actual world with quantifiable losses of property, invaluable databases,

networks and information apart from life.

The anger amongst the netizen community following the September 11 attacks

took the concrete shape of counter-offensive hacking attempts. The unfolding of

various events in the seven weeks after the September 11 seems to ratify my

thoughts that the world would get to see a tremendous increase in the volume of

hacking, cyber war and cyber terrorism activities.

While the September 11 attack also resulted in enhanced levels of awareness

concerning e-security and security on the networks, the same has also taken

concrete shape in the form of different countries adopting severe anti-terrorist

legislation. These include the United States of America whose Senate recently

passed the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Advertisment

We are going to see far more regulation on the Internet and as a departure

from previous times, there is not going to be much public uproar in giving

immense powers to the police for searching and tracking down terrorists on the

Internet. September 11 is also going to be a critical point in terms of

drastically transforming the rules of the game and the way cyber war and cyber

terrorism will be perceived over a period of time.

It remains to be seen as to how the world as a whole is likely to respond to

the challenge of fighting and preventing cyber terrorism and cyber war related

activities. It would also be interesting to note as to how the coming into force

of the International Cybercrime Treaty is likely to impact the scheme of things

in terms of enhancing cooperation between nations as a whole and in fighting

cybercrime. The future is wide open.

Pavan Duggal is a Cyberlaw consultant

and a practicing advocate at the Supreme Court of India

Advertisment