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Cyber Crimes "an unlawful act where in the computer is either a tool or a target or both".

Article Excerpt
Introduction:

The glares of radiant brains have overshadowed the artificial bodily shines. An un-ending pursuit for excellence has stretched the dimensions of research to the limits in either direction. The modern world has witnessed successful amalgamation of bright minds and brighter machines making destinations unseen henceforth closer than ever before.

Research is not restricted to working on a fixed path. Science being a sympathetic mother do not deny those who attempted research in the reverse direction. The corollary was emergence of an era of crimes better known as "Cyber Crimes". The challenges before the inventors in the present century changed likewise to finding means to restrict such crimes.

It is worthwhile to note here that the first cyber crime took place as early as in the year 1820. The crimes have however gained momentum in India only in the recent past. As an upshot, the Indian Parliament gave effect to a resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations for adoption of a Model Law on Electronic Commerce. The consequence was the passing of Information Technology Act 2000. The Act aims to regulate and legalize E-Commerce and take cognizance of offences arising there from.

Definition:

The Cambridge dictionary defines Cyber Crimes as Crimes committed with the use of computers or relating to computers, especially through the Internet. Universally, Cyber Crime is understood as "an unlawful act where in the computer is either a tool or a target or both".

Cyber Crimes are different from conventional crimes as in cyber crimes; the crime is committed in an electronic medium and here mens rea is not a requirement but is rather a general rule under the penal provisions of the Information Technology Act. The element of mens rea in Internet crimes is that the offender must have been aware at the time of causing the computer to perform the function that the access thus intended to be secured was unauthorized.

Classification of Cyber Crimes:

The Information Technology Act deals with the following cyber crimes along with others:

Tampering with computer source documents:

A person who knowingly or intentionally, conceals (hides or keeps secret), destroys (demolishes or reduces), alters (change in characteristics) or causes another to conceal, destroy, and alter any computer source code used for a computer, computer program, computer system or computer network, when the computer source code is required to be kept or maintained by law is punishable.

For instance, hiding the C.D.ROM in which the source code files are stored, making a C File into a CPP File or removing the read only attributes of a file.

Hacking:

Hacking is usually understood to be the unauthorized access of a computer system and networks. Originally, the term "hacker" describes any amateur computer programmer who discovered ways to make software run more efficiently. Hackers usually "hack" on a problem until they find a solution, and keep trying to make their equipment work in new and more efficient ways. A hacker can be a Code Hacker, Cracker or a Cyber Punk....