Punishments for Cyber Crime Under Indian Constitution

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Definition of Cyber Crime 

Cybercrime, in general, is any illegal activity that is carried out with the help of Computers and the Internet. Indian Constitution does not provide an appropriate and exact definition of cybercrime. As per the U.S. Department of Justice, cybercrime is divided into three categories, crimes targeting computing devices, where the computer is used as a weapon, and the computer is used as an accessory. Cybercrime can be addressed as any activity that involves networked devices, computers, and other related devices, with the motive of generating profit. As technology is increasing, the rate of cybercrimes is also increasing. There are various cyber crimes such as Credit or Debit card fraud, Identity theft and impersonation, Cryptojacking, Cyber Espionage, Child pornography, and Spoofing. In this article, we discuss cybercrime and its impact.

Punishment For Cyber Crime 

In order to control the rise in cybercrime cases, specific punishments are imposed under the India Penal Code, 1860 and the Information Technology Act 2000. Below are the Sections that identify the punishments imposed on an individual committing cybercrime. 

Under The Indian Penal Code

• Section 292: This Section deals with the sale of obscene materials either in the form of a book, paper, drawing, writing, pamphlet, painting, etc., or sexually explicit acts harming the surroundings. An individual or a group involved in such an offence is punished with imprisonment and a fine. On a first conviction, the punishment is imprisonment for two years and Rs. 2000 fine whereas on a second or subsequent conviction, the punishment is imprisonment for a term that may extend to five years and Rs. 5,000 fine. 
• Section 354C: It deals with the offence of voyeurism, where an individual watches or captures, or publicizes the image of a woman engaged in a private Act without her consent. Under the provisions of this Section of IPC, such an offender or criminal is punished with imprisonment of 1 to 3 years and 3 to 7 years for first-time and second-time offenders respectively. 
• Section 354D: This section deals with stalking both physical and cyberstalking. As per this Section, “Any man who follows a woman and contacts, or attempts to contact such woman to foster personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such woman or monitors the use by a woman of the interest, email or any other form of electronic communication, commits the offence of stalking.” An offender will be punished with imprisonment that may extend to three years for the first offender and five years for the second offender.
• Section 379: If a person commits theft either electronically or physically, he or she will be punished under the provisions of this Section. It states that “whoever commits theft shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years or with fine, or with both.”
• Section 411: If a person receives any stolen property such as a computer, mobile phone, or data then he or she will be punished for three years or fine or both.
• Section 419: This Section deals with fraud such as email phishing or committing the crime of password theft for impersonating and collecting data for personal benefit. According to this Section, “Whoever cheats by personation shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.”
• Section 420: It also deals with fraud cases especially ‘cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property’. Whoever dishonestly induces one’s property, “the person deceived to deliver any property to any person r to make or alter or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security… and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.” 
• Section 465: The punishment for forgery, email spoofing, preparation of false documents, etc., are dealt with in Section 465 of the IPC. It states that anyone who commits forgery should be punished with imprisonment extending to two years, a fine, or both.
• Section 468: This Section deals with the forgery of documents or electronic records for committing other serious crimes such as cheating. As per the provisions of this Section, whoever commits such a crime shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to seven years with a fine. It is a non-bailable offence.
• Section 469: According to this Section, forgery for the purpose of harming reputation is a punishable offence. Section 469 states that “Whoever commits forgery, 1[intending that the document or electronic record forged] shall harm the reputation of any party, or knowing that it is likely to be used for that purpose, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
• Section 500: It states that “Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.” This means that any individual who sends abusive messages or defamatory content via email or any other electronic form is dealt with as per the provisions of Section 500 of the IPC.
• Section 504: If anyone insults, tries to provoke, or threatens another person with the motive of affecting their peace via any electronic form of communication will be attracted by Section 504 of the IPC. As per its provisions, an individual involved in such an offence is punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years or a fine or both. 
• Section 506: This Section deals with the ‘punishment for criminal intimidation’. If an individual tries to intimidate another individual shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years or a fine or both. This criminal intimidation can either be physical or through electronic means. 
• Section 509: It states that “Whoever intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.”

Under the Information Technology Act 

• Section 43 (a-h): It covers 8 instances (a-h) where “If any person without the permission of the owner or any other person who is in charge of a computer, computer system or computer network,” 
• Section 65: ‘Tampering with computer source documents’ is an offence that is punishable under Section 65 of the Information Technology Act. It states that “Whoever knowingly or intentionally conceals, destroys or alters or intentionally or knowingly causes another to conceal, destroy, or alter any computer source code used for a computer, computer programme, computer system, or computer network when the computer source code is required to be kept or maintained by law for the time being in force, shall be punishable with imprisonment up to three years, or with fine which may extend up to two lakh rupees, or with both”.
• Section 66 (A-F): This Section deals with punishments for computer-related offences such as sending offensive messages, receiving stolen computer resources, identity theft, cheating by impersonation, violation of privacy, and cyber-terrorism, punishments may extend to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to 5 lakhs, or both.  
• Section 67 (A-B): This Section of the Information Technology Act deals with the punishments related to the publishing or transmitting of obscene material containing sexually explicit act, etc., in an electronic format. The punishment on the first conviction is imprisonment which may extend to three years and with a fine extending to 5 lakh rupees. The punishment on the second conviction is imprisonment which may extend to five years and with a fine extending to 10 lakh rupees.

What can cyber criminals steal and how can they exploit information?

Cyber thieves like conventional thieves indulge in this crime for monetary gains. They might use stolen information themselves or may even sell that information to other cybercriminals. The stolen information can either be Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Healthcare Information, Financial Information, Payment card Information, Education Information, and User Credentials. With the use of this information, cybercriminals can apply for loans or credit cards under the user’s name, perform fraudulent online transactions, pay bills, create counterfeit credit cards, buy prescription drugs under the user’s name, phishing attacks, give access to bank information, and perform identity theft. Cybercrime is the industry that thrives on carelessness while using the internet. These thefts and crimes can be warded off with caution while publishing information over the internet, use of a strong password, avoiding dubious websites, and other such simple steps. Today, Cybercriminals have a turnover of 1.5 trillion dollars. In the end, we can say that the non-implementation of strong passwords, anti-viruses, and security tools like firewalls, is invitation to theft as cybercriminals are always looking for such opportunities.