The following are some important News articles wherein Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Asia’s & India’s leading authority on Cyber law, has been quoted as an expert on various issues and aspects of Cyber law, Cyber crime, Social Media, Privacy, Cyber Security and other elements in the law and technology ecosystem.
The Business Standard has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"There is need to put in place an appropriate legal framework to address such activities in the smart city eco-system," Read More
Plug loopholes related to electronic evidence to curb cyberThe India Today has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“It is difficult to prove and catch an accused on the basis of electronic evidence. This is the key thrust area and a major challenge in cyber law. Expressing concern over growing instances of cyber crime, he said with vast accessibility of the Internet, criminals have gone a step ahead and cyber crime has emerged as a major challenge. Read More
Extensive framework required to tackle cybersecurity problems in India: ExpertThe Times of India in this report, has excerpted Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Today, a lot of work in personal, professional, social and governance space is being done on the internet. Therefore, there is a need to look at the issues in cyber space. It is here that issues like cyber law, cybercrime and cybersecurity come in.
We quickly need to put legal framework to check this before it happens. Unfortunately, we do not have it. We have a provision but it is not completely effective
We need cyber laws to give companies power to fight these attacks. People will start getting confidence into your ecosystem once they realise their is a legal framework in place which actually allows state to prosecute cybercriminals effectively”
The participants of the roundtable also raised concerns on issues related to cybercrime, including increasing child porn, sexting, sex trafficking, cyber bullying/trolling and violence against women. Read More
India needs comprehensive legal framework for cyber security: ExpertThe Statesman has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal and Supreme Court advocate in this report as under:-
“Today, a lot of work in personal, professional, social and governance space is being done on the internet. Therefore, there is a need to look at the issues in cyber space. It is here that issues like cyber law, cyber crime and cyber security come in. Everybody is vulnerable. It is given that you will be attacked, and the bigger issue is not that you should be attacked or not, it is once you are attacked, how quickly are you able to come back to normalcy.” Read More
End-to-end encryption: Both a boon and a baneThe Telecom Economictimes has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption provides more encouragement to terror groups to be more bold in their communications in coded languages which can then be transmitted without the fear of being cracked on the way,"
In a country where WhatsApp has become somewhat of a de-facto religion for the Indian smartphone users, end-to-end encryption will hamper the Indian government's plan to counter terrorism. "Given the fact that WhatsApp does not have an office in India, it further complicates the scenario. The Indian approach on encryption is also not clear. The draft of the National Encryption Policy received massive protests and was withdrawn by the government in 2015," Read More
Whatsapp’s End-to-End Encryption Will Help Terror Groups: ExpertsThe Quint in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption provides more encouragement to terror groups to be more bold in their communications in coded languages which can then be transmitted without the fear of being cracked on the way.
Given the fact that WhatsApp does not have an office in India, it further complicates the scenario. The Indian approach on encryption is also not clear. The draft of the National Encryption Policy received massive protests and was withdrawn by the government in 2015.” Read More
India approves its intellectual property rights policyThe Vccircle has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“The focus of the policy is on maintaining the balance between rights and interests of intellectual property right owners with larger public interest, which is extremely relevant for a country like India, being a repository of not just indigenous creativity and ingenuity but also traditional and oral knowledge,”
“There is a need to back up the same by appropriate, effective and concrete steps for implementing the policy goals envisaged in the actual world” Read More
Getting India's maps right
The Business Standard in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"The way and the manner in which the Bill has been drafted, in such wide terms and extremely broad ambit and amplitude, are likely to raise legal, policy and regulatory challenges as we go forward" Read More
Draft Geospatial Bill Criticised by Cyber Law ExpertsThe Wire has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal laid out a number of drawbacks and loopholes in the current draft bill. While the bill has potentially noble objectives in aiming to protect the sovereignity, integrity and security of India, its provisions are extremely wide in their scope and ambit.
Duggal questioned how the Security Vetting Authority will ensure that no individual will use, disseminate, distribute or publish any of India’s geospatial information outside India without their permission, and pointed out that this potential law has immense parameters for its breach and its non-compliance at the outset. Hence, “we need to come up with provisions that can be effectively enforced.” Read More
Railway ministry denies IRCTC hackingThe Business Standard in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Experts said the government’s efforts at containing cyber attacks are wanting. “The kind of proactive focus the government needs to focus on cyber security breaches is not there. Denial of hacking is not a solution. IRCTC needs to investigate what sort of due-diligence was done to prevent such an attack. The country is sourly missing a dedicated cyber security legislation,” said Pavan Duggal, an advocate who specialises in Cyberlaw and E-Commerce law.” Read More
IRCTC hacking: Railways claims no leakage of ‘sensitive’ dataThe Hindu Busninessline has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
Pavan Duggal, Cyberlaw expert, said: “The IRCTC leak represents the biggest and largest reported personal data security breach in India. It is no ordinary matter but represents a massive attack on India’s critical information infrastructure, ultimately aimed at prejudicially impacting India’s cyber security and sovereignty. Read More
India’s Aadhaar Law and Cyber Security, with a legal eyeFinancial Express in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Issues pertaining to cyber security of Aadhaar ecosystem need to be very well examined and analyzed. The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 not only symbolizes the biometric identity of individuals, but it also symbolizes biometric and demographic face of the biggest democracy in the world.
The legislation has provided for the establishment, operation and maintenance of the Central Identities Data Repository for all the biometric and demographic information of Aadhaar Number holders. Further, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has been given the responsibility of authentication of the Aadhaar Number of Aadhaar Number holders in relation to his or her biometric or demographic information provided, on the request made to the said Authority by any requesting party.” Read More
On Google Maps, someone has tagged ‘anti-national’ and ‘sedition’ to JNUThe Indian Express has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
Responding to the technical 'glitch', Pawan Duggal, Cyber Law Expert on Google Maps said, "It's a mistake of computer networks, unintentional blunder." Read More
Govt plans law on what can be seen in India from skiesThe Hindustan Times India in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Such a legislation is urgently required. If it is enacted and applied along with the Information Technology Act, it can help the government in regularising geospatial information or data,” said lawyer Pawan Duggal who specialises on cyber laws. Read More
Expand Aadhaar only after 'national security' is defined. Pavan Duggal on the contentious BillThe Catchnews has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“The Aadhaar Bill recognises this fact and that is why Section 7 gives the discretion to the Central Government or the State Government that it may for the purpose of establishing identity of an individual, as a condition for receipt of a subsidy, benefit or service for which the expenditure is incurred from, or the receipt therefrom, forming part of the Consolidated Fund of India, require that such individual undergo authentication, or furnish proof of possession of the Aadhaar Number.
Further, the provision to Section 7 categorically provides that the Aadhaar number is not assigned to an individual, the individual shall be offered alternate and viable means of identification for delivery of the subsidy, benefit or service. This shows that Aadhaar is not mandatory.” Read More
Indian Budget 2016 – A digital flavorThe Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Annual Budgets are always awaited keenly in the country and this year’s budget was no exception. The Finance Minister of India presented his third consecutive Union Budget 2016 on the floor of the Lower House of the Indian Parliament on 29th February, 2016. While much about the Indian Budget has written in the sense that the Budget will help India, however, lot of aspects pertaining to the Budget has not been highlighted. I now look at those aspects of the Budget which impact the digital ecosystem.
Given the thrust of Government of India on implementing the Digital India Program and trying to transform India into a knowledge economy and society by the year 2018, the Union Budget has focused on the need to derive greater benefit from Indian demographic advantage. The Budget has noted that almost 12 crores (120 million ) households in India do not have computers and hence are unlikely to have digital literate persons. In this light, the Budget has approvingly noted two schemes to promote digital literacy — National Digital Literacy Mission and Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (DISHA).” Read More
Telcos to monitor call drops, Trai may not have any external monitoring systemThe Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"The potentiality of evidence being doctored or manipulated can't be ruled out," said Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal. "A transparent mechanism for monitoring call drops and the payment made has not been worked out so far, this can't be illusionary remedy, it has to be an effective remedy," he said. Read more
Aadhaar bill moved with privacy clause and Rajya Sabha shieldThe Telegraph has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"This is a great step forward," said Supreme Court advocate Pawan Duggal who specialises in cyber laws. "But there are many conflicts with the Information Technology Act, which will create potential challenges. The bill also does not mention reasonable practices or procedures to protect privacy of information. It is silent on data privacy."
Duggal said there was no explanation of how the UIDAI - the entity that will enrol members and manage the information they share with it - would protect the privacy of individual information.
"Section 30 of the Adhaar Bill protects only the biometric information, while other personal information including photographs, names, addresses, demographic information is not as well protected, giving rise to apprehensions," Duggal said. Read More
Global Law Firms May Have India Cybersecurity ChancesBloomberg BNA in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“If we want companies to opt for the legal path, we need to give them effective legal remedies otherwise why should they bother taking legal action? We need more focused laws that are effective,”
“We’re poised at the threshold of a new phase. The government is actively considering making mandatory reporting a must in other sectors. It will happen first in certain selected, important sectors such as finance, insurance and medical data by around the end of the year. Once mandatory reporting comes in, it will open up huge vistas of work for law firms. Mandatory reporting will be the catalyst,”
Because this field is so new, clients also feel comfortable knowing that the Indian firm they hired has enlisted the help of a foreign legal specialist,” Duggal said. Read More
Safer Internet Day: Cybersecurity experts urge extra caution on the InternetThe IBTimes world has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"Today, on average, the chances are eight out of 10 people on the electronic or mobile platform would have committed some cybercrime at some point in their lives,"
"The CEO of the web hosting company was put behind bars. It made Corporate India realise that while they lobbied for changes in the law, they had to be compliant with the provisions of the law," Duggal said. "It also made individuals more sensitive about what to do in terms of protecting their interests online."
"The law clearly states that ignorance of the law is not an excuse to commit a crime," Duggal said. Read More
Facebook comes under government scanner for hosting 'insulting comments' against judiciaryThe Dailymail UK in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“This amounts to clear lowering of stature of judiciary in the mind of the people and once the complaint is brought to the notice of the service provider, that is Facebook, it has to exercise due diligence. The identity of the people who have posted such messages can be given by Facebook and they can be prosecuted,” noted lawyer and cyber expert Pavan Duggal said. Read More
The Case For An International Convention On CyberlawIn this article on Pavan Duggal’s Blog, Pavan Duggal, Asia’s and India’s foremost expert and authority on Cyber law, writes his thoughts The Case For An International Convention On Cyber law as under:-
“Cyber-terror, cyber-radicalisation and cyber-extremism are rearing their ugly heads... It has been estimated that cybercrime will cost businesses more than $2 trillion by 2019.
The absence of any international treaty on cyberspace has encouraged different stakeholders to adopt various methodologies for the purposes of misusing the internet to further their vested interests. Consequently, the rules of the road are not very well defined.
The absence of any international treaty on cyberspace has encouraged different stakeholders to adopt various methodologies for the purposes of misusing the internet to further their vested interests. Consequently, the rules of the road are not very well defined.
Consequently, there is a pressing need to have in place an International Convention on Cyberlaw and Cyber-Security.” Read More
3 Controversial Aspects Of China's New Anti-Terrorism LawIn this article on Pavan Duggal’s Blog, Pavan Duggal, Asia’s and India’s foremost expert and authority on Cyber law, writes his thoughts on the legalities concerning Important Aspects Of China's New Anti-Terrorism Law as under:-
“In the closing moments of 2015, at a time when the world is reeling from increasing threats from militant groups, China enacted its anti-terrorism law, passed by the National People's Congress on 27 December and effective from 1 January 2016. Prior to this, in July 2015, China passed another important legislation, the National Law on National Security.
The new Chinese anti-terrorism law represents the dawn of a new era, and is the country's most comprehensive legislation to counter terrorism, terrorist acts, strategies, processes, procedures and methodologies".” Read more
Parental firewall for porn in the works; telcos may offer parents with censorship toolThe Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate who specialises in cyber law, said that the introduction of controls would be a step in right direction as it will help empower parents.
"We need to align to the fact that parent software adoption levels in India have been dramatically poor because of the lack of awareness of their requisite functions," he said. The kind of move being contemplated wouldn't attract privacy concerns if users are required to opt for it voluntarily.” Read More
Not easy to crack cyber crimeThe Hindu world has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“But police personnel are often skeptical of the cases, as they unaware of the methods used by the perpetrators. Thus, many complainants are turned away. Some complainants back off fearing being exposed in the media,” Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate and cyber law expert, said.
Mr. Duggal expressed dismay at the number of cases registered against the number of complaints. The chance of conviction also remains slim. Read More
International cyber security law developments in 2015The Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The year 2015 saw the strengthening of cyber security thought process by nations. Nations very quickly realized in 2015 that there were no international treaties, arrangements which would prevent breaches of cyber security. The absence of any international binding treaty on cyber security, coupled with the lessons that nations of the world learnt from the Snowden revelations, prompted the nations into taking action. Different nations started doing various permutations and combinations of policy measures, all aimed at protecting and preserving the cyber security of their computer systems and networks.” Read More
Centre presses dislike on anti-court facebook pagesIn this report, SME times has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
"This amounts to clear lowering of stature of judiciary in the mind of the people and once the complaint is brought to the notice of the service provider, that is Facebook, it has to exercise due diligence. The identity of the people who have posted such messages can be given by Facebook and they can be prosecuted," noted lawyer and cyber expert Pavan Duggal said.” Read More
Why 2015 Was A Landmark Year For Indian CyberlawIn this article on Pavan Duggal’s Blog, Pavan Duggal, Asia’s and India’s foremost expert and authority on Cyber law, writes his thoughts on the legalities concerning Why 2015 Was A Landmark Year For Indian Cyberlaw as under:-
“The year 2015 was nothing if not eventful, and while some developments generated plenty of sound and fury, others made a quieter impact. As I look back at legal developments, what stands out is how 2015 was a landmark year in the evolution of cyberlaw in India.
This was the year in which the Supreme Court delivered its landmark judgment in the case of Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India. The apex court had been called upon to examine the constitutional validity of Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its various parameters from the perspective of the various principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution.” Read more
WICKED VOX: Sex education can help protect children from paedophilesIn this report Dailymail UK, has quoted Pavan Duggal, leading and prominent authority on Cyber law as under:-
“The dark net architecture is very different. Not even the service provider will be able to tell you who have visited, hosted or transmitted content,” says Pawan Duggal, cyber expert and author Dark Net, Anonymity and Law.
“In 2016, dark net will be a major problem. It is the area where all illegal activities including child pornography and online paedophiles thrive,” says Duggal.
Both the National Cyber Security Policy 2013 and IT Act are silent on dark net, says Duggal. Read more
Supreme Court and Indian Cyberlaw-2015: A roundupIn this article on Pavan Duggal’s Blog, Pavan Duggal, Asia’s and India’s foremost expert and authority on Cyber law, writes his thoughts on the legalities concerning Supreme Court and Indian Cyberlaw-2015 as under:-
"2015 was the year in which the historical judgment of the Supreme Court was delivered in the case of Shreya Singhal v/s Union of India. The Shreya Singhal judgment was historic this year primarily because of three things. Firstly, it struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 as unconstitutional because the Supreme Court found that the parameters of Section 66A went against the Constitution of India." Read More
Is social media prone to exaggeration?In this report, cyberlaw expert Pavan Duggal has been quoted by Business-Standard
“People have this misconception that social media is a ‘free for all’ medium. Boundary lines are often crossed and the language used is reprehensible in many cases. At the moment, it suffers from ‘vomitting revolution’. You vomit out whatever you feel, without ealizing the implications,” says cyber expert Pawan Duggal. Read More
Don’t mess with internetThe Statesman in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Any service, which conflicts or restricts my choice as a user to visit any destination on the network, is in violation of the law of the land and, therefore, is in violation of net neutrality. India needs to be very careful that it does not adopt these kind of schemes without looking into the legal gratifications," noted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal had earlier told The Statesman. Read More
Asia Provides Example for Silicon Valley Pressured on TerrorismIn this report, cyberlaw expert Pavan Duggal has been quoted by Bloomberg
“With ISIS warning that they’re ready to expand into India, we need to crack down,” said Pavan Duggal, founder of CyberLaw India. “It’s far more complicated than getting tech firms to cooperate. India needs a holistic national approach for how to deal with online terrorism and online activity leading to terrorism, which is currently non-existent.” Read More
Low Cyberattack Reporting Leaves India VulnerableIn this report , Bna.com has quoted Pavan Duggal as under:-
“If this kind of breach were reported, it would not only force other banks to follow suit” in making such incidents known “it would also result in the setting of new standards for others in the banking/financial services sector to follow,” Pavan Duggal, a New Delhi lawyer who specializes in cybersecurity law, said. “When cyber security is comprised and this is revealed, it puts pressure on the company or bank to fix the problem instead of hiding it.”
Duggal said that, under India's Information Technology Act—which was last updated in 2009 to include data security measures (209 Privacy Law Watch, 11/2/09)(8 PVLR 1574, 11/2/09)—there is no mandatory requirement for companies to generally report data breaches to privacy regulators or affected individuals. Read More
APTs can end the worldIn this report, DQ India has cited Cyber Lawyer Pavan Duggal as under:
“Economies are at risks as cyber criminals and hackers are becoming far more stronger day-by-day. In other words, Cyber space has become the hot spot where the stage has been set for the next war,” warns Pavan Duggal, a Cyber Lawyer. Read More
Government Makes Aadhaar Mandatory to Register New BusinessesNDTV in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Supreme Court lawyer and cyberlaw expert Pavan Duggal said that policy and legal challenges need to be sorted out, as making Aadhaar applicable or mandatory across the board would bring its own unique set of challenges. He said he was awaiting to see what the Supreme Court's Constitution Bench would say.
"The law is very clear, the Supreme Court passes any order, it becomes the law of the land. Once the Supreme Court is crystal clear that Aadhaar doesn't need to be mandatory, the matter is decided by the constitution bench. That's what the law of the land is, and what needs to be followed," He says, in a phone conversation with Gadgets 360.
He added that the IT Act does not exempt Aadhaar or the UIDAI from compliance, on handling, dealing, and processing personal data. "We are not even being clear how Aadhaar complies with these parameters. The exact authenticity and correctness of the database is in question," Duggal said.” Read More
India unprepared to tackle online data security: reportIntoday in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“India is not at all in a state of preparedness to take on the cyber criminals -- thus, to say, it is not prepared for Digital India,” said Pavan Duggal, a cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate. For one, there’s no legal framework to tackle cyber crime.
The IT Act 2008 partly addresses the issue, but the nature of cyber crimes has evolved and transformed since then. “Without cyber security legislation, India will not be able to become the IT superpower as it aims to be,” said Duggal, adding, “The cyber security policy 2013 is merely a paper tiger. It has not been implemented.” Read More
Govt makes Aadhaar mandatory to register new businessIn this report , Techcircle has quoted Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The Supreme Court has been crystal clear on the Aadhaar number being voluntary for now,” said Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal. “So this would be a violation of the apex court’s order and could be a fit case for contempt of court. This would also infringe on citizens’ right to equality, as it would discriminate against people who don’t have Aadhaar numbers yet,” he added. Read More
New laws needed to fight cyber crime, terror: Justice ThakurAsianage in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, advocate and organiser of the conference, said cyber security was a collective responsibility of the State and individuals but to put up corrective measures in place, Parliament needed to act tough and enact laws.
He also said the biggest challenge today was the rise of "darknet" where illegal data sharing takes place by individuals who remain anonymous and hence untraceable.
"Issues regarding people's right to remain anonymous need to be worked out and there has to be a mechanism to at least empower a user to find out if he/she is being surveilled upon or is a victim of the crime," Duggal said.” Read More
Cyber Crimes See Sharp Jump in One YearIn this report, New Indian Express has cited Pavan Duggal as under: –
“Police do not consider obscenity via technology a top priority or a national threat. They see it as a cultural phenomenon,” says Pavan Duggal, advocate specialising in cyber law.” Read More
Indian cyber law miles behind the realities of social mediaIn this article on Pavan Duggal’s Blog, Pavan Duggal, Asia’s and India’s foremost expert and authority on Cyber law, writes his thoughts on the legalities concerning Indian cyber law miles behind the realities of social media as under:-
“Social media is creating a new kind of space and as it creates history, one of the biggest challenges today is to look at the various legal, policy and regulatory issues around social media. Most people on social media often do not have an idea of the legal consequences governing what you do on the network. Most have no clue that whatever they put out on social media is going to remain there forever.
The massive success of social media has attracted cyber criminals and various kinds of cyber crimes are happening with increasing frequency on social media networks, whether it be identity theft, cyber stalking, cyber harassment or cyber defamation.
Indian cyber law deals with social media in a distinct light.” Read More
Cyber Law – Global Trends in 2014Niscair Online Periodicals Repository in this Article, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
In the year 2014, Cyberlaws may have to tackle several issues ranging from increased thrust in cost-effective interception surveillance to providing far more protection and preservation of individual stakeholder’s online privacy in the digital and the mobile ecosystem and also protection from increasing cyber attacks. Read More
Have you forgotten your FB manners?In this report, Intoday has quoted Pavan Duggal as under:-
"It is a potent game changer in our lives."
But is the iPad/ Blackberry/ Android generation really ready to handle social media - the platform and huge database of information it offers? "It is a mixed bag. While there are youngsters who are out there making good use of the Internet, there are others who are not able to handle social media with maturity. It is hard to make a sweeping generalisation and say that youngsters are abusing the Internet. What's true is that today's youth is alive to the power of social media and is ready to ride the tiger without realising the consequences," says Duggal.
He adds that five to six out of ten youngsters won't think twice before doing something impulsively on a social networking website.
"There have been wake up calls. But they have been few and far in between. A lot of awareness and education is required for youngsters using the Internet. The government should include social media in the school curriculum. But unfortunately it is not a priority area for the government," he says. Read More
Twitter PlansThe Khojindia, in this report, has quoted Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Noted cyber expert Pavan Duggal believes that the announcement made by the Twitter syncs with the demands of the Indian government.
Explaining media Cyber Law Expert Pavan Duggal said, There is no doubt that the new changes that Twitter has announced are in sync with the requirement of any country. And specifically in the context of India these changes are in sync with the obligations of the twitter in its capacity as an intermediary.
He said that in India according to the section 21 (W) of information technology act 2000, the micro blogging site Twitter is intermediary and it has abide by the law of the land.” Read More
2344 websites hacked in first half of this year: CERT-InIn this report, Zeenews has quoted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Phishing incidents cannot be eliminated completely but FIRs should be filed by the victim organisation or institution and it should be made a penal offence, Cyber law expert, Supreme court lawyer Pavan Duggal said. Read More
3G tech vulnerable to cyber crime, says expertsCyber law expert and advocate Pavan Duggal has quoted by Zeenews:-
"It will become extremely easy for anybody to download an entire Bollywood film in few minutes using 3G. This is going to lead to further tremendous growth of websites like torrents," says advocate Pavan Duggal, a cyberlaws expert.
Duggal, who is a Supreme Court lawyer, says there is a distinct need for amending the law so as to provide for far more broad generic provisions which can withstand the onslaught of any other new technology.
"Further adequate statutory protections needs to be given to users so that whatever limited right to privacy they have in the context of the electronic ecosystem are not appropriately compromised with the advent of new technology," he says.”Read More
What Singhvi’s Video Means for PrivacyIn this report, The Wall Street Journal has quoted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal as under:-
“If you are merely putting a link, that is not obscene. The text per se is not obscene,” says Pavan Duggal, a lawyer who specializes in cyber crime. For instance, posting the link to the video on Twitter is not illegal, according to Mr. Duggal
Mr. Duggal is already one of them: “I personally believe that the Singhvi case is a wake up call case, a wake up call to the Indian nation to come up with a strong law on privacy.” Read More
Tablets for reform in educationIn this report, Jagran has quoted Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The tablet revolution is today an important trend in the digital ecosystem. Today tablets are becoming increasingly popular devices for the purposes of doing a variety of multi-dimensional tasks including accessing the Internet and doing various other computing functions. The success of the iPad over the last few years, ever since its launch, has demonstrated in no certain term the future that lies for the tablet. Thereafter we have seen various telecom companies coming up with their own versions of tablets. In India, the Government of India has been instrumental in bringing forward Aakash which is the world’s cheapest tablet. With increasing penetration of tablets and their acceptability for a wide variety of tasks, it is only but natural to expect that as time passes by, tablets would be within the integral vision of policy makers. Already there have been various experiments taking place regarding tablets. Tablets are being distributed in China. Various State Governments in India have already indicated their intention to distribute tablets for the purposes of education.” Read More
Public Figure vs Public Interest vs PrivacyThefirm, Moneycontrol in this report has excerpted leading cyber law & e-commerce expert Pavan Duggal as under:-
“I think that’s going to be a hugely monumental kind of a task primarily because of the intrinsic nature and architecture of the internet and also primarily because today countries are very clear- we are a sovereign country and this kind of international treaty is bound to somewhere impact our respective sovereignty, integrity and security. So that’s possibly one reason why we haven’t seen any kind of an international rule in that regard but Ajit is bang on target, we need something like that and in any case, we require some kinds of rules of the game as far as social media is concerned. Social media is not equal to World Wide Web- it’s requiring some kind of a regulation but how to do so. At the time when internet jurisdiction is really providing some huge challenges to different nations in this regard, I think we have only one successful example of an international treaty working and that’s on cyber crime which is a convention on cyber crime of the council of Europe and unfortunately the convention has got nothing to do either on social media or on the subject that we are talking but clearly there is a huge vacuum, there is a need for this kind of an international regulation to come in place.” Read More
West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee cartoon arrest sparks worryThe India Today has quoted Advocate Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"This is the beginning of a new trend that is likely to see the IT Act and its provisions invoked to achieve different objectives," cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said.
Duggal said the Act should clearly define what qualifies as 'defamation', 'ill-will', 'hatred' and the other offences it seeks to rein in.” Read More
Bengal professor's 'offending' picture goes viralThe Times of India has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“Pawan Duggal, an eminent cyber law expert in the country, also wondered whether the act of merely forwarding a cartoon strip called for slapping Section 66 of the IT Act, 2000. While a defamation suit should be filed by the aggrieved victim himself, police should ideally consult legal experts before slapping the IT Act, he said.” Read More
MakeMyTrip loses IndiGo, much of Jet bizBusiness-Standard has cited Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert Pavan Duggal in this report as follows:-
Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said the aberrations were a result of the absence of specific industry regulation for online travel agencies. Read More
Judgment day for tweepleThe Times of India has quoted Supreme Court Advocate Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"A tweet, a Facebook post or a blog post is data in the electronic form, which has been granted legal recognition under Section 4 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Thus, they can be used in an Indian court as evidence, once it is proved that it represents accurate information."
"When electronic evidence on any social networking site has caused mental stress, it becomes ground for seeking divorce," says Duggal. Read More
Are online travel companies gouging customers?In this report, The Business-Standard quoted Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert Pavan Dugal as under:
Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert, Pavan Duggal, argued that aberrations to this general law of the online travel jungle were a result of the absence of specific industry regulations for online travel portals. Also, the IT Act 2000, which provides a legal framework for e-commerce, does not provide protection for online consumers, he said. Till that happens, expect more wars to be waged in the online travel space. Read More
Battered prof fears for his life: Concerned university lecturer speaks out after he is beaten and jailedIn this report, Dailymail UK has cited Pavan Duggal as under:
'This is the beginning of a new trend that is likely to see the IT Act and its provisions invoked to achieve different objectives,' cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said.
Duggal said the Act should clearly define what qualifies as 'defamation', 'ill-will', 'hatred' and the other offences it seeks to rein in. Read More
In this report, Outlookindia has quoted Cyberlaw expert Pavan Duggal as under: –
“As Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert points out, unless the prosecutors withdraw the case themselves, even though the charges they are booked under are bailable, the sheer due process is going to be "living hell" for the duo.” Read More
Cyberscamsters on prowl on Valentine`s DayIn this report, Zeenews has quoted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal as under:-
"The surprise e-card from an ano4 ymous sender could give you a lot of heartache as it may be having a hard drive hack that can steal your identity. And that online flower purchase from an unprotected website can cause problems through credit card theft," says Pavan Duggal, a cyberlaws expert.
"An anonymous email may ask about your financial details - usually your credit card number. Needless to say, the information you provide will end up with a scammer who can empty your credit card or bank account in just about no time," says Duggal.” Read More
Browsing child porn will land you in jailTimes of India in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"The amendments will certainly have a huge impact on the way cyber crimes are handled and investigated in India,"
Duggal said, "Once the bill becomes an act, Section 67B will have a huge positive impact, primarily because India does not have a special legislation to tackle child pornography. To that extent, the new IT law is path-breaking". Read More
Getting HUGE phone bills? Your SIM may have been cloned!Rediff in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
Pavan Duggal, an expert with cyber laws explains that there could be instances when such a syndicate involved in SIM cloning could also be involved with some service providers. These providers give out information regarding the SIM cards and it could be cloned.
"There is a need to amend the IT act," says Duggal. Most importantly, SIM cloning has its biggest impact on the subscriber whose SIM is cloned. The person could face unnecessary legal complications. Hence there is a need for an amendment to at least aid such victims from being harassed unnecessarily. Read More
EMC launches 2 compliance solutions to help cos in IndiaMoneycontrol has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“Elaborating on the emerging significance of regulatory compliance, Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, and a leading cyber law expert said ‘Multiple regulations today define and govern the way business is done worldwide. Fines, penalties, and worst of all; loss of reputation for non-compliance, are driving companies to address compliance as a serious issue. India’s increasing prominence in the global business landscape compels Indian organizations to assess the legal implications of many such regulations. From a legal perspective, data integrity is of prime importance, and organizations need to immediately evaluate their information management and protection strategies and consider partnering with specialists like EMC who offer the right solutions and expertise to help companies deal with compliance.” Read More
Page not found: Who blocked my website?In this report, Sify has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
According to cyber law expert Pavan Duggal, the decision to block a site rests with the group coordinator. Read More
What Sibal's censorship means for usIn this report, Tech2 has quoted Pavan Duggal as under
“The Information Technology Act, 2000 does not define what is defamation when opinions are put online. We have to be guided by Section 499 IPC regarding the definition of defamation. Merely negative opinions may not be defamatory. If negative opinions publish imputations concerning any person, intending to harm or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of such person then such negative opinion expressed on a forum shall be considered defamatory.”
The problem here is that a group of humans have to decide what is defamatory and what isn’t. Possibly within a time crunch like a couple of minutes. There aren’t any algorithms for this and if there were, they would be highly faulty. Duggal says, “It is much better to ask service providers to have comprehensive terms and conditions and procedures and processes to take down undesirable content then to preemptively screen content. Further preemptively screening content is neither technologically nor legally possible.” Read More
Laws have teeth but govt does not biteBusiness Standard in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
For instance, hardly a month after the devastating blasts in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 (referred to as 26/11), the government amended the IT Act 2000 to make cybercrime an offence punishable with life imprisonment and a penalty (to be decided by the court) under Section 66F. The amendments were notified on October 27, 2009. "Every bomb attack nowadays has an element of cybercrime. We have the laws but they need to be enforced," asserts Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer and cyberlaw expert, but rues: "Not a single cybercrime-related case has been registered in India till date." Read More
Now, Facebook and Twitter under govt scannerThe Business Standard has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“The Indian government can, and should, monitor conversations and websites if it believes the content can harm the security, defence, sovereignty and integrity of the country,” asserts Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer and a cyberlaw expert.
“The intention is good but the path is not clear,” says Duggal.
Duggal says sections 1 and 75 of the Indian IT Act state regardless of the nationality, any company operating in India can be held accountable if the contravention of law has an impact on computer (systems and networks) in India. “But the problem is what would the government monitor on social networking sites---usage of keywords, all users, just the suspects or leave it totally to the service provider?” he asks.
“Hence, there could be many legal challenges if the government does not go about its task of monitoring users in a transparent manner,” Read More
Does the UID project infringe on privacy?Business Standard in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
Unique Identification numbers or Aadhaar numbers are being touted as the next big thing. The current implementation of the UID numbers framework in India is, however, likely to lead to a direct contravention of citizens’ fundamental right of privacy.
The right to privacy has been interpreted to mean the right to be left alone. The Supreme Court has already held in various cases that the right to privacy is implicit in the fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has already started collecting biometric and other sensitive personal information of citizens without having the requisite sanction of Parliament. The present process of collection, collation and preservation of sensitive personal information including biometric information of Indian citizens without adequate safeguards amounts to a direct infringement of the citizens’ fundamental right to privacy. Read More
Speak Asia - the latest mega scam to hit India?The Times of India has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“Duggal says a digital will is important because there have been many disputes about digitized data in recent times. “Most of us never think about making arrangements to name an heir for our digital assets, and it becomes a Herculean task for legal representatives to get a succession certificate for such data. It could take years in court.”
Duggal says Indians are gradually waking up to this issue. “For the first time in India, in April, a Delhi businessman opted for a digital will. Since then, six more have followed suit. Many have approached me to discuss their digital estate and to make their wills.” Read More
Digital afterlife: Leaving your legacy onlineBusiness Standard in this report, has quoted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Indians are very slowly waking up to the importance of handing over confidential digital (electronic and internet-based) documents to their loved ones,"
"While the IT Act 2000 protects the sanctity of electronic records, there’s no such provision for Digital Wills. This has been the case for almost a decade since the Law came into being. The government ought to revisit this," said Duggal. Read More
Hackers Gain Notoriety As Cyber Attacks IncreaseCxotoday in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“According to Supreme Court advocate and cyber law expert Pavan Duggal the attack on the websites of government agencies is an act of cyber war and not merely a hacking incident.” Read More
Typosquatters roam unchecked in IndiaThe Times of India has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“The 1999 Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) prohibits anyone from registering or using domains misleadingly similar to a trademark or famous name. Unfortunately, the Indian law does not deal with typosquatting, says Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate and a veteran in cyber offence cases.
"The Indian Information Technology Act, 2000, the only legislation available in India pertaining to use of computers, computer systems, computer networks, computer resources and communication devices, does not deal with domain name issues. So much so, that even the amendments to the Information Technology Act, 2000 have not dealt with any issue pertaining to domain name disputes," said Mr Duggal” Read More
You cannot censor the Internet in IndiaDNA India in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"You cannot censor the Internet in India," said Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate and president, cyberlaws.net. "You can ask social media sites to ensure that they comply with the law, but you cannot look at censorship. Regulating content on the Internet is legally, practically and technologically impossible. At this rate, the chances of the government trying to enforce censorship cannot be ruled out." Read More
Career in Cyber LawIndia education diary in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“However, don’t let this dismal picture convince you that there will be a famine of cases for those who aim to be cyber lawyers. On the contrary, there is a growing demand for cyber lawyers in India. Says Pavan Duggal, advocate, Supreme Court of India, and president of www.cyberlaws.net, “It would be inaccurate to say that there will be shortage of work. In fact, there are a lot of new and interesting cases that pose real challenges for lawyers.”
Although you don’t need to be an IT specialist, but a bit of technological bent of mind and a knack for the cyber world will only add a cherry to the cake. As Duggal explains, “You require the right blend of technological and legal knowledge. Inadequacy of technological know-how can deeply hamper your work as a cyber lawyer.” Read More
A case against censorshipThe Hindu Business Line in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Noted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal says pre-publication crackdown is difficult, even unwarranted and, instead, efforts should be made to strengthen the existing IT laws. That includes making majority of the cyber crimes non-bailable and amending and tweaking the legislation to keep pace with emerging platforms and newer devices.
The earlier perception that the Internet is like the ‘wild-wild West' has given way to a mature realisation that this space is amenable to regulation and consequently different nations of the world have been regulating Internet through national legislations in one form or the other. India is no exception, but the level of regulation or enablement has differed from country to country depending on the specific orientations of the respective governments.” Read More
Beware lottery Scam on ProwlPrashant Sehgal has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“Senior cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said Indian telecom operators are aware of these issues, but in the absence of technology laws, no one can be responsible if the customer is cheated.
Mr. Pavan Duggal said this fraud is a part of international racket, which are involved in lottery scam through email and phones. These calls are originating specially from Pakistan, Nigeria and African countries. Some calls are originating from India. Duggal said the call to these numbers costs high. The charge could be Rs 100-150/minor more. Few telecom operators are allegedly involved in TV jackpot game like identification of a film star or any other famous personality's photograph where callers get charged high call rates.” Read More
Govt urged to back National Cyber Law varsityWritingonblog in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“It should not be an initiative in the private level, there is a need for government support to reach out to the masses,” said cyber law expert Pavan Duggal during Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry conference on Internet/ Social Media Networks: Opportunities and challenges.
Duggal also stressed the need to amend Information Technology Act (ITA) to bring into ambit the social networking sites.
With social networking sites growing at a phenomenal pace, there is a need to amend the law, he said adding that the amendments to ITA in 2008 which came into existence in 2009 were oblivious of social media.
“A new paradigm shift is happening and the onus is on government to update laws in digital and mobile eco-system,’ Duggal added.”Read More
Smut-tainted Karnataka ministers could be jailed under IT Act: cyber law expertIn this report, Writingonblog has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Supreme Court advocate and president of Cyber law Asia, Pavan Duggal told Express on Thursday that the three ministers -- Laxman Savadi, C C Patil and J Krishna Palemar --- caught on television cameras viewing obscene clips on the floor of Karnataka legislative assembly could face jail and one of them even a non-bailable warrant.
He said while no law bans watching pornography but Savadi and Patil can be booked under Section 292 of Information Technology Act for sale, distribution, public exhibition, etc., of an obscene object and let off lightly but the third minister J Krishna Palemar, who was in possession of the mobile phone, is vulnerable and he could even get a non-bailable warrant if a complaint is registered against him.” Read More
‘Social networking sites duty-bound to obey law of the land'The Hindu Businessline in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Social networking sites are “duty-bound” to obey the laws of the land they operate in, says cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate Mr Pavan Duggal.
Referring to the recent Delhi High Court order to 22 social media sites to pull out inflammatory content, Mr Duggal said these Web sites were trying to get away by saying they were bound by US laws and were not amenable to Indian norms.
“These companies want to operate in India but do not want to comply with Indian laws. If your target is the Indian ecosystem, you have to comply with the laws here and disable content from the Indian networks at least.”
This happened to Google in China. Yahoo! also faced a similar situation when it was asked by France to pull out links to Nazi sites and memorabilia, said Mr Duggal.” Read More
Be careful while using ITWebpatrakar in this report, has excerpted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“The Indian Cyber law had various drawbacks and loopholes. It may be pertinent to mention that the said Act purports to be applicable to not only the whole of India but also to any offence or contravention there under committed outside of India by any person. The enforcement aspect of the IT Act is an area of grave concern. The IT Act, 2000 did not touch at all the issues relating to Domain Names. Even domain names were not defined and the rights and liabilities of domain name owners did not find any mention in the said law. The IT Act, 2000 also did not deal at all with the Intellectual Property Rights of Domain Name owners. Contentious yet very important issues concerning Copyright, Trademark and Patent were left untouched in the said law thereby leaving many loopholes in the said law.” Read More
Kerala become 1st Indian State to Set Guidelines for MLM CompaniesSpeak-Asia-Fraud in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“This was trick of MLM Companies saying thing which they don't to say officially they make cloned websites which are not belongs to them and MLM Companies says any thing unofficially on these websites . If Any MLM Company on his official website claiming or promising any thing and if that company will not fulfill its promises a court case can be done against them”. Read More
Do You Know Cyber Crime ?Technologyfactory in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Cybercrimes can be basically divided into 3 major categories:
Cybercrimes against persons. Cybercrimes against property. Cybercrimes against government.
Cybercrimes committed against persons include various crimes like transmission of child-pornography, harassment of any one with the use of a computer such as e-mail. The trafficking, distribution, posting, and dissemination of obscene material including pornography and indecent exposure, constitutes one of the most important Cybercrimes known today. The potential harm of such a crime to humanity can hardly be amplified. This is one Cybercrime which threatens to undermine the growth of the younger generation as also leave irreparable scars and injury on the younger generation, if not controlled.” Read More
Blogging community in trouble ?In this report, De-guide has cited Pavan Duggal as under:
"The government needs to understand the power of the blogging community, said Pavan Duggal,senior advocate,Supreme Court and cyber law expert." Read More
‘Need to revisit Information Technology Act'The Hindu BusinessLine has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
The Government should also join hands with stakeholders to set up a dedicated cyber law university, said Mr Duggal, at a seminar on ‘Social media networks: Opportunities and challenges'.
Referring to the recent incident involving three Karnataka ministers who allegedly watched porn during the State Assembly session, Mr Duggal said charges can be slapped against the Minister who had the clipping stored in his cell-phone, under Section 67 and 67 (A) of the IT Act. Read More
US piracy bill can hit Indian sites tooIn this report, Indian Express has quoted Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The PROTECT IP and Stop Online Piracy bills would affect Indian websites, says Pavan Duggal, a lawyer at the Supreme Court. "The laws have been drafted in mischievously broad terms, which are so wide that they are aiming to give extraterritorial applicability to such laws," he says.
"If your website is available in the US, you fall under the purview of the law," Duggal says.
Duggal says online advertising platforms would also be forced to restrict access to websites accused of copyright infringement. "Accounts like Google Adsense could be disabled to virtually make your online presence obsolete. In addition, they can also get orders directed to payment service providers like Pay Pal to block or freeze your accounts." Read More
Cybercrooks do not go on summer break: ExpertsIn this report, Rediff has cited Pavan Duggal as under:
“Cyberlaw expert Pavan Duggal says unawareness among public and technical sophistication of the cybercrooks has led to increase in phishing attacks in recent years in India.
"Now when he updates his friends that he is feeling lonely at home today after his parents are out to attend a party, the child will obviously invite the attention of online stalkers," says Duggal.” Read More
A warning against the Internet’s dangerEuropean Siesta in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“There are various legislative avenues that are available to law enforcement officials to tackle cybercrimes. The said legislative avenues depend upon nation to nation and depend upon the various prevailing laws that have been so legislated and prevailing at the relevant time in the concerned national jurisdictions. For example, to take the case of India, India has got a distinct law relating to the electronic environment which has detailed provisions on various cyber crimes and the punishments of the same.
The future belongs to Cybercrime. The last decade has shown that while technology has developed on a neck breaking speed, the law is invariably behind technology when it comes to regulating cyber crime. That explains the reason why, despite having the best of intentions, nations are not able to keep abreast. Their existing laws are still not able to tackle cybercrime and the cutting edge level. In the coming times, I have reason to believe that cybercrime is going to grow extremely rapidly, who will become extremely sophisticated and will become far more pervasive in the relevant years.” Read More
Law tweak must to track contentThe Telegraph India in this report, has quoted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The IT act of 2000 in its current form cannot address the issue of filtering online content that are objectionable. The policy was last amended in 2008, but since then there has been a lot of development in the cyber arena in India,” said Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate.
Duggal said while the government’s ire on social networking companies was justified, data was often stored in servers located in different territorial boundaries where multiple jurisdiction became an issue. Also, no dedicated cloud computing law has been passed yet.” Read More
Protected systems and networksThe Economictimes has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“However, in my opinion any computer, computer system or computer network, containing extremely crucial and critical information from the government's perspective can indeed be declared a protected system.
Further any computer, computer system or computer network, which is key to an integral part of crucial sovereign functions of a state, be it defence, maintenance of public order, decency or friendly relations with other nations, can also be designated as a protected system.” Read more
Kill It Before It’s Porn...In this report, Outlookindia has quoted Pavan Duggal as under
“As cyber-law consultant and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal points out, “Though the IT Act has been strengthened, there are still sufficient loopholes. For example, if the user sourcing porn enters a search engine giving his country as the US, he cannot be acted against. Neither can the search engine be faulted.” Read More
Mobile phone tapping allegation disrupts Indian ParliamentCIO has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“The Indian government has tapped the mobile telephones of leading Indian political leaders including federal minister Sharad Pawar and the chief minister of the state of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, according to a report in the issue of Outlook magazine dated May 3. The controversy highlights the need for the country to have legislation for the protection of individual privacy in the country's Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008, sad Pavan Duggal , a cyberlaw consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court.
While earlier telephone tapping was covered under the Indian Telegraph Act, which has laid down specific procedures for the authorization of telephone tapping, the tapping of mobile phones is now likely to be covered under the IT Act. This gives the government far more comprehensive powers for the interception, monitoring and blocking of electronic communications, Duggal said.” Read More
Bangalore also hit by FB attacksTimes of India in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, cyber expert and Supreme Court lawyer, says these may be isolated cases, but they should sound a strong warning signal for companies including Facebook. They need to constantly improve their security mechanisms and comply with local laws. A recent IT rule notification effective April 2011 specifically mandates intermediaries like Facebook to implement reasonable security measures while handling or processing sensitive personal data. It also mandates them to be compliant to ISO 27001, the highest global standard for information security. Most social networking sites are not aware or rather ignorant of their potential exposure to both civil and criminal offenses. Also, the IT Act 2000 permits each user/account holder to sue email service providers/social networking sites for damages/compensation and claim upto Rs 5 crore for each violation,'' says Duggal.
A recent IT rule notification effective April 2011 specifically mandates intermediaries like Facebook to implement reasonable security measures while handling or processing sensitive personal data. - Pavan Duggal, cyber expert and Supreme Court lawyer.” Read More
Cybercrime on the rise, but not all cases getting reportedLivemint in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“These numbers give us a false sense of security,” said cyber law expert and Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal. “They fall way short of the reality. For every 500 cybercrimes that take place, only 50 are reported to the police and just one gets registered as an FIR (first information report),” Duggal said.
According to Duggal, the police continue to register some cybercrime cases under the IPC Act (and not the IT Act) since they’re more familiar with the IPC. “There have been only three reported cybercrime convictions till date—two under the IT Act in Chennai and one under IPC in Delhi,” he added.” Read More
Experts Say India's Cyber Law is OutdatedIn this report, Crime-Research has quoted Pavan Duggal as under
“Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal feels India's Information Technology Act of 2000 is completely outdated and not fit to deal with cyber crimes. He said that the law was promulgated four years ago primarily to bolster the e-commerce business Relevant Products/Services from Sprint -- With Sprint, business is beautiful. and not intended to deal with cyber crime issues.
Duggal, who is a member of the high-powered Indian government panel to recommend changes in the IT Act, said that the law has failed to keep pace with the growing changes in the modern technology.
Duggal said that section 79 of the IT Act holds the network service provider guilty until proven innocent. "It is not fair to hold network service provider responsible for the data processing of a third party," Duggal said.
He said that the Delhi police have implemented the law in letter but not in spirit. "Bajaj's arrest was completely unwarranted," Duggal said, adding that police action will affect the outsourcing Latest News about Outsourcing industry.” Read More
New cyber laws not enough to curb cyber crimesIn this report, Siliconindia has cited Pavan Duggal as under:
"Cyber crimes against persons and property have been made bailable. It will be difficult now to convict cyber criminals under the IT Act," said cyber law expert Pavan Duggal. Read More
Need for national policy on cyber security: ExpertsThe Times Sify News , IANS has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"Senior Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal emphasised that IT Act should be restored to its original form which made cyber crimes none bailable offence." Read More
Indian law may satisfy data protection concernsComputerworld in this report, has quoted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"It is becoming extremely important for India to have in place a distinctive legal regime promoting data protection," said Pavan Duggal, a Delhi-based cyber law consultant.” Read More
Trail Of The TrollsThe Telegrapgh in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“According to Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal, harassment on social networking sites is emerging as one of the biggest problems in the online world. “Six out of 10 people aren’t aware of what constitutes a cyber crime. As a result they aren’t reported. Neither the victims nor the abusers know what is an offence,” says Duggal.” Read More
Orkut Bows To Mayawati, Deletes Fake ProfileIn this report, DNA India has quoted Pavan Duggal as under
“These excesses on social networking sites are not covered under Information Technology Act," Pawan Duggal, a legal expert, said.” Read More
Privacy, speech at stake in cyberspaceIn this report, i-policy has cited Pavan Duggal as under:
“The Indian government can, and should, monitor conversations and websites if it believes the content can harm the security, defence, sovereignty and integrity of the country,” maintained Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer and a cyberlaw expert, but wondered how it would go about implementing the task of monitoring conversation on an unstructured Internet. “The intention is good, but the path is not clear,” said Duggal, who envisions a lot of cases being filed against misuse of these laws.” Read More
Regulatory Compliance To Drive The Next Wave Of It Investment In IndiaThe EMC has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“Elaborating on the emerging significance of regulatory compliance, Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, and a leading cyber law expert said “Multiple regulations today define and govern the way business is done worldwide. Fines, penalties, and worst of all; loss of reputation for non-compliance, are driving companies to address compliance as a serious issue. India’s increasing prominence in the global business landscape compels Indian organizations to assess the legal implications of many such regulations. From a legal perspective, data integrity is of prime importance, and organizations need to immediately evaluate their information management and protection strategies and consider partnering with specialists like EMC who offer the right solutions and expertise to help companies deal with compliance.” Read More
War of words on the InternetBBC UK in this report, has quoted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
India was "totally ill-equipped to tackle the onslaught of cyber crimes". Read More
Indian Government to Monitor Facebook and TwitterVPNhero in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The Indian government can, and should, monitor conversations and websites if it believes the content can harm the security, defense, sovereignty and integrity of the country,” said Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer and a cyber law expert. Abraham of CIS agrees with this, but neither are sure how to go about implementing this type of monitoring by the government. Duggal went on to add that, “The intention is good but the path is not clear.”
However, according to Duggal, sections 1 and 75 of the Indian IT Act, state that any company which operates in India, can be held accountable under Indian law if their practices have an impact computer systems and networks in India, no matter where their headquarters are. However, he went on to say, “But the problem is what would the government monitor on social networking sites—usage of keywords, all users, just the suspects or leave it totally to the service provider?
The other issue is that under Section 70 (B) of the same Act, ISPs, telecom companies and other service providers must all report cyber security breaches to the government of India, and they face imprisonment should they fail to do so. In addition to this, it is also mandatory for all cybercafés in India to retain the proof of identity of their customers for one year. Though, the government is planning to also introduce a Right to Privacy Bill, which is aimed at protecting their citizens. This bill is said to allow for penalization of “unauthorized interception”, even if the government is the transgressor. This would, according to Duggal pose “Many legal challenges if the government does not go about its task of monitoring users in a transparent manner.” Read More
Cyber laws must punish individuals not society: specialistPHYS.ORG in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"You need to have a mix and match addressing specific offences but also taking into account new technologies and cybercrimes," said Pavan Duggal, Chairman of Cyber Law and IT Act. Committee in India, where data theft and unauthorised data use is posing the biggest challenge in cyberspace." Read More
Lawyers, activists seek ban on Japanese `rape game`In this report, Zeenews has quoted Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Maintaining that obscene rape games may prove more dangerous than the offence of actual rape, cyber law expert Pawan Duggal said that the Information Technology Act, 2000, must be tightened and more expert bodies like the Computer Emergency Reaction Team (Cert-In) under the Information Technology ministry created to tackle such menaces.
"These rape games are more dangerous than an actual rapist. A rapist may abuse one or two women before being caught, but obscene Japanese rape games like Rapelay would surely infect young and impressionable minds and lure them into becoming a pervert rapist," Duggal said.” Read More
Security system in BPOIn this report, Consumer Court has quoted Pavan Duggal as under:-
"A legal protection for data security is a must so that secret business information is not leaked out." Read More
Pavan Duggal’s expert opinion on National panel needed to tackle cyber crime
In this report, SME times has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Cyber secrecy and network security are extremely relevant in today's context," said Pawan Duggal, chairman of Assocham's cyber law committee." Read More
India may overstep its own laws in demanding content filteringThe Channel world has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“Besides being technically complex, a demand for filtering raises the question as to which content should be filtered, Duggal said. Under Indian law, there is no provision which provides that derogatory or defamatory remarks and other content only against some political leaders should be singled out for special attention, he added.” Read More
Digital signatures not catching onThe Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
The Information Technology Act 2000 provides for the legal authentication of electronic records by means of digital signatures.
It stipulates that the authentication of the electronic record is to be effected by the use of the asymmetric crypto system and hash function which envelop and transform the initial electronic record into another electronic record. Read More
Do you store critical financial information on your emails ? what if you die ?Jagoinvestor in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“How can this be done? The first step is to create a digital inventory – an index of your “soft” assets. Second, get your digital signature authenticated. “Then, it won’t take more than a day and a couple of thousands (of rupees ) to have your digital will ready,” says Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal , who specializes in cyber law.
Duggal says a digital will is important because there have been many disputes about digitized data in recent times. “Most of us never think about making arrangements to name an heir for our digital assets, and it becomes a Herculean task for legal representatives to get a succession certificate for such data. It could take years in court.” Read More
Over to the digital signature regimeThe Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"We need a distinct law on data protection. The electronic revolution is based upon data and information in electronic form. Unfortunately, India still lacks any legislation, which ensures protection of data. Enacting legislation on data protection may go a long way in the direction of making India an IT superpower. In addition, we need legislation dealing with confidentiality and privacy since these are extremely important for e-commerce transactions anywhere in the world." Read More
Phishing in people's accountsThe cybercrime planetindia has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“Phishing and phishers may be keeping banks on high alert but the law is lagging far behind. Cyber Law expert, Pawan Duggal explains, 'Phishing is not an offence that is specifically defined under the IT Act, 2000. The law enforcement authorities are keen if at all to report and register a case under the typical generic provisions of cheating and criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code, IPC.'
Duggal says, 'One of the biggest problems in phishing is how do you go ahead and arrest these kind of offenders. If you look at the law book, it gives you an academic answer. The IT Act, 2000 has extra-territorial jurisdiction and it applies to any person of any nationality anywhere in the world - so long as the impacted computer is physically located in India. But having said that, the reality is that the Indian law is still not applicable to people outside the territorial boundaries. Therefore, the law enforcement agencies reach a dead end.” Read More
The Electronic BilkIn this report, Outlook India has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Enforcement is the weakest link. Police officers are not trained in cyber crime. Filing of cases will be at their whims."
Cyber law specialist Pavan Duggal: "The IT Act is weak on privacy and doesn't deal with issues like making a breach of privacy a ground for criminal or civil complaint."
Worse, enforcement is a big question mark in India. Says Duggal: "Enforcement is probably the weakest links of the IT Act. There is no adequate training of the police or orientation of the judiciary and a citizen-friendly reporting mechanism is missing. With most police officers not proficient in computers, registration of cyber crime remains at their whims." Read More
India Proposes Tighter Laws for National ID ProjectIn this report, SME times has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The draft law, however, leaves a lot of concepts undefined, and does not directly address the issue of how the agency aims to protect the privacy of individuals, said Pavan Duggal, a cyberlaw consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court.
By its vagueness, it is difficult to tell now whether the draft law would come into conflict with the country's Information Technology Act, amended in 2008, which is the country's main law governing electronic information, Duggal said.
For all its promise, the aadhaar number is not likely to serve the purpose of a unique ID number, and holders may not be able to use the number as proof of identity for transactions other than those it has been specifically designed for, Duggal said.” Read More
Porn websites to face the heat nowThe Hindu in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"A Supreme Court lawyer and expert on cyber laws, Pavan Duggal, said the provisions for registration of a case for sale or circulation of pornographic material on the internet was already in place with the notification of the ITA in 2000 and that it was one of the first few cases in which these provisions had been invoked and offenders booked. "It has happened for the good and in future too similar legal action can be taken against violations of this nature," he said.
Mr. Duggal said it would be better if such cases were read with Section 79 of the ITA which clarifies that the liability of any such offence is on the network service provider, which when interpreted means any intermediary website, its owner, network administrator and even mobile service providers could be held liable for making the service available for sale of the pornographic material. They, however, would not be liable if they prove that they had no knowledge of such an offence or it was not in their hands to prevent it.
In India, such a law can be invoked, and it will also be effective, as here the State public policy already defines the sale, circulation or distribution of obscene material a criminal offence. Mr. Duggal said the ITA empowers police officers of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) rank to take necessary action and conduct raids and arrests if they have a reason to believe that such an offence has been committed, or being committed, or is going to be committed." Read More
Happy days for network service providersEconomictimes in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"The recent Baazee.com case brought into the limelight the issue of the liability of network service providers. For the first time India Inc. saw the CEO of a company arrested because of the company's liability for third party electronic data or information as per section 79 of the Information Technology Act 2000.
Under Section 79 of the IT Act, all network service providers are made liable for all third-party data." Read More
Google Gets Court Notice For Hate Group On Friendship SiteIn this report, DNA India has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
“We don’t have a national policy against hate speech,” cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said. “It would be interesting to know how the case develops over jurisdictions that cross national boundaries.” Red More
Plastic money users beware, cloning on riseThe Times of India in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"However, according to Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer specialising in cyber crime, there is also a need for more stringent IT laws. "At present, such an act is not treated as a direct offence. The quantum of damages are inadequate too. The quantum of damages need to be increased from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore and the offence must be made a punishable offence with 5-7 years' prison term," he said.
"The government, financial institutions, the police and the user themselves must come together to spread awareness on this subject," he concluded.” Read more
Govt plays bigbrother.comIn this report, Indian Express has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Pawan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate who has launched the first online cyberlaw consultancy in India, says: "The exceptionally harsh provision has no parallel in the world and amounts to over legislating the internet industry like in Malaysia. Who, for instance, will decide and how that a person was about to commit a cyber crime?'' Read More
Your Privacy is Public Property
The Cis-India has cited the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“These rules are a complete invasion of privacy with immense potentiality of misuse,” says Supreme Court advocate and cyber law expert Pawan Duggal. Drawing attention to the fact that such executive orders are often drafted by government officials who aren’t legally qualified, Duggal asks: "Our medical records and sexual orientation have no bearing on the verification of our identity or our cyber crime record. So why should the state want access to this data?" Read More
India Defends Right to Access Personal DataThe PC World in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“ Privacy groups and lawyers have described the rules as draconian and said they infringe Indians' fundamental rights. "These are arbitrary powers that are being given to government, without any checks and balances," said Pavan Duggal, a cyberlaw consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court.
The purpose of the rules is to protect sensitive personal data and information, and government agencies cannot be made an exception to this, Duggal said.
Police need a search warrant to enter a home, but in the digital world the government appears to be giving itself the power of entry and search without a warrant, Duggal said.
The government is not required to follow due process of law, and is only required to send a request for information in writing, Duggal said. There is no adjudication of the purpose for which the information is required and there is no competent authority or court to rule on the requirement, he added.” Read More
US shuts down popular file-sharing websiteThe MWC News has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, an expert on cyber and e-commerce law in India's capital New Delhi, said that the celebrities believed file-sharing websites were "absolutely necessary" to spread their content to the general public and support the free exchange of information.” Read More
Software crimes, easy getawaysThe Crime-Research in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"This, of course, is not the first instance of software piracy. The first reported case of software piracy was as late as June 2003 involving Antares Systems vs C1 India Pvt Ltd. For the record, the IT Act was passed in October 2000. "The reason is that the Government issued the notification for appointing adjudicating officers only this March. Only after that was a real forum for seeking damage created," says advocate Pavan Duggal, an expert in cyberlaws.
In another case, a US company got an Indian firm to develop an Indian version of one of their softwares. Two employees of the Indian company stole a copy of the source code, quit the company to join another one and then misused the source code. As per Duggal, the case was resolved after the source code was returned. "The company didn't get the two persons convicted fearing negative publicity," adds he.
Only recently a Delhi-based company had received an order from an EU client for developing GIS (Geographic Information System) software. The local company gave the project to nine employees. After about 90 per cent of the software was completed, the nine employees started demanding a salary hike. The management asked them to turn in their resignations. They resigned alright but not without doing the damage. "During the period they deleted almost 90 per cent of the GIS software worth Rs 60 lakh. The company did not seek damages fearing they will not receive any order in future," says Duggal." Read More
What is Electronic Evidence ? Sending Summons by E-MailIn this report, 498afaq Blogspot has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The amendment shifts the onus of proving the guilt on the law-enforcement agencies instead. It has decimated the liability of intermediaries so long as they observe due diligence and fulfil other parameters of Section 79. On the other hand, it has made the definition of intermediaries more comprehensive to includes auction sites, telecom and network service providers, ISPs, web hosting companies, search engines and online payment sites, among others,” says Pavan Duggal, a noted lawyer and an expert on issues pertaining to cyber regulation.” Read More
Cyber Evil Will Thrive Without Global Rules — Good Luck With ThatThe Thewere42 in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Nations are in denial,” Indian cyber law expert Pavan Duggal told Reuters, saying national legislation was of limited use in protecting users of a borderless communications tool. “It may take a big shock of an event to wake people out of their complacency, something equal to a 9/11 in cyber space.” Read More
India Defends Right To Access Personal DataThe CIO has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"Privacy groups and lawyers have described the rules as draconian and said they infringe Indians' fundamental rights. "These are arbitrary powers that are being given to government, without any checks and balances," said Pavan Duggal, a cyberlaw consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court.
The purpose of the rules is to protect sensitive personal data and information, and government agencies cannot be made an exception to this, Duggal said.
The government is not required to follow due process of law, and is only required to send a request for information in writing, Duggal said. There is no adjudication of the purpose for which the information is required and there is no competent authority or court to rule on the requirement, he added." Read More
Impersonating on Twitter? It's illegal!Business Today in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
Given the popularity of Twitter (there are over 2.6 million Twitter users in India), legal experts in India and abroad are working on a “Twitter Law” to deal with issues that users are likely to face. “The law would deal with areas relating to privacy issues, and twitter crimes ,” says Duggal. Read More
Govt proposal to muzzle bloggers sparks outcryIn this report, Cis-India has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
Blogs are clubbed with network service providers as most of them facilitate comment and online discussion and preserve the traffic as an electronic record, but equating them with other intermediaries is like comparing apples with oranges, says Pavan Duggal, advocate in the Supreme Court and an eminent cyber law expert. Read More
New media stresses new regulations in IT ActThe Financial Express in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"As social media is becoming such an important tool, Duggal says that the government right now is concerned about defamatory content and the content that offends religious sensibilities and both of them are covered under the existing law. If you defamate somebody, it is punishable with imprisonment and fine under Section 500 of Indian Penal Code. Also under section 66 A of the IT Act, there is three years imprisonment and fine for such an offence. Similarly, if one publishes obscene content on any network, under Section 67 of the IT Act he will be punishable with three years imprisonment and a fine of R5,00,000." Read More
Govt bid to fix 2G scam hits hurdleThe India Today has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"According to Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court prosecutor and a cyberlaw expert, the 2G scam is unlikely to be resolved as there are high stakes involved.
"The government has limited options. Cancellation of licences unilaterally could be challenged. There would be a flood of litigations. You cannot blame the 2G licence- holders. The government is at fault. Instead the government should identify wrongdoers and take action against them," said Duggal.
"You will now have to be governed by the terms of licence or declare the entire 2G licence auction null and void or ultra vires. This would not put the government in good light. It should lay down effective policy guidelines to avoid such scams in future," he suggested.” Read More
Sign of the timesBusiness-Standard in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The intermediaries make a huge margin while CAs get a marginal profit. But it’s also a mindset issue for most Indians,” concurs cyberlaw expert and Supreme court advocate Pavan Duggal.
The government should not be too pushy in mandating digital signatures even for individuals,” cautions Duggal, “else there could be a spate of litigations since it could violate the broader “Right to Life” guaranteed to citizens by the Indian Constitution”. Read More
Cyber law and privacy in IndiaIn this report, Sarbajit Roy Blogspot times has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Cyber law expert and advocate Pawan Duggal points out: "There is legal protection against the Centre and states violating the privacy of an individual, but there is nothing to stop another private individual from doing so."
"The rights of the individual are infringed and unsuspecting individuals are filmed to cater to voyeuristic needs of others, the law should have stringent punishments like five years in prison not just for the cameraman but also the distributor."
Duggal also stresses the need to train the police. "It is essential that the police be equipped to handle such crimes as they are the first contact with the complainants," he says. Read More
India exempts IT outsourcers from new privacy rulesThe Computer World UK in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"However, the preferential treatment given to outsourcers could be struck down in court, says Pavan Duggal, a cyberlaw consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court. The clarification has not been issued under any provision of the country's IT Act, and in fact violates the spirit of the IT Act, which does not limit the jurisdiction of its laws to companies within India, Duggal says." Read More
Govt to play catch up on encryption normsThe Live Mint has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“It seems the government has finally woken up to the need. The industry needs permission to decrypt up to at least 128 bits. It is a right move in the right direction,” said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert. “It will be a tremendous boost for online activities, protection of personal data, flipping of e-commerce, banking, insurance and further growth of information security sector in India.” Read More
Hacker's Hacking - The Game Of IntelligenceArticledashboard in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Mr Pavan Duggal described about some clauses and sections of Information Security Act, and asked peoples who lost their money, can claim up to 10 Million INR. But you have to prove it in the court of law, which is almost very difficult to perform. You can't get help from consumer court as well, in this situation. No one knows what can be done?" Read More
A new password every fortnightIn this report, Economictimes has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
The golden rule with regard to internet access is that you must change your password at least once in a fortnight and as far as possible, you must change the password once your employee does not continue his business relationship with you. This is necessary so as to prevent misuse of username and password. The potential loss that can be caused by misuse of username and password is immense. Read More
Courting Cyber Law, But Only Up To A PointThe Financial Express in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Successful e-commerce requires e-payments infrastructure. The law is silent on e-payments,” says Cyber laws expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal.
There also has not been any perceptible progress on the e-governance front. “Electronic filing with the government is possible only when the government specifies the format. That has not been done so far,” says Duggal.
Privacy and security of the data pertaining to the e-consumer, an issue which has not been addressed by the law; Protection for intellectual property rights of companies who get into e-commerce; legal recognition of and penalties for cyber terrorism.” Read More
Digitize documents and store online to ensure their safetyThe Live Mint has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“There are legal issues pertaining to jurisdiction and security of the documents or electronic data. So before signing up you should go through the terms and conditions to have a clear idea of where the storage of document is happening, what are the security mechanisms that the company is adopting and what are the redress mechanisms available in the event of a dispute with the provider.” Read More
Cyber crime needs global solution
IT Web in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Nations are in denial," Indian cyber law expert Pavan Duggal told Reuters, saying national legislation was of limited use in protecting users of a borderless communications tool.
"It may take a big shock of an event to wake people out of their complacency, something equal to a 9/11 in cyberspace," he said referring to the 2001 coordinated attacks on US cities.”
Complacency was also a problem, delegates said. "Nations take for granted the Internet is going to be 'on' for the rest of our lives. It may not necessarily be so," said Duggal.” Read More
Right to CopyIn this report, Digital Today has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Yahoo! is definitely on the wrong side of the law since content that is posted on a blog is seen as original and copyright-protected by the owner. At the same time, Yahoo! could also be liable as a network service provider in this case," says Pawan Duggal, Managing Partner at Pawan Duggal Associates and a specialist in technology and intellectual property law.
"The punishment for copyright violation is harsh, so companies may tread carefully," adds Duggal, who will litigate on six cases of alleged copyright violation over the next few months." Read More
Bill To Protect Indian Musicians, Change Copyright Act MootedThe Medianama in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"The bill has received approval from the union cabinet but it is yet to go through the parliament, which could happen by Budget session. It will still not come into effect until it receives the President’s assent and is published in the official gazette. “This could happen in two months,” said Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of Delhi and President, Cyberlaws.net.
Duggal believes the law will make people far more cautious and careful about rights and we can expect more litigation in the industry. Currently, most of the litigations in India are against record label (publishers) companies." Read More
World Wide WebThe Outlook India in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate and cyber law consultant, says: "There's no law—not even for data protection—that actually deters people from misusing credit cards. The risk is far greater here."
Says Duggal: "Credit card payments are a matter of contractual law between the concerned parties. Even the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, haven't been tested practically. Convincing the police to act under those provisions is a challenge in itself. Plus, card companies simply wash their hands of cases involving big amounts." And the user is the worst-hit. Over 35 per cent of card users in India may have faced card abuse, Duggal says. And prudence and precaution alone can save them." Read More
India Responds to Growing Concerns Over Data SecurityThe Outsourcing-Center has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"Pavan Duggal, one of India’s eminent cyber law experts and Supreme Court advocate, says there have been numerous cases like this in the recent past. “I’m afraid that this is just the tip of the iceberg. In India, there are far more incidents that are happening than have been reported. India must ensure better safeguards” he says.
“The IT Act 2000 has provisions to protect data that comes from overseas, but to say that it’s enough would be a fallacy. It is not comprehensive, to say the least. We [India] must provide effective and comprehensive safeguards against data theft.”
“I agree that certifications are good to garner more business and it makes US or UK-based clients happy. But it is important to note that despite compliance of these foreign laws, there is no provision in Indian law that provides remedies if there is a data breach in India.” In fact, says Duggal, “There are hardly any laws enacted by parliament with outsourcing in mind.” Read More
High alert, little alarmTelegraph India in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The Information Technology Act alone cannot give that confidence. The government should show urgency in making data protection an important part of the act.” Read More
A case against censorshipThe Hindu Businessline in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Noted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal says pre-publication crackdown is difficult, even unwarranted and, instead, efforts should be made to strengthen the existing IT laws. That includes making majority of the cyber crimes non-bailable and amending and tweaking the legislation to keep pace with emerging platforms and newer devices.
In the case of social media, players need to be given a clear picture of examples of online defamation. The issue is not to give the discretion to the service provider to determine whether or not something is defamatory, but to let the government come up with illustrations.” Read More
Parents police social networking sitesIn this report The Nerve has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
“According to cyber crime expert and supreme court advocate Pavan Duggal, youngsters are becoming more susceptible to crimes over social networking sites.
Duggal told IANS: 'Youths are becoming more and more susceptible to committing cyber crimes via social networking. The quantum of such crimes reported is very low -- for every 500 cases that occur, 20 are reported and only one is registered with an FIR -. These are conservative figures.” Read More
Hackers playing havoc with e-mail accountsThe Nerve in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"However, noted cyber crime lawyer Pavan Duggal said tracking a hacker or cyber criminal is not difficult, as technology has advanced.
'It is not very hard to track the hacker or cyber criminal. The technology is so advanced, which can catch them in hours, but our police remains to be seven times behind those criminals,' Duggal said." Read More
Bid to block anti-India website affects usersThe Hindu has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"The inherent sovereign power of the Government to block can hardly ever be denied. However, when the Government embarks upon the process of blocking, it is absolutely imperative that it must follow those procedures and norms that cause least discomfort or harm to the entire netizen community. This appears to be the first case where blocking of a particular website or sub-group has had the ramification of causing inconvenience to the netizens in the sense of depriving them of access to legal groups, other than the blocked URL,"
Mr. Duggal says that legally speaking; there are a couple of grey areas. The February notification setting up CERT-In has been issued under Section 67 and Section 88. Neither Section empowers the Government to create such an authority. Therefore, the constitution of CERT-In is of no legal significance and may not be upheld in a court of law. "I am not saying that the Government does not have the power at all to block or create CERT-In. However, surely the power does not lie in these provisions." Read More
Web hosting cos are liable for any damage to your siteEconomictimes in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Since a network service provider has been made responsible for all third party data made available by him, he has to be very careful. He can disclaim his liability for the third party information if he is in a position to prove that he had no knowledge of any contravention of the law or that despite the exercise of all due diligence, he could not prevent the commission of any offence under the law. The concept of due diligence envisaged by the law is indeed vast and includes within its ambit, very little exceptions.
All that I can say is that these service providers adopt such an attitude at their own peril and cost. This is so because they have been straddling various obligations under the Indian cyberlaw, which treats them as intermediaries.” Read More
Social media defamation rules: People have to be careful about what they post on social media websitesIn this report, Economictimes has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Social media is unfolding a paradigm shift since everybody is now a broadcaster. This increases the risk of defamation for users without them even being aware of it," Read More
The need for global cooperation on cyber securityThe Net-Security in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Nations take for granted the Internet is going to be 'on' for the rest of our lives. It may not necessarily be so," says cyber law expert Pavan Duggal. A disruption in service that would last days or weeks would create havoc with online businesses. "People have realize the Internet is an integral part of every country, politically, socially and business-wise," he says, and because of this it's important not to ignore the issue of cyber security.” Read More
Sent a terror mail to Prez? Pay Rs 2,000 & get awayIn this report, Seclists has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Unlike India, the US government undertook a series of legislations against cyber terrorism after 9/11 including the Patriot Act. However, the 13/12 attacks, which happened just after the September 11-crash did not awake the Indian government despite knowing that e-mails were used as a mode of communication," Read More
Experts deny ban on video conferencingThe Deccan Herald in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The Information Technology Act does not ban any one from reading a banned book, it also does not specifically talk of video-conferencing.
“The book concerned is banned under the Customs Act. The IT Act is clear that in the event of a conflict between the two, the IT Act will prevail. The government can shut down the website as technically it has power under section 69-A of the Act enabling it to directly blocking of any content citing public order.” Read More
India at war with Internet pornThe Asia Times has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"According to cyber-law expert Pawan Duggal, the Information Technology Act 2000 lacks the necessary teeth to deal with the growing number of cyber-crimes. "I believe that 2005 is going to be the year of broadband in India. We will see a rise in broadband services and connectivity, just like the cable-TV industry boomed in the earlier '90s," Duggal said. "However, there might be some major legal challenges in this area too," he added. "The law needs to specify and amend its position on liability and culpability issues relating to content, violation of intellectual property rights, etc, in the converged broadband environment." Read More
Saving Private IndianThe Times of India in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Even though the apex court has reiterated the right to privacy as a part of right to life in various judgments, there is no real legal remedy for the individual. One can approach the courts under Article 21 if the violator is a government agency. But if the offender is a private entity, there is no effective legal remedy. The only option is to claim damages under the law of torts, which too is grey." Read More
Industrial espionage booming in corporate IndiaThe Jason Overdorf, Berlin has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"If you look at all the companies doing business in the electronic sector in India, the chances are that four out of 10 would invariably have faced or are facing such issues,"
"The perpetrators of unauthorized access of corporate data do it with impunity, knowing full well that the law is deficient and that it will take a long time for them to be prosecuted," said Duggal. Read More
When someone misuses official e-mail...The Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Privacy is one of the most important concepts with an invaluable role in ensuring human dignity in life. That is the reason why the law of privacy in many countries, especially in the West, is very developed. However, in our country, we still do not have distinct laws on privacy. The IT Act 2000 does not talk about privacy in the context of employers' surveillance of employees' email. It is true that the Supreme Court has held the right of privacy as an integral part of the fundamental right ..” Read More
Indian super-cops now patrol the www highwayIn this report, CIS-India has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
"The provisions hide more than what they disclose. Cosmetically, the new rules says that if you are an intermediary, then you shall not be liable for any third-party data, information or communication link made available or hosted by you. Provided, and this is crucial, you follow a number of stringent conditions."
Duggal says many intermediaries in India are not aware of these conditions. "An intermediary will not be liable for any third-party data made available or hosted by it, provided it complies with the law, exercises due diligence, does not abet, conspire or play an active role in a criminal activity and further, provided that once it is notified of any offending activity, removes or disables access of the said offending content expeditiously. If it fails to fulfil one of the conditions, it is open to criminal exposure and civil exposure upto unlimited damages by way of compensation." Read More
New content control rules leave netizens soreThe Mid-Day in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
The Information Technology (Due Diligence Observed by Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011
"It (the new rules) is in direct violation to the freedom of speech, which is a fundamental right and mentioned in article 19 of the constitution."
"The new rules say that intermediaries should remove such kind of objectionable items within 36 hours without informing the users. They have the right to remove any post on a blog or site, work with the user to correct the post or disable access to their services altogether," Read More
Regulations being introduced in RFIDThe Economic Times has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a method of remotely storing and retrieving data using devices called RFID tags/transponders. An RFID tag is a small object, such as an adhesive sticker, that can be attached to or incorporated into a product. RFID tags contain antennas that enable them to receive and respond to radio frequency queries from an RFID transceiver.” Read More
Hotmail not bound by order: expertsBusiness-Standard in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Though the High Court decision is welcome, the efficacy of the order will have to be seen.
"Hotmail will be governed under the US privacy laws which bans the companies to share subscriber information except when ordered by the US courts. It is yet to be seen how the order from an Indian court will be treated by the American company."
Duggal said that irrespective of the location of the subscriber as long as the email servers were located in the US, privacy laws would make it difficult for Hotmail to carry out the Court order.
Duggal, however, said that order opens up a debate over the need for having a global cyber law and interplay between local Court orders and various cyber laws in different countries." Read More
Outrage over India Yahoo banIn this report, BBC, South Asia has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Indian cyberlaw expert, Pawan Duggal, says the government is on very thin legal ground.
"The inherent sovereign power of the government to block can never be denied,"
"But the route they have taken is completely illegal and will be struck down if challenged in court."
"With this action the government has opened a huge Pandora's box." Read More
Protected systems and networksThe Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Section 70 of the Information Technology Act is the only provision in the Indian cyberlaw, which deals with the issue of protected system. The definitional clause under Section 2 of the IT Act 2000 does not define a "protected system".
Under Section 70, the appropriate government — whether Central or state — has the discretion to declare any computer, computer system or computer network as a protected system. But section 70 does not define a protected system or any parameters or standards which will enable the appropriate government to declare a computer system or a network to be a protected system.” Read More
Chinese cyber crawlers hack Indian Govt sitesIBN Live has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"India as such doesn't have any concrete laws for cyber security and we need a Government policy to prevent hacking," says cyber law expert, Pawan Duggal. Read More
Government wants to read your GmailNDTV in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Incidentally, New Delhi-based cyber law expert Pawan Duggal said that the 2008 amendment to the Information Technology Act, 2000, is draconian as it gives the government carte blanche to do whatever it feels like.
Threat to public order could mean just about anything, even something very minor, since it is not clearly defined," said Duggal.
If the service provider's servers are physically located abroad, it will depend on the ruling government's political will to enforce Indian laws," Duggal added.” Read More
Cell phone tracking-Security vs PrivacyIn this report, vickynanjappa.com has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
“This according to IT law expert Pavan Duggal has huge loop holes because the checks and balances are not in place. There are rules but they are just not adequate and we need far more accountability and transparency when we speak of cell phone monitoring.
We need an interpretation of this by the judiciary. Ultimately when we speak of convergence of information-audio, video, image or text we need more clarity of these norms.” Read More
The perils of snooping on cell phonesThe Rediff in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“As per the information technology amendment, the powers to intercept, decrypt and monitor cell phones has been given to the central and state governments. This, according to IT law expert Pavan Duggal, has huge loopholes because the checks and balances are not in place.
This also provided an element of partiality, Duggal points out.” Read More
No, it violates fundamental rightsThe Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The Supreme Court, in various judgements, has held that right to privacy is a part of the right to "life" and "personal liberty" enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution. In the case of PUCL v/s Union of India, the Court held that the right to privacy would certainly include telephone conversation in the privacy of one's home or office. Phone tapping would, thus, infract Article 21 of the Constitution unless it is permitted under the procedure established by law.” Read More
When Net is grossThe Telegraph India has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“Cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal points out that a person can be punished for three years if he or she sends a message “by means of a computer resource or a communication device, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will.
We don’t want to get mired in long legal proceedings. Our intentions are good and we want the problem to be solved at the earliest.” Read More
National panel needed to tackle cyber crime
SME Times in this report, has quoted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Cyber secrecy and network security are extremely relevant in today's context.
Both the requirements of national sovereign government as those of balancing the needs of data protection and privacy have to be appropriately addressed.” Read More
Target archaic laws, not individuals, say IT companiesThe Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
According to the law, explains Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal, if there is contravention by a company, the person "running the company" is held liable. The management has two exit routes: either claim to have no knowledge of the contravention or submit that it took place despite exercise of due diligence. "The law is currently vague and it needs to specify what 'knowledge' means as well as parameters of due diligence. Since the IT industry has different requirements, the laws need to be sensitive to it or it will hamper the growth of the industry," Mr Duggal added. Read More
India lags in Cybercrime insuranceRediff has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“It's time for insurance companies to provide thought leadership in this space,"
For every 500 cybercrimes that take place, only 50 are reported; just one cybercrime is registered with the police and a cyber criminal is rarely caught, said Duggal.” Read More
Indian Government to Clarify Data Privacy Rules Affecting OutsourcingLawwithoutborders in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
The current rules, which came into force in April, do not make a distinction between Indian outsourcers and their customers abroad, and it would appear that customers abroad will also have to follow the stipulated procedures for the collection of personal data, including seeking written approval from the individuals from whom they collect the data, said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court. Read More
India Exempts Outsourcers From New Privacy RulesPCworld in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
The preferential treatment provided to a section of companies, the outsourcers, could, however, be struck down in court, said Pavan Duggal, a cyberlaw consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court.
The clarification has not been issued under any provision of the country's IT Act, and in fact violates the spirit of the IT Act, which does not limit the jurisdiction of its laws to companies within India, Duggal said. The clarification is also vague and could lead to a variety of companies claiming to be exempt from the personal data rules, he added. Read More
Tangled WebIn this report, CIS-INDIA has cited cyber crime expert Pavan Duggal as under:-
"These are very broad terms which have not been defined very well," said Duggal. "The service provider is not even required to come to a judgment. Only after they receive a complaint or are notified by the government can they act."
"In the IT Act there is not a single phrase which requires pre-screening or moderation under the law," said Duggal. Read More
Licence to shootThe Indian express in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
In India, unfortunately, we do not yet have a dedicated law on privacy. The Supreme Court, in various cases including the famous PUCL Telephone Tapping case, has held that the fundamental right to life in Article 21 of the Constitution of India does include the right to privacy. However, this right is only applicable against state action and does not include within its ambit breach of privacy by private individuals.
Today, an affected person has no remedy against use of hidden cameras. The IT Act 2000 does not touch the issue of breach of privacy in the electronic medium. However, publishing, transmitting and causing to be published obscene electronic information, including output of digital cameras and mobile phones, is punishable under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.” Read More
Online woes: Inappropriate status messages may land you in jail!The Economictimes has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"One can also take a print out or screenshot of a Twitter or Facebook post and can use it in any court proceedings either against or for you. Cases where social interactions on internet are used as evidence will only rise in the near future in India," says cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal.” Read More
Police ignorance bliss for cyber criminalsHighbeam Business in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
Cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal said: "Despite an offence involving infringement of electronic data, police have not invoked the requisite Section 66 of the Information and Technology (IT) Act."
Delving further into the issue Duggal said it is high time for our investigating agencies to prepare rock solid cases against people involved in cyber crimes. Read More
Offshore Outsourcing to India by U.S. and E.U. Companies Legal and Cross-Cultural Issues that Affect Data Privacy Regulation in Business Process OutsourcingBusiness Law Journal in this report has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, an Indian cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate, has argued strenuously that India should adopt stringent cyber laws for preservation of confidentiality and strict punishment for cyber crimes. Duggal emphasized that, until a tighter data protection legal regime is in place in India, foreign customers can only rely on contractual obligations for protecting and preserving data.” Read More
Spamming isn’t a legal offence in IndiaThe Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
As per this service, mobile users can send text messages to each other across the rival networks. However, this facility has become a cause of concern about SMS spam among the users. The new code provides that promotional short messages can be sent only with the prior approval of the subscribers. If spamming is reported, the operator may block the short message service of the sender, if the circumstances so desire. In the coming times, I feel that SMS spam is going to emerge, as a big headache for users and governments would have to legally regulate the same. Read More
Phishing in people's accountsThe Cyber Crime Planet India has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
Phishing and phishers may be keeping banks on high alert but the law is lagging far behind. Cyber Law expert, Pawan Duggal explains, 'Phishing is not an offence that is specifically defined under the IT Act, 2000. The law enforcement authorities are keen if at all to report and register a case under the typical generic provisions of cheating and criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code, IPC.'
Duggal says, 'One of the biggest problems in phishing is how do you go ahead and arrest these kind of offenders. If you look at the law book, it gives you an academic answer. The IT Act, 2000 has extra-territorial jurisdiction and it applies to any person of any nationality anywhere in the world - so long as the impacted computer is physically located in India. But having said that, the reality is that the Indian law is still not applicable to people outside the territorial boundaries. Therefore, the law enforcement agencies reach a dead end.' Read More
India's New IT Law Increases Surveillance PowersCIO in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The onus of proving that the intermediary has not shown due diligence, or that the offense or contravention was done with the connivance of the intermediary, now shifts to the individual complainant, said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court, in an interview earlier this year.
The amendment blocks out effective remedies for ordinary users, as they will not have access to records of the intermediary, and will never be able to prove that the intermediary conspired or abetted in the commission of an offense, Duggal added.
The new IT Act is also lacking in the area of data confidentiality and personal privacy, Duggal said.” Read More
Desi Hackers Join Indian Cyber ArmyIn this report, News Chauthiduniya has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Even if the offense is done on a computer on foreign soil, it is punishable under Indian laws,” says cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal, adding that the IT Act will have to be changed for “patriotic stealth operations”. Read More
Rs 20,000 cr to be spent on fast-tracking courts: MoilyBusiness-Standard in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert, said, “Technological upgrade is the key to realise this mission and may take four to five years.” When asked about how pendency of cases impacts the economy of the country, Duggal said it was difficult and in some cases could not be quantified in money terms. “But it certainly can run into billions of dollars as far as the country’s economy is concerned,” he added. Read More
Dark deeds remain in the darkThe Hindu Businessline has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"Although the law came into operation on October 17, 2000, it still has an element of mystery around it. Not only from the perception of the common man, but also from the perception of lawyers, law enforcing agencies and even the judiciary," says Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court lawyer who specialises in cyber laws.
Duggal says the prime reason for this is the fact that the IT Act is a set of technical laws. "By nature, we prefer to stay away from technicalities," he says. Another major hurdle is the reluctance on the part of companies to report the instances of cyber crimes, as they don't want to get negative publicity or worse get entangled in legal proceedings.
"We had a problem not with the law but with the attitude. In the last three years we have actually seen an under reporting of cyber crime cases," Duggal says. Read More
Technological beasts like Facebook, Orkut, YouTube & Google impossible to control
CIS-India in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The country has not been running without cyber laws. So why invent new ones for the social media? "Rules are already in place, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Information Technology Rules, 2011, which allow anyone, including the government, to take a legal recourse," says Pawan Duggal, advocate in the Supreme Court of India and a cyber law expert.
Duggal says that web hosts can be prosecuted if they create unlawful content, incite and encourage unlawful activities, or fail to remove illegal content despite it being brought to their notice. So why does the government suddenly want more rules for them?” Read More
Spy Game: India readies cyber army to hack into hostile nations' computer systemsIn this report, The Economic Times has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
"Even if the offense is done on a computer on foreign soil, it is punishable under Indian laws," says cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal, adding that the IT Act will have to be changed for "patriotic stealth operations". Read More
IT draft law deletes ‘‘hacking’’ in IndiaIndian Express in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
‘‘But where is the data protection law? The Committee has diluted punishments, deleted the very word ‘‘hacking’’ from the IT Act and given the government sweeping powers to intercept cyber networks,’’ says IT lawyer Pavan Duggal.
‘‘By reducing the punishment, though the fine has increased, the government is sending the signal: ‘Please go ahead and hack’,’’ says Duggal. Read More
New law will let govt snoop on your PCThe Digit has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
Calling the bill "a hurried reaction", Duggal said, "The potential for misuse of these powers stipulated by the bill for political gains can’t be ruled out."
There also appears to be no effective remedy or mechanism to appeal against unauthorised interception, Duggal said. "Once it becomes law, the government will have sovereign and blanket power to intercept or peep into any electronic communication of even legitimate citizens. Because the bill states that safeguards would be stipulated at a later date, it would clamp down on civil liberties right away. While we are concerned about national security, we don’t want these interception mechanisms to become a handle for misuse," he added. Read More
When those SMSes just don't stopIntoday in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
"According to the IT Rules 2011, service providers are now bound to act on a woman's complaint irrespective of the number being used by the stalker. They can no more pass the buck to the stalker's service provider," says Duggal. Read More
Corporate espionage on the rise; Companies spy on employees & themselvesThe Economic Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
If there is so much of espionage and subterfuge happening in Indian business, how is it that most people don't are not aware of it? "Things don't come out in the open because both parties don't want things to come out in the newspapers," says Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate specialising in digital law. "Once the respective managements find out, a negation process begins and a settlement takes place.
"He was very fond of his communication device and had sent it for repair. The vendor installed software which recorded every call made and received and forwarded every email to another ID," says Duggal. "The problem is...how do you prove it?" Read More
IT Act makes life difficult for cyber-terroristsIn this report, Business-Standard has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
“seen a lot of progressive, proactive action by the government after 26/11”. He adds that the IT Act has given the “widest possible known legal definition”. It has made acts of cyber-terrorism punishable with life imprisonment and a fine (not specified). “Every computer system, network, resource and communication device is now covered by the Act. This will surely act as a deterrent to cyber-terrorism,” says Duggal.
Duggal, however, highlights a few concern areas. “Not a single case of cyber-terrorism has been reported till date. There has, of course, been no conviction too. Cyber-terrorism can’t be fought by one single provision. We need secondary legislation too.” Read More
Cyberlaw In India: The Information Technology Act 2000 - Some PerspectivesThe Mondaq in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
All said and done, The Information Technology Act,2000 is a great achievement and a remarkable step ahead in the right direction. The IT Act is a first step taken by the Government of India towards promoting the growth of electronic commerce so that Electronic Commerce in India can leap frog to success. Despite all its failings, it is a first historical step. The other steps have to follow. Read More
India poised to tighten data protection lawThe Computer Weekly has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"It is becoming extremely important for India to have in place a distinctive legal regime promoting data protection," said Pavan Duggal, a Delhi-based cyber law consultant. "This is necessary to create appropriate confidence among investors and foreign companies to the effect that the data they send to India for back-office operations is indeed safe, and there are appropriate statutory mechanisms in place should a breach of data take place." Read more
Cyber cafes and security problemsDeccan Herald in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
With the current generation of the Indian netizen population becoming extremely conscious of their privacy, the said proposal of the Mumbai police is likely to be not popular and is further likely to receive opposition from the cyber cafe industry. This is so as such proposals are likely to increase the costs of compliance for cyber cafe owners who are already operating on thin margins.
The Government is required to work out a fine balance between the interest of the State and the protection of the fundamental freedoms and rights of citizens. Clearly there are legal challenges in moving ahead. It will be interesting to see how the Government seeks to achieve this balance. Read More
‘The Indian Cyber Criminal Is Amongst The Best Brains In The World’In this report Financial Express, SME times has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
“The level of cyber crime in India is pretty evolved. Various mature level cyber crimes occurred in India at a much earlier point of time than their respective emergence in West-ern countries. The Indian cyber criminal is very mature and sharp and can be counted amongst the best criminal brains of the world.
The various Indian agencies tackling e-crime are trying to go their own way. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is doing its own bit, the National Police Academy is also trying to work on some standards concerning cyber.” Read More
India at war with Internet pornThe Asia Times in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“According to cyber-law expert Pawan Duggal, the Information Technology Act 2000 lacks the necessary teeth to deal with the growing number of cyber-crimes. "I believe that 2005 is going to be the year of broadband in India. We will see a rise in broadband services and connectivity, just like the cable-TV industry boomed in the earlier '90s," Duggal said. "However, there might be some major legal challenges in this area too," he added. "The law needs to specify and amend its position on liability and culpability issues relating to content, violation of intellectual property rights, etc, in the converged broadband environment." Read More
Don't hit delete! That Hotmail from the Prime Minister may be for realThe Age has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
“It's a recipe for disaster,” said Pawan Duggal, a New Delhi lawyer who argues information-technology cases before India's Supreme Court. “It's really quite amazing that, as a nation, we haven't yet woken up to the idea that sensitive government information should be shared through secure channels, not Hotmail or Yahoo.” Read More
Only import of book prohibited, say legal expertsThe Hindu in this report, has excerpted leading cyber law Advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
“Supreme Court lawyer and cyber-law expert Pavan Duggal also said downloading the book is not a crime. “When you download content off the internet, you come under the Information Technology Act,” he said, “which overrides any other law in this regard.” Read More
Facebook, Google, others summonedIn this report, Live Mint has cited Pavan Duggal as under:-
Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert and Supreme Court lawyer, said that under the IT Act, intermediaries such as Google have to act within 36 hours of receiving a complaint or a notification from the government after which the matter can be taken to a court of law.
“This is what has happened in this case as the companies did not act upon the government’s notice,” he said.
“The argument that just because these companies are intermediaries and can’t vet the content before it’s posted, and so they are above the law of the land doesn’t hold water,” Duggal added. Read More
India Responds to Growing Concerns Over Data SecurityThe Outsourcing-Center has quoted the eminent cyber law expert in the country Pavan Duggal in this report as under:-
"The Outsourcing-Center in this report, has excerpted leading cyberlaw expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal as under:-
Pavan Duggal, one of India’s eminent cyber law experts and Supreme Court advocate, says there have been numerous cases like this in the recent past. “I’m afraid that this is just the tip of the iceberg. In India, there are far more incidents that are happening than have been reported. India must ensure better safeguards” he says." Read More
War of words on the InternetIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"PTI quoted unnamed defence ministry officials as saying there was an urgent need to have an Internet policy to counter such attacks, but in August an Indian Supreme Court lawyer, Pavan Duggal, told PTI that India was "totally ill-equipped to tackle the onslaught of cyber-crimes". Read More
Government plays bigbrother.comIn this report, Pavan Duggal stated as under:-
"Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate who has launched the first online cyber law consultancy in India, says: "The exceptionally harsh provision has no parallel in the world and amounts to over legislating the internet industry like in Malaysia. Who, for instance, will decide and how that a person was about to commit a cyber-crime?'' Read More
Courting Cyber Law, But Only Up To A PointIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Successful e-commerce requires e-payments infrastructure. The law is silent on e-payments, says Cyber laws expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal.
There also has not been any perceptible progress on the e-governance front. Electronic filing with the government is possible only when the government specifies the format. That has not been done so far, says Duggal.
Many analysts have however questioned the efficacy of these laws. Not many cases have been registered and not a single case has been decided so far, says Duggal, who has also authored a book on the subject.” Read More
Dark deeds remain in the darkPavan Duggal has been quoted in this report as under:-
“Although the law came into operation on October 17, 2000, it still has an element of mystery around it. Not only from the perception of the common man, but also from the perception of lawyers, law enforcing agencies and even the judiciary," says Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court lawyer who specialises in cyber laws.
Duggal says the prime reason for this is the fact that the IT Act is a set of technical laws. "By nature, we prefer to stay away from technicalities," he says.
"We had a problem not with the law but with the attitude. In the last three years we have actually seen an under reporting of cyber-crime cases," Duggal says.
"We have made progress. We have actually seen crystallisation of public opinion and the awareness has been rising about cyber law and cyber-crime," says Duggal.
"It is very difficult to get bails under the IT Act because of the extent of media attention on such cases The Media almost conducts a parallel trail," Duggal points out.” Read More
Outrage over India Yahoo banIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Indian cyber law expert, Pavan Duggal, says the government is on very thin legal ground.
"The inherent sovereign power of the government to block can never be denied," he told BBC News Online.
"But the route they have taken is completely illegal and will be struck down if challenged in court." Read More
Software crimes, easy getawaysIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"The reason is that the Government issued the notification for appointing adjudicating officers only this March. Only after that was a real forum for seeking damage created," says advocate Pavan Duggal, an expert in cyber laws.As per Duggal, the case was resolved after the source code was returned. "The company didn't get the two persons convicted fearing negative publicity," adds he.” Read More
How secure are India's call centres?In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"This is a wakeup call for the business outsourcing industry. We ignore this at our own peril," says cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal.
Pavan Duggal says he carried out a survey two months ago which revealed that only 50 out of 500 cases of cyber-crimes in India get reported to the police. Read More
High alert, little alarmIn this report, Pavan Duggal shares his views as under:-
Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert, said: “The Information Technology Act alone cannot give that confidence. The government should show urgency in making data protection an important part of the act.” Read More
Legalise porn?"Yes," says Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert, "it's time to kick up a debate whether porn should be legalised or not." And why not? Asks novelist Shobhaa De. "People all over the world have learnt to live with it; it's high time we Indians -- especially celebs -- need to do the same." Read More
IT draft law deletes ‘‘hacking’’ in IndiaIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“But where is the data protection law? The Committee has diluted punishments, deleted the very word ‘‘hacking’’ from the IT Act and given the government sweeping powers to intercept cyber networks,’’ says IT lawyer Pavan Duggal.
‘‘By reducing the punishment, though the fine has increased, the government is sending the signal: ‘Please go ahead and hack’,’’ says Duggal.
‘These words will make the task of punishing people like Karan Bahree even more difficult. If it is proved that I introduced a harmful virus into a network, I should be punishable by law. Why should anyone have to prove that I was ‘dishonest’ and ‘fraudulent’ as well... The offence speaks for itself,’’ explains Duggal.
If your e-mail account is hacked, only your e-mail service provider will be able to file a case for redressal. An ordinary citizen will be rendered remediless, he adds.” Read More
Cyber-crime comes of age as foreign plugs sell secretsIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“According to Supreme Court advocate and cyber law expert Pavan Duggal, the crime in this case is therefore "both of hacking (covered by section 66 of the IT Act) and of breach of trust, because an exclusive contract was broken (covered under section 72 of the IT Act and 406, 409 and 120b of the IPC)." Read More
BPOs may not be held liable for data theftIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“With no data protection laws in the country, the move raised serious accountability issues in the industry, said cyber law expert Pavan Duggal.
"The decision will spell disaster for the sunrise industry as dilution of the law will not provide any safeguard to foreign clients against data theft or other such violations," Duggal said.” Read More
Cyber hurdles galore as amendments elude IT ActIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The proposed amendments to the IT Act have been prepared, but nothing has moved afterwards. So, even today charges are framed under Section 66 (hacking) and Section 43 (ground for seeking damage), which are not directly related to data protection and security,” Pavan Duggal, cyber-crime lawyer in the Supreme Court told Deccan Herald.” Read More
Sent a terror mail to Prez? Pay Rs 2,000 & get awayIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Unlike India, the US government undertook a series of legislations against cyber terrorism after 9/11 including the Patriot Act. However, the 13/12 attacks, which happened just after the September 11-crash did not awake the Indian government despite knowing that e-mails were used as a mode of communication," cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said.” Read More
Google gets court notice for hate group on friendship siteIn this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views with DNA as under:-
“In this case, one would have to invoke section 65 of the IT Act, terming Google a network service provider and making it liable for all third party issues.
“We don’t have a national policy against hate speech,” cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said. “It would be interesting to know how the case develops over jurisdictions that cross national boundaries.” Read More
Regulatory compliance to drive the next wave of its investment in IndiaIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Elaborating on the emerging significance of regulatory compliance, Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, and a leading cyber law expert said “Multiple regulations today define and govern the way business is done worldwide. Fines, penalties, and worst of all; loss of reputation for non-compliance, are driving companies to address compliance as a serious issue. India’s increasing prominence in the global business landscape compels Indian organizations to assess the legal implications of many such regulations. From a legal perspective, data integrity is of prime importance, and organizations need to immediately evaluate their information management and protection strategies and consider partnering with specialists like EMC who offer the right solutions and expertise to help companies deal with compliance.” Read More
Phishing in people's accountsIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Phishing and phishers may be keeping banks on high alert but the law is lagging far behind. Cyber Law expert, Pavan Duggal explains, 'Phishing is not an offence that is specifically defined under the IT Act, 2000. The law enforcement authorities are keen if at all to report and register a case under the typical generic provisions of cheating and criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code, IPC.
Duggal says, 'One of the biggest problems in phishing is how do you go ahead and arrest these kind of offenders. If you look at the law book, it gives you an academic answer. The IT Act, 2000 has extra-territorial jurisdiction and it applies to any person of any nationality anywhere in the world - so long as the impacted computer is physically located in India. But having said that, the reality is that the Indian law is still not applicable to people outside the territorial boundaries. Therefore, the law enforcement agencies reach a dead end.'” Read More
Hacker's Hacking - The Game Of IntelligenceIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Mr Pavan Duggal described about some clauses and sections of Information Security Act, and asked peoples who lost their money, can claim up to 10 Million INR. But you have to prove it in the court of law, which is almost very difficult to perform. You can't get help from consumer court as well, in this situation. No one knows what can be done?” Read More
Right to CopyIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Yahoo! is definitely on the wrong side of the law since content that is posted on a blog is seen as original and copyright-protected by the owner. At the same time, Yahoo! could also be liable as a network service provider in this case," says Pavan Duggal, Managing Partner at Pavan Duggal Associates and a specialist in technology and intellectual property law.”
Inside the mind of a cyber stalkerIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber-crime specialist Pavan Duggal says, "The hesitation of the victim to report such cases is an impediment. Lack of a political will and deterrent mechanism are also hold-ups. The stalker is a pro and obliterates all electronic evidence against him.” Read More
Orkut bows to Mayawati, deletes fake profileIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“These excesses on social networking sites are not covered under Information Technology Act," Pavan Duggal, a legal expert, said.” Read More
2344 websites hacked in first half of this year: CERT-In"Phishing incidents cannot be eliminated completely but FIRs should be filed by the victim organisation or institution and it should be made a penal offence, Cyber law expert, Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal said.
Class action suits to be codified in company lawIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Noted lawyer Pavan Duggal said companies will have to start preparing for similar class actions suits in India and set aside funds for meeting any eventualities. “Tobacco, alcohol, drug firms and InfoTech companies face a high risk for class action,” he said.” Read More
Chinese cyber crawlers hack Indian Government sitesIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“India as such doesn't have any concrete laws for cyber security and we need a Government policy to prevent hacking," says cyber law expert, Pavan Duggal.” Read More
Plastic money users beware, cloning on riseIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
According to Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer specialising in cyber-crime, there is also a need for more stringent IT laws. "At present, such an act is not treated as a direct offence. The quantum of damages are inadequate too. The quantum of damages need to be increased from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore and the offence must be made a punishable offence with 5-7 years' prison term," he said.
"The government, financial institutions, the police and the user themselves must come together to spread awareness on this subject," he concluded.” Read More
The Electronic BilkIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber law specialist Pavan Duggal: "The IT Act is weak on privacy and doesn't deal with issues like making a breach of privacy a ground for criminal or civil complaint."
Worse, enforcement is a big question mark in India. Says Duggal: "Enforcement is probably the weakest links of the IT Act. There is no adequate training of the police or orientation of the judiciary and a citizen-friendly reporting mechanism is missing. With most police officers not proficient in computers, registration of cyber-crime remains at their whims." Read More
New law will let government snoop on your PCIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Calling the bill "a hurried reaction", Duggal said, "The potential for misuse of these powers stipulated by the bill for political gains can't be ruled out."
There also appears to be no effective remedy or mechanism to appeal against unauthorised interception, Duggal said. "Once it becomes law, the government will have sovereign and blanket power to intercept or peep into any electronic communication of even legitimate citizens. Because the bill states that safeguards would be stipulated at a later date, it would clamp down on civil liberties right away. While we are concerned about national security, we don't want these interception mechanisms to become a handle for misuse," he added.
"There has to be a proper balance between contradictory subjects of interception and privacy. So safeguards are critical," the expert said.” Read More
Online armiesIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The Act makes no reference to the multi-jurisdictional issues involved when the attack is from another country, and makes all cyber-crimes bailable offences, allowing our illustrious hacker to go home to delete all evidence of his crimes. "A toothless tiger," is what Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert calls it.” Read More
India Bans Posting Private Sex Tapes on InternetIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"It has damaged their reputation for their lifetime. Men in India do not want wives who have do****ented sexual pasts," said Pavan Duggal, an expert in cyber-law. "Indians do a lot of video voyeurism because it is forging ahead in technology, but society's values have not changed as fast. People do not know where the boundaries are." The new law and its tough punishment – 500,000 rupees is equivalent to what an Indian graduate might earn in two and a half years – has been welcomed by women's rights campaigners. But according to Mr Duggal, the new act is a "toothless tiger" which will automatically grant bail to those charged, giving them time to erase the incriminating evidence. "We have had only three convictions for cyber-crimes in India in 14 years. We have no privacy laws for people or data. We need far more stringent measures," he said.
"The new law does not recognise that the victim's privacy has been violated. It allows the accused out on bail where he will delete the data. It does not recognise the irreparable damage caused to the girl's reputation. It does not understand what goes on in private homes needs to be kept private. That's a fundamental flaw," said Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer specialising in cyber-crime in Delhi.” Read More
Cyber-convictionIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Conviction has happened only in four cases," Pawan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate and cyber law expert said.
"Azim was convicted by the court under various IPC sections of fraud. However, the court released him on probation for one year after it felt that that he was a young boy of 24 years and a first time convict," Duggal, who was the counsel in the case, said.
The Information Technology Act came into existence in 2000 in the country but has hardly helped in increasing the conviction rates, Duggal said.
"Till date a couple of 100 cases have been filed. Investigations are being done in many and in others, due to lack of evidence, no conclusion could be drawn," he said.
"A Pentecostal church priest and his son were imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 and one year rigorous imprisonment after they were found guilty of morphing, web-hosting and e-mailing nude pictures of one family," Duggal said.” Read More
Industry seeks more progressive amendments in IT ActIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal says there can’t be one standard definition for different entities and activities - online banking, online shopping and handling data at a BPO firm. “The law has to specify the cyber-crime according to the industry,” he says. Read More
Google India Says It Is Not Responsible for Parent CompanyIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"By and large intermediaries have been removed from liability," said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court, in an interview last week.
The onus of proving that the intermediary has not shown due diligence, or that the offense or contravention was done with the connivance of the intermediary now shifts to the individual complainant, Duggal added.
The amendment blocks out effective remedies for ordinary users, as they will not have access to records of the intermediary, and will never be able to prove that the intermediary conspired or abetted in the commission of an offense, Duggal added.” Read More
Government Bans Popular Toon Porn Site Savitabhabhi.com; Mounting Concern Over CensorshipIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The law could come to SavitaBhabhi’s rescue, according to Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert and an advocate at the Supreme Court of India. “Under Section 67 of the IT Act of 2000, publishing or transmitting obscene electronic information is punishable with up to five years’ imprisonment and Rs1 lakh in fine.
“It is a cultural cum legal issue. The courts will have to decide whether SavitaBhabhi is a lascivious site or not. Kamasutra and the sculptures of Khajuraho are far more explicit but not considered obscene. So they do have an argument,” Duggal said.” Read More
Parents police social networking sitesIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“According to cyber-crime expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal, youngsters are becoming more susceptible to crimes over social networking sites.
Duggal told IANS: 'Youths are becoming more and more susceptible to committing cyber-crimes via social networking. The quantum of such crimes reported is very low - for every 500 cases that occur, 20 are reported and only one is registered with an FIR -. These are conservative figures.'
He added: 'Youngsters are using anonymity for committing crimes like impersonation, identity theft, cyber stalking, defamation, misusing credit card information and harassment. Such sites are also conduits for piracy and a wonderful opportunity for blackmailing.” Read More
Police ignorance bliss for cyber criminals.In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal said: "Despite an offence involving infringement of electronic data, police have not invoked the requisite Section 66 of the Information and Technology (IT) Act."
Delving further into the issue Duggal said it is high time for our investigating agencies to prepare rock solid cases against people involved in cyber-crimes.” Read More
Impersonating on Twitter? It's illegal!In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“So, can a court serve notice on an anonymous person through a networking site or on e-mail? Does this also make the site a party to the crime? “There are instances where an Indian court has served a legal notice through the electronic format,” says Pavan Duggal, one of the few cyber law experts in India.
Given the popularity of Twitter (there are over 2.6 million Twitter users in India), legal experts in India and abroad are working on a “Twitter Law” to deal with issues that users are likely to face. “The law would deal with areas relating to privacy issues, and twitter crimes,” says Duggal.” Read More
Bill To Protect Indian Musicians, Change Copyright Act MootedIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The bill has received approval from the union cabinet but it is yet to go through the parliament, which could happen by Budget session. It will still not come into effect until it receives the President’s assent and is published in the official gazette. “This could happen in two months,” said Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of Delhi and President, Cyberlaws.net.
Duggal says many developing countries have not signed the Internet treaties as they are called. Cause? Lack of political will. “It is a political question, the government has to decide if it should sign the treaty. The advantages are that India will receive far more information exchange and reciprocity from other members of WIPO. Some governments choose to sign the treaty and then amend their domestic laws, others do it in reverse,” he said.” Read More
Delhiites reject full body scannersIn this report, Pavan Duggal stated as under:-
“According to the Information and Technology Act 2000, taking digital naked pictures of a person without his or her consent is a serious offence,” leading IT and cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said. He also expressed concern that the staff manning these scanners would have to be carefully chosen, as the images could find their way to the internet, if not regulated.” Read More
Online woes: Inappropriate status messages may land you in jail!In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“UK-based Divorce-online last month said that 20% of all divorce petitions it is handling currently contain references to Facebook status messages. "One can also take a print out or screenshot of a Twitter or Facebook post and can use it in any court proceedings either against or for you. Cases where social interactions on internet are used as evidence will only rise in the near future in India," says cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal.” Read More
The need for global cooperation on cyber security“Nations take for granted the Internet is going to be ‘on’ for the rest of our lives. It may not necessarily be so,” says cyber law expert Pavan Duggal. A disruption in service that would last days or weeks would create havoc with online businesses. “People have realize the Internet is an integral part of every country, politically, socially and business-wise,” he says, and because of this it’s important not to ignore the issue of cyber security.” Read More
Mobile phone tapping allegation disrupts Indian ParliamentIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The controversy highlights the need for the country to have legislation for the protection of individual privacy in the country's Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008, said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court.
While earlier telephone tapping was covered under the Indian Telegraph Act, which has laid down specific procedures for the authorization of telephone tapping, the tapping of mobile phones is now likely to be covered under the IT Act. This gives the government far more comprehensive powers for the interception, monitoring and blocking of electronic communications, Duggal said.
There is a need to harmonize the Indian Telegraph Act and the IT Act, and to introduce new legislation to ensure that provisions in the IT Act, created to protect the security of the country, are not misused and abused, Duggal said.” Read More
Typo squatters roam unchecked in IndiaIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Duggal says Indian laws do not even recognise cybersquatting as an offence and "as such, the question of typo squatting being declared as an offence in India does not arise." Read More
India Proposes Tighter Laws for National ID ProjectIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The draft law, however, leaves a lot of concepts undefined, and does not directly address the issue of how the agency aims to protect the privacy of individuals, said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court.
By its vagueness, it is difficult to tell now whether the draft law would come into conflict with the country's Information Technology Act, amended in 2008, which is the country's main law governing electronic information, Duggal said.
For all its promise, the aadhaar number is not likely to serve the purpose of a unique ID number, and holders may not be able to use the number as proof of identity for transactions other than those it has been specifically designed for, Duggal said.” Read More
Government bid to fix 2G scam hits hurdleIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“According to Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court prosecutor and a cyber law expert, the 2G scam is unlikely to be resolved as there are high stakes involved."The government has limited options. Cancellation of licences unilaterally could be challenged. There would be a flood of litigations. You cannot blame the 2G licence- holders. The government is at fault. Instead the government should identify wrongdoers and take action against them," said Duggal.” Read More
Pre-nuptial contractIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“In India, prenuptial agreements are not governed by the Indian marriage laws, but by the existing contract laws”, says Duggal.
“Since it is an extremely emotional time, women tend to get extremely overwhelmed, and the strain often deters them from thinking through their finances”, says Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal.” Read More
Lawyers, activists seek ban on Japanese rape gameIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Maintaining that obscene rape games may prove more dangerous than the offence of actual rape, cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said that the Information Technology Act, 2000, must be tightened and more expert bodies like the Computer Emergency Reaction Team (Cert-In) under the Information Technology ministry created to tackle such menaces.
"These rape games are more dangerous than an actual rapist. A rapist may abuse one or two women before being caught, but obscene Japanese rape games like Rapelay would surely infect young and impressionable minds and lure them into becoming a pervert rapist," Duggal said.” Read More
Who gets your email account when you die?In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Duggal says a digital will is important because there have been many disputes about digitized data in recent times. "Most of us never think about making arrangements to name an heir for our digital assets, and it becomes a Herculean task for legal representatives to get a succession certificate for such data. It could take years in court."
Duggal says Indians are gradually waking up to this issue. "For the first time in India, in April, a Delhi businessman opted for a digital will. Since then, six more have followed suit. Many have approached me to discuss their digital estate and to make their wills." Read More
IT Act makes life difficult for cyber-terroristsIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal who is also Advocate, Supreme Court, says he has “seen a lot of progressive, proactive action by the government after 26/11”. He adds that the IT Act has given the “widest possible known legal definition”. It has made acts of cyber-terrorism punishable with life imprisonment and a fine (not specified). “Every computer system, network, resource and communication device is now covered by the Act. This will surely act as a deterrent to cyber-terrorism,” says Duggal.
Duggal, however, highlights a few concern areas. “Not a single case of cyber-terrorism has been reported till date. There has, of course, been no conviction too. Cyber-terrorism can’t be fought by one single provision. We need secondary legislation too.” Read More
3G tech vulnerable to cyber-crime, says expertsIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"It will become extremely easy for anybody to download an entire Bollywood film in few minutes using 3G. This is going to lead to further tremendous growth of websites liketorrents," says advocate Pavan Duggal, a cyber laws expert. Read More
Industrial espionage booming in corporate IndiaIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"If you look at all the companies doing business in the electronics sector in India, the chances are that four out of 10 would invariably have faced or are facing such issues," said Pavan Duggal, a supreme court lawyer who specializes in cyber law. "The reality is that these thefts of intellectual property rights and confidential data are hitting the corporate world in a big way."
"The perpetrators of unauthorized access of corporate data do it with impunity, knowing full well that the law is deficient and that it will take a long time for them to be prosecuted," said Duggal. Read More
Sharing passwords with spouse is riskyIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Commenting on the Maharashtra adjudicating officer’s order, Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said, “The cyber appellate tribunal will have to primarily see whether any contravention took place under section 43 of the amended IT Act, 2000.” Read More
Cyberscamsters on prowl on Valentine`s DayIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"The surprise e-card from an anonymous sender could give you a lot of heartache as it may be having a hard drive hack that can steal your identity. And that online flower purchase from an unprotected website can cause problems through credit card theft," says Pavan Duggal, a cyber-law expert.
"An anonymous email may ask about your financial details - usually your credit card number. Needless to say, the information you provide will end up with a scammer who can empty your credit card or bank account in just about no time," says Duggal.
"Do not accept offers which appear too good to be true and do not click on unknown links or emails. Prevention is better than cure," says Duggal. Read More
New online laws are a blogger’s nightmareIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Duggal says that with these broad diverse components of stake holders which come under the term intermediary, the prudent approach would be to come out with sectoral guidelines which keep in mind the customised lines of business of various sectors.” Read More
Government proposal to muzzle bloggers sparks outcryIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Blogs are clubbed with network service providers as most of them facilitate comment and online discussion and preserve the traffic as an electronic record, but equating them with other intermediaries is like comparing apples with oranges, says Pavan Duggal, advocate in the Supreme Court and an eminent cyber law expert.” Read More
Cybercrime: Crooks offer refund on online tax refundIn this report, Pavan Duggal stated as under:-
“According to cyber law expert, Pavan Duggal, unawareness among public and technical sophistication of the cyber crooks has led to increase in phishing attacks in recent years in India. "People do not know that their financial details can be targeted and misused through Internet. Also, they seem unaware of the policies of financial institutions and government departments to contact their customers," says Duggal.
The phishing emails and web sites are made to appear exactly same as that of the original one which confuses the users," says Duggal.” Read More
Relax, sharing personal information is safe nowIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Asked about the liability of a corporate body or individual who would not comply with these policies, the Supreme Court Advocate and cyber law specialist Pavan Duggal, said: "If loss has occurred to a party, he/she can file a complaint with the police. He/she can also approach the adjudicating officer under section 43A of the Information Technology Act." Read More
India Defends Right to Access Personal DataIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The purpose of the rules is to protect sensitive personal data and information, and government agencies cannot be made an exception to this, Duggal said.
Police need a search warrant to enter a home, but in the digital world the government appears to be giving itself the power of entry and search without a warrant, Duggal said.” Read More
Hackers Gain Notoriety As Cyber Attacks IncreaseIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“According to Supreme Court advocate and cyber law expert Pavan Duggal the attack on the websites of government agencies is an act of cyber war and not merely a hacking incident.” Read More
Rs 20,000 crore to be spent on fast-tracking courts: MoilyIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert, said, “Technological upgrade is the key to realise this mission and may take four to five years.” When asked about how pendency of cases impacts the economy of the country, Duggal said it was difficult and in some cases could not be quantified in money terms. “But it certainly can run into billions of dollars as far as the country’s economy is concerned,” he added.” Read More
Corporate espionage on the rise; Companies spy on employees & themselvesIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“If there is so much of espionage and subterfuge happening in Indian business, how is it that most people don't are not aware of it? "Things don't come out in the open because both parties don't want things to come out in the newspapers," says Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate specialising in digital law. "Once the respective managements find out, a negation process begins and a settlement takes place.
Things don't get to the litigation stage," he adds.
"He was very fond of his communication device and had sent it for repair. The vendor installed software which recorded every call made and received and forwarded every email to another ID," says Duggal. "The problem is...how do you prove it?" Read More
Indian Government to Clarify Data Privacy Rules Affecting OutsourcingIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The current rules, which came into force in April, do not make a distinction between Indian outsourcers and their customers abroad, and it would appear that customers abroad will also have to follow the stipulated procedures for the collection of personal data, including seeking written approval from the individuals from whom they collect the data, said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court. Read More
Don't hit delete! That Hotmail from the Prime Minister may be for realIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“It's a recipe for disaster,” said Pavan Duggal, a New Delhi lawyer who argues information-technology cases before India's Supreme Court. “It's really quite amazing that, as a nation, we haven't yet woken up to the idea that sensitive government information should be shared through secure channels, not Hotmail or Yahoo.”
“When an official is defending himself by presenting information or exchanges from a free account, it produces the question of authenticity and veracity of information,” Duggal said. “And that starts giving the opposite end the opportunity to stand and challenge it.” Read More
Write a will to ensure your legacy does not get mired in legal disputesIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"When it comes to making a will, people try to experiment, but the wishes of the testator should be legally enforceable. Therefore, consulting a professional on this matter is important," says Pavan Duggal, a Delhi-based lawyer.
"If a will is drafted properly and subsequently registered, any objections would lack teeth," says Duggal.
"Not everyone has digital signature and finding witnesses who have them is even more difficult," says Duggal.” Read More
Have you forgotten your Facebook manners?In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“But is the iPad/ Blackberry/ Android generation really ready to handle social media - the platform and huge database of information it offers? "It is a mixed bag. While there are youngsters who are out there making good use of the Internet, there are others who are not able to handle social media with maturity. It is hard to make a sweeping generalisation and say that youngsters are abusing the Internet. What's true is that today's youth is alive to the power of social media and is ready to ride the tiger without realising the consequences," says Duggal.
"There have been wake up calls. But they have been few and far in between. A lot of awareness and education is required for youngsters using the Internet. The government should include social media in the school curriculum. But unfortunately it is not a priority area for the government," he says.” Read More
India Exempts Outsourcers From New Privacy RulesIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The preferential treatment provided to a section of companies, the outsourcers, could, however, be struck down in court, said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court.
The clarification has not been issued under any provision of the country's IT Act, and in fact violates the spirit of the IT Act, which does not limit the jurisdiction of its laws to companies within India, Duggal said. The clarification is also vague and could lead to a variety of companies claiming to be exempt from the personal data rules, he added.” Read More
When those SMSes just don't stopIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"As per Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, anybody who sends offensive messages through a communication device or a computer is liable for imprisonment up to three years. The stalker also needs to pay a fine depending on the severity of the harassment," says Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate specialising in cyber law.
"According to the IT Rules 2011, service providers are now bound to act on a woman's complaint irrespective of the number being used by the stalker. They can no more pass the buck to the stalker's service provider," says Duggal.” Read More
Digitize documents and store online to ensure their safetyIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Even as these sites offer you ease in terms of retrieval and storage, there could be security issues. Says cyber law expert Pavan Duggal, “There are legal issues pertaining to jurisdiction and security of the documents or electronic data. So before signing up you should go through the terms and conditions to have a clear idea of where the storage of document is happening, what are the security mechanisms that the company is adopting and what are the redress mechanisms available in the event of a dispute with the provider.” Read More
India exempts IT outsourcers from new privacy rulesIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“However, the preferential treatment given to outsourcers could be struck down in court, says Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court. The clarification has not been issued under any provision of the country's IT Act, and in fact violates the spirit of the IT Act, which does not limit the jurisdiction of its laws to companies within India, Duggal says.
The clarification is also vague and could lead to a variety of companies claiming to be exempt from the personal data rules, he adds. ” Read More
Social media defamation rules: People have to be careful about what they post on social media websitesIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Social media is unfolding a paradigm shift since everybody is now a broadcaster. This increases the risk of defamation for users without them even being aware of it," says Pavan Duggal, who practises in the Supreme Court and specialises in cyber law.” Read More
IT Act languishes thanks to government negligenceIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Says Duggal, “We passed the IT Bill in a hurry, and after the initial euphoria died down, there is a marked lack of enthusiasm on issues concerning Indian cyber laws. Practically speaking, it seems that appointing statutory authorities has been on the backburner, since there have been more urgent and pressing national exigencies like the Indo-Pak tension, the Gujarat conflagration, and the petrol pump scam, among others.” Read More
Bangalore also hit by FB attacksIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, cyber expert and Supreme Court lawyer, says these may be isolated cases, but they should sound a strong warning signal for companies including Facebook. They need to constantly improve their security mechanisms and comply with local laws.
Most social networking sites are not aware or rather ignorant of their potential exposure to both civil and criminal offenses. Also, the IT Act 2000 permits each user/account holder to sue email service providers/social networking sites for damages/compensation and claim upto Rs 5 crore for each violation,'' says Duggal.” Read More
India may breach own laws with web filtering planIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“But there isn't a provision that requires intermediaries to filter and remove disparaging, inflammatory or defamatory content even before it is posted, said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court.
Besides being technically complex, a demand for filtering raises the question as to which content should be filtered, Duggal said. Under Indian law, there is no provision which provides that derogatory or defamatory remarks and other content only against some political leaders should be singled out for special attention, he added.” Read More
India may overstep its own laws in demanding content filteringIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“But there isn't a provision that requires intermediaries to filter and remove disparaging, inflammatory or defamatory content even before it is posted, said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court.
Besides being technically complex, a demand for filtering raises the question as to which content should be filtered, Duggal said. Under Indian law, there is no provision which provides that derogatory or defamatory remarks and other content only against some political leaders should be singled out for special attention, he added.” Read More
Hackers on the prowl; break into Congress' 2 official Web sitesIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“However, it is bailable. We need stringent provisions and punishments to deter such attacks in cyberspace, and hence, these offences need to be made non-bailable,” cyber law expert Mr Pavan Duggal said.” Read More
When Net is grossIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal points out that a person can be punished for three years if he or she sends a message “by means of a computer resource or a communication device, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will.”
We don’t want to get mired in long legal proceedings. Our intentions are good and we want the problem to be solved at the earliest,” he says.” Read More
Technological beasts like Facebook, Orkut, YouTube & Google impossible to controlIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Rules are already in place, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Information Technology Rules, 2011, which allow anyone, including the government, to take a legal recourse," says Pavan Duggal, advocate in the Supreme Court of India and a cyber law expert.
Duggal says that web hosts can be prosecuted if they create unlawful content, incite and encourage unlawful activities, or fail to remove illegal content despite it being brought to their notice. So why does the government suddenly want more rules for them?” Read More
Kerala become 1st Indian State to Set Guidelines for MLM CompaniesIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Mr. Pavan Duggal who is also Known as "father of cyber Laws”, Founder President of Cyber law Asia, author of the book entitled “Cyber law – The Indian Perspective”: This was trick of MLM Companies saying thing which they don't to say officially they make cloned websites which are not belongs to them and MLM Companies says anything unofficially on these websites . If Any MLM Company on his official website claiming or promising anything and if that company will not fulfil its promises a court case can be done against them.” Read More
Real time info- Will it stop the Cyber Terror wave?In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber security expert Pavan Duggal explains the following. This proposal is emerging out of the need to tackle issues concerning national security in real time. Traditionally our approach has been more reactive in nature. It is only once an incident takes place that we investigate. By seeking real time data the government wants to be on par with pro effective efforts to stop or prevent on national security. Currently we have the IT Act of 2000 which has been amended in the year 2008. According to the amendment all service providers have been mandated to provide information as and when asked by the government of India.
Duggal adds that the only problem would be that this law should have adequate safeguards to prevent a misuse by the government and security agencies. There needs to be a line drawn and the government should not seek real time data on each and every individual. There is a need to balance out the information being sought on suspects and also a need to protect the privacy and civil liberties of the ordinary citizen.” Read More
Trail of the trollsIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“According to Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal, harassment on social networking sites is emerging as one of the biggest problems in the online world. “Six out of 10 people aren’t aware of what constitutes a cyber-crime. As a result they aren’t reported. Neither the victims nor the abusers know what is an offence,” says Duggal.” Read More
Facebook, Google, others summonedIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert and Supreme Court lawyer, said that under the IT Act, intermediaries such as Google have to act within 36 hours of receiving a complaint or a notification from the government after which the matter can be taken to a court of law.
“This is what has happened in this case as the companies did not act upon the government’s notice,” he said.
“The argument that just because these companies are intermediaries and can’t vet the content before it’s posted, and so they are above the law of the land doesn’t hold water,” Duggal added.” Read More
'Websites not responsible for posted contents'In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Today’s case is probably the first chapter in a long- running battle between service providers and the government,” said Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer who specialises in Internet laws. “We are likely to see more prosecutions and challenges until the law is clearly settled.” Read More
US shuts down popular file-sharing websiteIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, an expert on cyber and e-commerce law in India's capital New Delhi, said that the celebrities believed file-sharing websites were "absolutely necessary" to spread their content to the general public and support the free exchange of information.” Read More
Tangled WebIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“When the summons for the case was first sent to the companies in December, a number of respondents who were based outside India failed to answer. Said cyber-crime expert Pavan Duggal: "Companies are observing the IT Act more in breach than in observance."
"These are very broad terms which have not been defined very well," said Duggal. "The service provider is not even required to come to a judgment. Only after they receive a complaint or are notified by the government can they act.
"In the IT Act there is not a single phrase which requires pre-screening or moderation under the law," said Duggal.” Read More
US piracy bill can hit Indian sites tooIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"If your website is available in the US, you fall under the purview of the law," Duggal says.
Duggal says online advertising platforms would also be forced to restrict access to websites accused of copyright infringement. "Accounts like Google Adsense could be disabled to virtually make your online presence obsolete. In addition, they can also get orders directed to payment service providers like Pay Pal to block or freeze your accounts." Read More
Experts deny ban on video conferencingIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Says noted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal, “The Information Technology Act does not ban any one from reading a banned book, it also does not specifically talk of video-conferencing.
“The book concerned is banned under the Customs Act. The IT Act is clear that in the event of a conflict between the two, the IT Act will prevail. The government can shut down the website as technically it has power under section 69-A of the Act enabling it to directly blocking of any content citing public order.” Read More
Reading 'The Satanic Verses' not a punishable offence, say legal expertsIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Delhi-based cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said, "Even if the book is physically banned, in the physical world that still does not really impact the said information being made available on the internet. There is nothing under the Indian mother legislation being the Indian Cyber Law, which actually bans the reading of the extracts of a book which is physically banned in the world. Technically speaking there is nothing wrong if you go ahead and read such contents on the internet." Read More
As Twitter moves to regulate content, government distances itself from policing social mediaIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"This has more to do with compliance at the local level and if India is included in the list of countries who’s Tweets would be regulated, then Twitter will have to share this information with the enforcement authorities. Users should be prepared that all illegal and unlawful Tweets even anonymous ones would be put down and the identity of users would be shared with the law enforcement agencies," explained Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal.
On privacy issues, Duggal said: "We don't have a dedicated law on privacy, which is included in the fundamental right to life." Read More
Can India churn out ethical hackers like it has produced coders & programmers?In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cynics could argue that India hasn't seen any serious economic crimes perpetrated by hackers. Pavan Duggal, a prominent cyberlaw advocate, disagrees. "Most hacking related cases in India never get reported," he says. Duggal believes that only 50 of 500 cyber-crimes get reported to the police, of which only a handful materialise into First Information Reports (FIRs).
Companies which have faced a hacking problem are afraid of negative publicity. Moreover, they don't want the perception of being safe companies to be affected," says Duggal.
Moreover, amendments made to the IT Act in 2008 make hacking a bailable offence. "As a result, some hackers have been out on bail attempting to destroy every shred of evidence," says Duggal, arguing that the amendment has taken away the deterrent against malicious hacking by black hats.” Read More
Beware! Lottery Scam On The ProwlIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Senior cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said Indian telecom operators are aware of these issues, but in the absence of technology laws, no one can be responsible if the customer is cheated.
Mr. Pavan Duggal said this fraud is a part of international racket, which are involved in lottery scam through email and phones. These calls are originating specially from Pakistan, Nigeria and African countries. Some calls are originating from India. Duggal said the call to these numbers costs high. The charge could be Rs 100-150/minor more. Few telecom operators are allegedly involved in TV jackpot game like identification of a film star or any other famous personality's photograph where callers get charged high call rates.” Read More
Unknown missed calls can empty your walletIn this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"You don't know how your SIM card is being used. It could even be utilised by international syndicates for criminal activities. Indian telecom operators as well as the government are aware of these issues but in the absence of stringent information and technology laws, no one can be held responsible if the customer is duped," senior cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said.
"It is evident that telecom operators from these countries are hand-in-glove with the syndicates. The operators share revenue, too, with the syndicates. These are premium numbers issued by telecom companies in their respective countries. The calls to these premium numbers cost a bomb. The charge could run up to Rs 100 or Rs 150 per minute or even more," Duggal revealed.
"You are kept waiting when calling these premium numbers. The meter starts ticking as soon as you connect to a ringer. A single call can leave you poorer by Rs 100 or even more. In the process, the telecom operator, television channel and programme organiser make a killing by sharing the revenue," Duggal explained.” Read More
Privacy, speech at stake in cyberspace
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The Indian government can, and should, monitor conversations and websites if it believes the content can harm the security, defence, sovereignty and integrity of the country,” maintained Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer and a cyber law expert, but wondered how it would go about implementing the task of monitoring conversation on an unstructured Internet. “The intention is good, but the path is not clear,” said Duggal, who envisions a lot of cases being filed against misuse of these laws.” Read More
IT IS A grave offence, says cyber law expert
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Although watching porn is not an offence, co-operation minister LakshmanSavadi committed a grave offence by viewing the clip on the floor of the assembly, said Pawan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate and authority on cyber law.” Read More
‘Social networking sites duty-bound to obey law of the land'
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Referring to the recent Delhi High Court order to 22 social media sites to pull out inflammatory content, Mr Duggal said these Web sites were trying to get away by saying they were bound by US laws and were not amenable to Indian norms.
The IT Rules 2011 mandates service providers to do “due-diligence” of content that could be a threat to national security and integration. Any aggrieved party can lodge a complaint against content online. The Web sites are then required to pull out the content within 36 hours from the Indian network. Failing to do so invokes penalties, said Mr Duggal on the side-lines of a seminar on ‘Social media networks: Opportunities and challenges'.
Mr Duggal stressed the need to revise the Information Technology Act to cover issues of social media and social media crime. “Technology outstrips the pace of law. The law is silent on social media crime, the obligations of publishers, what people should and should not being doing on social media. There is a need to revisit the IT Act which was amended in 2008 to incorporate these issues.”
Referring to the recent incident involving three Karnataka ministers who allegedly watched porn during the State Assembly session, Mr Duggal said charges can be slapped against the Minister who had the clipping stored in his cell-phone, under Section 67 and 67 (A) of the IT Act. Read More
Smut-tainted Karnataka ministers could be jailed under IT Act: cyber law expert
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Supreme Court advocate and president of Cyber law Asia, Pavan Duggal told Express on Thursday that the three ministers -- LaxmanSavadi, C CPatil and J Krishna Palemar -caught on television cameras viewing obscene clips on the floor of Karnataka legislative assembly could face jail and one of them even a non-bailable warrant.
He said while no law bans watching pornography but Savadi and Patil can be booked under Section 292 of Information Technology Act for sale, distribution, public exhibition, etc., of an obscene object and let off lightly but the third minister J Krishna Palemar, who was in possession of the mobile phone, is vulnerable and he could even get a non-bailable warrant if a complaint is registered against him.” Read More
Data Centres Architecture & Security
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“If a user’s data stored in a data centre gets leaked/stolen/tampered, he has legal recourse available against the person who is responsible for such data breach, should his identity be known, as well as the company running the data centre. Users can sue the company running the data centre for damages by way of compensation up to Rupees Five Crore per contravention under Section 43 of the amended Information Technology Act, 2000. If the data stored in the data centre consists of sensitive personal information and the same stands breached, the user can sue for unlimited damages.” Read More
Cartoon arrest sparks worry
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted:-
“This is the beginning of a new trend that is likely to see the IT Act and its provisions invoked to achieve different objectives,' cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said.
Duggal said the Act should clearly define what qualifies as 'defamation', 'ill-will', 'hatred' and the other offences it seeks to rein in.” Read More
Bengal professor’s offending picture goes viral
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, an eminent cyber law expert in the country, also wondered whether the act of merely forwarding a cartoon strip called for slapping Section 66 of the IT Act, 2000. While a defamation suit should be filed by the aggrieved victim himself, police should ideally consult legal experts before slapping the IT Act, he said.” Read More
What Singhvi’s Video Means for Privacy
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“If you are merely putting a link that is not obscene. The text per se is not obscene,” says Pavan Duggal, a lawyer who specializes in cyber-crime. For instance, posting the link to the video on Twitter is not illegal, according to Mr. Duggal.
Mr. Duggal is already one of them: “I personally believe that the Singhvi case is a wakeup call case, a wakeup call to the Indian nation to come up with a strong law on privacy.” Read More
Are online travel companies gouging customers?
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert, Pavan Duggal, argued that aberrations to this general law of the online travel jungle were a result of the absence of specific industry regulations for online travel portals. Also, the IT Act 2000, which provides a legal framework for e-commerce, does not provide protection for online consumers, he said. Till that happens, expect more wars to be waged in the online travel space.” Read More
Getting HUGE phone bills? Your SIM may have been cloned!
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, an expert with cyber laws explains that there could be instances when such a syndicate involved in SIM cloning could also be involved with some service providers. These providers give out information regarding the SIM cards and it could be cloned.
"There is a need to amend the IT act," says Duggal. Most importantly, SIM cloning has its biggest impact on the subscriber whose SIM is cloned. The person could face unnecessary legal complications. Hence there is a need for an amendment to at least aid such victims from being harassed unnecessarily.” Read More
Government to play catch up on encryption norms
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“It seems the government has finally woken up to the need. The industry needs permission to decrypt up to at least 128 bits. It is a right move in the right direction,” said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert. “It will be a tremendous boost for online activities, protection of personal data, flipping of e-commerce, banking, insurance and further growth of information security sector in India.” Read More
Public Figure vs Public Interest vs Privacy May 1, 2012
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“I personally think there are a couple of points that are immediately action points for the government. Number one, you need to wake up, number two as far as your IT Act is concerned, it’s thoroughly inadequate and it’s time once again to re-amend the same and most importantly it’s a time to have a relook at this entire issue. It’s very important to give effective remedies to people who are victims of violations of privacy; they should not be looking at just lame ducks while others continue to invade their privacy.” says Duggal. Read More
Free speech at risk as Government plays humourless cyber cop May 18, 2012
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:
Noted cyber law expert Pawan Duggal said these cases only show that the government should not be regulating internet, otherwise the virtual world's creativity and growth would be stifled.
He said the proposed move to have a 50- member body under the United Nations' aegis to regulate internet traffic was an extreme measure.” Read More
Hacking: Experts call for code
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Duggal says the courses exploit a loophole in the IT Act. "The IT Act has no provisions to penalize those who encourage various kinds of cyber-crimes. There is no such thing as 'ethical hacking' under law. This needs to be regulated, otherwise these courses will keep mushrooming," he says.” Read More
Con callers are on a roll: Missed calls from foreign numbers fleecing Indian
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"There have been many cases where the victim deposits the cash. The money is then routed through hawala to Pakistan and other countries which are turning out to be a haven for such fraud," a senior telecom ministry official said. "One should not even open such emails as it would corrupt your system as well. It is safe to forward such emails to spam. There is urgent need to create awareness among mobile phone users and uneducated people, who are becoming prey to such frauds," says Pavan Duggal, senior cyber law expert.” Read More
Clone SIM with threatening messages baffle cops
“Cyber-crime expert Pavan Duggal told Mail Today: "It is very likely that this is a case of SIM card cloning. When a SIM card is cloned, all the information on one card is copied on another without the permission of the user. A number of software are freely available online for such cloning purposes."
"Generally, a SIM card is cloned to steal money from a person's account using his personal information. But in this particular case, it is possible that the person who has cloned the SIM card is trying to misguide and confuse the family by sending them messages with a threat and solution to the threat. Using an Indian deity's name in the messages could be just a way of reinforcing their belief in supernatural power, so that they do not suspect a technical angle in it," Duggal added.” Read More
North- East hate sites blocked... But it took a month for government to muzzle hateful propaganda
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber expert Pavan Duggal said: “Banning web pages — which can always be accessed through proxy servers — is only a knee- jerk reaction after the event is over. This cyber terrorism was unprecedented in the history of India.” Read More
India Debates Misuse of Social Media
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber law expert, lawyer Pavan Duggal says this is the first time the Internet and mobile-phone technology have been used to incite fear in a community.
"India has to wake up to the need of putting cyber security as the number-one priority for the nation," Duggal noted. "Unfortunately, India does not even have a cyber-security policy. The nation does not have any plan of action, should such an emergency happen again. India needs to have its own cyber army of cyber warriors." Read More
India cracks down on Internet after communal violence
“A cyber law expert said blocking web pages was "like putting a Band-Aid on a leaking roof". "It's a strategy that is doomed to failure from the word go. There are so many indirect ways to access the Net," said Pavan Duggal.” Read More
Security firms thrive as government, firms step up security plans
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“While there is no doubt that national security and national interest are paramount, the government needs to strike a balance between protection and preservation of privacy as well as protection of other civil liberties of individuals,” said Pavan Duggal, an advocate in the Supreme Court and a cyber law expert.” Read More
India's liberal tag in shreds, politicians clamp down on any comment or remark on their wrongdoings
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"This (Act) has effectively become a tool in the hands of the mighty and the powerful to gag criticism," cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said. "Till such time as 66A is not clarified, and adequate parameters are not put in place to prevent its abuse, it will continue to be a tool of the mighty and could be used to muzzle free speech." Read More
A Mumbai Student Vents on Facebook, and the Police Come Knocking
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The law is so broad, it gives unbridled power to the authorities to register a case,” said Pavan Duggal, a lawyer who practices before India’s Supreme Court and specializes in Internet law. “It leaves everything to the subjective discretion of the law enforcement authorities.” Read More
The freedom of expression debate: The State must mend fences with The Web
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Legal experts think Section 66 (A) and the whole of the IT Act of 2000, needs revisiting. According to cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal, Section 66 (A) "is a vanilla provision that can be used for anything online." Read More
Are you a credit card fraud victim?
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“You can also file a complaint with cyber police stations. Says Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert, “Remember the Umashankar Sivasubramaniam case. Here an adjudicating officer ruled that the bank would have to pay around Rs.12.50 lakh as compensation. In this particular case, the bank appealed to the Cyber Appellate Tribunal.” Read More
Movie pirates stay a step ahead of police
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Warning the ISPs that they were playing with fire by not exercising due diligence against piracy, Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said that they could land in the soup for not implementing the provisions of the IT Act.
“ISPs are intermediaries as per the cyber law and they should not host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, update or share any information that infringes any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary rights,” he said.” Read More
Indian court orders Facebook, Google to offer plans for protecting children
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal points out that despite the freedom of expression argument, “the issue still remains that a minor doesn’t have the capacity to act under the Contract Act.” Others have pointed out that users enter into agreements with Facebook and social networking sites, not contracts. Further, law professor Saurav Datta feels that the PIL’s suggestion that all users be verified itself impinges on their privacy, and that it, “the goal of the PIL is wrong. We need to protect children, not keep people out.” Read More
Sold a Lemon Online? For Fake iPhone Buyers, Law Comes to Rescue
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal believes that the responsibility of the service providers does not end with such statements alone. Speaking to The Quint, he said: “Under the Information Technology Act 2000, the intermediary or the network service provider is liable in cases of sale of stolen or fake goods as they are mandated to exercise due diligence. Section 79 of the IT Act requires service providers to adopt reasonable security practices and procedures to prevent any wrongdoing. In the event of stolen goods being sold through online portals, the service provider would be liable to replace goods and would also be liable criminally for such offences if they take place due to their negligence.”
In the event of such negligence by the e-commerce companies, Duggal said there is no exemption for them from liability and the consumers can sue them.
“Consumers have legal remedies at their disposal. They can claim a refund from the service provider for selling them fake or stolen goods. They can seek replacement of such goods with genuine ones. Consumers can also file for damages under the IT Act in special courts that operate in every state and in which adjudication officers have powers to pay fines of up to Rs 5 crore,” he said.” Read More
Is porn addiction on the rise in Bangalore?
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Supreme Court advocate and cyber law expert Pavan Duggal believes that this corrupts young minds who can easily view this content. "The law has not done much to prevent this. In fact, the IT Act has done a huge disservice. Publishing porn, which used to be a non-bailable offence, is now a bailable one. Pornography is not high on the priority of law enforcement agencies," says Pavan, who believes that concrete changes are required to curb access to porn.” Read More
'We can't block porn!' Service providers tell Supreme Court they need help to keep obscene content out
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said: "Section 67B of IT Act added in 2008 prescribes to punish involvement in sexually explicit online or electronic content that depicts children. It is also an offence to 'cultivate, entice or induce children to online relationship with other children for a sexual act'. It is a non-bailable offence with a maximum jail term of 7 years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. But the problem is that this law has never been invoked yet and till date there has not been any conviction." Read More
Supreme Court hearing on 2009 defamation case against Google gets underway
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyberlaw expert Pavan Duggal told WSJ. “Exercising of due diligence is a critical aspect for limiting liability of intermediaries.” In addition, those managers handling the Blogspot division at the time could be punished with imprisonment, and may be fined ranging from Rs 1 lakh to 10 lakh, and may also be asked to pay damages of up to Rs 5 crore per violation.” Read More
Cyber snoops hack India's secrets: Report reveals how internet spies may have 'compromised' the nation's security
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Speaking about the danger posed by compromised and vulnerable computer systems, noted cyber expert Pavan Duggal said: "The government computer systems are not at all safe and very easy to intrude into. It means that government data stored in the systems are not safe and it can have a detrimental impact on the sovereignty of the country. This should be an eye- opener for the government." Read More
Get ready for digital signatures
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“If an electronic document needs to be authenticated online, digital signature is the best bet as it takes a long time to break it,” said Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer and a cyber law expert.
“This will ensure that the transaction is genuine as it will minimize the chances of the request being changed in transit and repudiation cases will go down,” added Duggal.
Though the 2008 amendment in the Information Technology Act, 2000, includes “communication devices”, under its ambit (earlier restricted to computers), “all activities done with the communication device may not be included,” said Duggal, adding that eventually the law will have to change to include mobile devices as well.” Read More
'Unprecedented and terrifying': Extent of mobile snooping exposed as Vodafone reveals government sought access to millions of Indians'
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyberlaw expert Pavan Duggal concurred: "The amendment in the Information Technology Act in 2008, makes it mandatory for all telecom companies to provide government access to data, voice and other means of communication services provided by them to their consumers."
Flagging the privacy concern, Duggal added: "On the other hand, the government is not transparent about the mechanism on phone-tapping. There have been many cases where the government agencies have not followed the procedure required for approval. This could mean that orders for phone tapping may not have been taken from the authority concerned." Read More
Indians tape gang rapes to silence victims
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“There is a lot of homegrown revenge porn in our small towns, and we are seeing a revenge-porn economy emerging in India,” said Pavan Duggal, a lawyer who specializes in cyber-law and pornography.” Read More
Government aims to tackle child pornography with more 'control' over social networking sites
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Talking to Mail Today, cyber expert and apex court lawyer Pavan Duggal endorsed the idea of setting up servers in India as "greatly beneficial".
He said, "Making overseas-headquartered sites set up a server in India is essential to protect sovereign rights. It helps in removal of undesirable, illegal and unwarranted content and we can prevent undesirable data on Indians from being illegally transferred outside the country's territorial boundaries. Germany is already working in this direction." Read More
Indian government second highest seeker of internet users' private info, says Google
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"It certainly is not good for the Indian government to be ranked second in terms of user data request. What needs to be seen is the legal basis of these requests. More importantly, if you look at last year, one thing is clear - the Indian cyber law is incapable of handling issues emanating from usage of social media," said Pavan Duggal, cyber expert and Supreme Court lawyer.
He said it was only Article 66A within the Information Technology Act that dealt with phenomenon called the internet or 'communication services'. "The term 'social media' is not even mentioned in the IT Act," he said.” Read More
Socializing with a virtual wallet
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Technically, it is possible to attack at the time of transfer,” said Pavan Duggal, a New Delhi-based cyber law expert. According to him, the current legal regulations have guidelines around electronic payments but not specifically for mobile payments.
“We need to look at the contract and how it is drafted. We also need to see who will be responsible if money goes missing and what is the liability of the mobile network being used. There are many questions to be answered,” added Duggal.” Read More
Rubbing Out Internet Porn Won't Be Easy for the Indian Government
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"There is a grey area between pornography and eroticism, and what is considered lascivious in nature," said Pavan Duggal, an Indian Supreme Court advocate who specializes in cyber law. But while Indian law specifically punishes the publication, creation, browsing, downloading, or exchanging of any depiction of children in an "obscene or indecent or sexually explicit manner," Duggal believes that there is still some legal ambiguity about the blacklisting of other material.
"Blocking pornographic websites is an exercise in futility from the word go," Duggal said. "Given the intrinsic nature of the architecture of the internet, you cannot possibly block all sites, as there are so many indirect ways of circumventing blocked websites using proxies and VPNs [virtual private networks]." Read More
Manual acknowledges tax sleuths’ shortcomings on digital caches
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“According to Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate, government departments are ill-equipped.
“In today’s context, the government departments in India lack capacity in terms of their sensitization of the digital format. Consequently, we find that the kind of cutting-edge developments that should be taking place in forensics are not taking place,” he said.” Read More
App-based taxi booking services to be banned in Maharashtra
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The Information Technology Act doesn’t include these mobile-based apps, and, so, it requires an amendment. However, action can be taken if these service providers don’t discharge duties under the Act,” said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert and an advocate in the Supreme Court.” Read More
India's trouble with monitoring of social media continues
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Twitter is now bound to demonstrate to the Indian authorities they have exercised due diligence while disseminating duties. If service providers are not cooperating with the law, they are as liable as the offender,” said Pavan Duggal, a leading cyber law expert.” Read More
Can you bank on social network?
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“In all likelihood your banking data may be getting transmitted to servers outside India. Most social media platforms do not comply with Indian laws and connect on an unsecured mode —http instead of https (‘s’ stands for secure), thus posing a threat for sensitive personal information being recorded in servers outside India,” says cyber law expert Pavan Duggal. Read More
Uber Trouble – Government Mulling IP Address Ban Making Uber App Unusable February
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“A court order may be needed to get it unblocked,” says Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert and a Supreme Court advocate. Duggal told the media that IP addresses of a website can be blocked by invoking Section 69A of the Information Technology Act but the rules to get them unblocked are unclear.” Read More
Planning your digital afterlife
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Digital wills are slowly gaining popularity among people as they realize the need to protect valuable data, including physical records like bank details, health information, books, photos, music, etc., that is increasingly being converted from a physical to digital mode and being stored in the cloud. The digital will is signed off with a digital signature issued by the government, either with or without digital signatures of one or more witnesses,” said Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate who specializes in cyberlaw and e-commerce.
Duggal added that despite India having “a largely touch-and-feel culture, making digital wills in the country rare and legal firms dealing with digital firms rarer still”, digital wills could become popular as more people become comfortable with the online mode.
“Given the growing popularity of mobile phones, in the next five years, I expect even digital wills on mobile to become popular in India. Digital assets could even be bought and sold online with permission from the testator to the beneficiary in the future, like in the case of bitcoins today,” he added.” Read More
The pharmacist goes online
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate and an expert on cyber law, says that even aggregator sites are not safe as, according to the IT Act, they are `intermediaries'. Section 39 of the IT Act mandates that "the intermediary observes due diligence while discharging his duties under this Act and also observes such other guidelines as the Central Government may prescribe in this behalf ".” Read More
Trolls today are all over Twitter, Facebook, YouTube
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber law specialist Pavan Duggal says six out of 10 Indians have experienced harassment online at some point in their lives. “Section 66-A of the Information Technology Act dealt with online abuse among other things. After the Supreme Court struck it down in March, there has been an increase in harassment.”
The controversial provision was seen as unconstitutional as it curbed the freedom of speech. But, Mr. Duggal says freedom of speech “is not a license to abuse”. Read More
Surfing the dark net for drugs
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Only a few are actually aware of this. There are no laws in the dark net. The levels of anonymity cannot be regulated. It is hard to even collect incriminating electronic evidence. It is unfortunate that we have not even begun thinking in this direction yet,” says Pavan Duggal, a Mumbai-based cyber law expert.” Read More
India bans more than 800 sites seen as 'immoral, indecent'
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"While the intention of the government is very, very noble, the government wants to ensure that the standards of decency and morality in India must be maintained,” said cyber law expert Pavan Duggal. “The government wants to protect innocent Indians' minds from being exposed to content, which is likely to corrupt their minds when they view such content." Read More
Nothing private? Government wants to have a say in your online chats
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Whatever little semblance of privacy exists, will be evaporated if this draft policy were to be implemented”, said Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate.” Read More
Encryption policy to ensure secure environment for government, says Deity
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"The draft policy is counter-productive to its proposed objectives. It also has grave ramifications on the digital rights and liberty and privacy of private individuals," cyber law advocate Pavan Duggal told TOI. "You are stripping people of their expectations from a private space in electronic communications which is a complete violation of the right to privacy and the right to life."
He also said that India's cyber security could be left vulnerable by the proposals as most of the crucial business and government data will need to be stored in unencrypted form to produce to the law enforcement agencies whenever demanded. "Huge powers are being given to the state without appropriate checks and balances."
The registration of the service providers with the government will lead to a "license raj" era, Duggal added.” Read More
Digital India at the expense of Net neutrality?
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Any service, which conflicts or restricts my choice as a user to visit any destination on the network, is in violation of the law of the land and, therefore, is in violation of net neutrality. India needs to be very careful that it does not adopt these kind of schemes without looking into the legal gratifications," noted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal told The Statesman.
The Supreme Court advocate, in no uncertain terms, expressed his disapproval of the controversial scheme. "Internet.org from Facebook does not appear to be neutral for the very simple reason that it only wants to lead the users or traffic to certain websites. It does not allow you the flexibility of choice to go to any platform or website on the Internet that one wants to go. So in that sense it tends to make you a prisoner of these limited websites and, therefore, violates the principle of net neutrality," he added.
“The Indian Penal Code is thoroughly inadequate at tackling online harassment. The intermediaries [sites] are the repository of data and must be made accountable,” said Mr. Duggal.” Read More
Who decides the basics of ‘Free Basics’?
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Any preference to any specific vendor or service provider could potentially have an impact of prejudicially impacting the Digital India program,” says Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate specialised in cyber law. “India has to be consciously careful that the program should not be hijacked by vested interests and that it should not be made the basis for unauthorised sending of data of Indians to outside the territorial boundaries.” Read More
Group Content Is Your Headache, Says Law
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“This is where another aspect comes into play. Section 79 states that the intermediary cannot be held liable for any content posted by a third party,” said Duggal. “But only and only if they comply with the provisions of the IT Act, exercise due diligence, do not conspire to circumvent the law and are co-operative once called upon to remove content.”
“The law takes its own course and ignorance of the law is no excuse. When the Supreme Court made its landmark judgement in March this year on Section 66A, it found the other sections not in violation of the constitution,” said Duggal. “An admin without set terms and conditions and a disclaimer is flirting with danger,” he stated.
“It is obligatory of cyber laws across the world to constantly play catch-up. Indian cyber laws have not,” concluded Duggal.” Read More
Will India attain Internet Utopia?
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The key benefit of the Digital India program will be that it is a transformative program which will aim to transform India into a knowledge economy and society by the year 2018. It has nine different verticals and has thrust on piggy-riding technology as a means for improving governance and also improving the day-to-day citizen interface with the Government,” explains Pavan Duggal, cyberlaw expert.” Read More
The Art of Selling Stolen Goods Online
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Flipkart cannot evade responsibility unless it can prove that it exercised ‘due diligence’,” says Pavan Duggal, a cyber-law expert. “All online marketplaces are intermediaries under the IT Act and it is mandatory for them to discharge their obligations under the law.” Read More
Terror on Twitter: the life and crimes of Mehdi
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“A Delhi-based lawyer specialising in cyber laws, Pawan Duggal, says that this case is not just about tweets and terrorism, but about Indian cyber laws and their ability to deal with such incidents. “Under the language of Section 66 F of the Information Technology Act a mere tweet alone does not fulfil the parameters of cyber terrorism” and this only shows “the need to revisit the law to define and bring into focus the use of social media for cyber terrorism,” he argued.
Mr. Duggal added that “the law was amended in 2008 and since then much has changed in terms of technology and this only shows that cyber laws need to keep pace with quick technological changes” and that there is an “urgent need to focus on mobile internet and social media misuse to redefine cyber terror, war or naxalism.” Read More
IRCTC hacking: Railways claims no leakage of ‘sensitive’ data
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, Cyberlaw expert, said: “The IRCTC leak represents the biggest and largest reported personal data security breach in India. It is no ordinary matter but represents a massive attack on India’s critical information infrastructure, ultimately aimed at prejudicially impacting India’s cyber security and sovereignty.
“It has taken advantage of the fact that India does not have a dedicated data protection law in India and that the existing Indian cyber law takes such matters very lightly. This incident needs to be a wake-up call for all stakeholders to proactively work in ensuring compliance with applicable laws, cyber security regulations and international best practices.” Read More
Getting India's maps right
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"The way and the manner in which the Bill has been drafted, in such wide terms and extremely broad ambit and amplitude, are likely to raise legal, policy and regulatory challenges as we go forward," says Pavan Duggal, advocate, Supreme Court.” Read More
End-to-end encryption: Both a boon and a bane
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption provides more encouragement to terror groups to be bolder in their communications in coded languages which can then be transmitted without the fear of being cracked on the way," warns Pavan Duggal, one of the nation's top cyber law experts.
"Given the fact that WhatsApp does not have an office in India, it further complicates the scenario. The Indian approach on encryption is also not clear. The draft of the National Encryption Policy received massive protests and was withdrawn by the government in 2015," Duggal told IANS.
"End-to-end encryption is now a ground reality. The fact remains how sovereign states try to come up with legal mechanisms and processes to deal with this," asserts Duggal, also a Supreme Court advocate.
"As such, India will need to come up with its own customised approach on how to deal with this," Duggal said.” Read More
Exciting career options: The web world is evolving and so is cyber law
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, an advocate who has specialised in the field is of the view that this is a niche profession and provides immense opportunities of learning and growth. “It is an extremely interesting field,” he says.
“There are many challenges in this profession. One of the biggest challenges is that you have to constantly keep updating your knowledge. Given the fact that cyber legal jurisprudence is constantly evolving, one needs to be aware of developments across the world. Further, this profession is extremely demanding and requires immense hard work and patience,” says Duggal.
“It helps to take up a specialised course in cyber law. There are various institutions that provide online ­programmes on various aspects of cyber law. These programmes and other additional courses help you understand the nuances of cyber law,” says Duggal.
“You need a lot of patience in order to be a successful cyber lawyer. You must have great research skills that allow you to understand and keep abreast of the latest developments in the field of technology,” says Duggal, who has to his credit several firsts in this field.” Read More
Facebook comes under government scanner for hosting 'insulting comments' against judiciary
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“This amounts to clear lowering of stature of judiciary in the mind of the people and once the complaint is brought to the notice of the service provider, that is Facebook, it has to exercise due diligence. The identity of the people who have posted such messages can be given by Facebook and they can be prosecuted,” noted lawyer and cyber expert Pavan Duggal said.
“The offence is a prima facie violation of Section 66A of Information Technology Act (Punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service), Section 67 of IT Act (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.
Five year jail or Rs 10 lakh fine), Section 499 of Indian Penal Code (defamation) and Section 500 of IPC (two years jail with fine or both) and Contempt of Courts Act”, Duggal said.
“If these sites are also named Supreme Court of India and High Court of Delhi, it’s a violation of the Intellectual Property Rights of these institutions and therefore it is an unfair use. It is a chance to act tough and an opportunity to send a strong message to the cyberspace that you cannot take liberty with judicial institutions. This is hitting the judiciary below the belt using the cyberspace,” he added.” Read More
Delhi Police probing Google’s map contest
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“According to cyber law expert Pavan Duggal: “If Google was trying to delve into sovereign government space, it is bound to have serious ramifications. Though there is no direct law which bars them from carrying out such activity … the government can notify that they were duty-bound not to go ahead with such an exercise. Since Google is an intermediary under the IT Act, they are required to carry out due diligence while carrying out their activities.” Read More
Behind the scenes of Escort Economy 2.0
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“'The law is silent on what constitutes escorts websites," says Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal, referring to the Information Technology Act, 2000. "However, if escort websites use language which is obscene, lascivious or which appeals to prurient interests, then the escort websites come within the ambit of the illegality and can be booked for online obscenity." Duggal, who is also the president of Cyberlaws.net, says banning websites is "a failed experiment" because of the intrinsic architecture of the internet. "It is possible to visit the banned websites through proxy servers," says Duggal, who cites savithabhabhi.com, an Indian adult website, to explain how bans usually lead to increased internet traffic to the website. "Also, the ban is of no consequence, since the site owners quickly change the URLs or domain names and create new websites," he points out.” Read More
Business rivals commit most cyber-crimes
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Corporates have been an integral part of cyber-crime growth in India. Cyber security is still not a thrust area in the corporate world, which has a `chaltahain' (it's all right) attitude, allowing cyber criminals easy access. The absence of strong protection laws also aids such people," Pavan Duggal, top cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate, said.
Duggal explains: "In most cases of corporate theft, criminals understand that the weakest links are the people, so they tend to cultivate such links to steal corporate data." Read More
Government proposes integration of PAN cards with Digi Locker
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“DigiLocker is a first of its kind in the world and its benefits are immense. However, we need to look at it from an overall perspective. We are asking everybody to upload all their government documents online where the foundation of the same remains cybersecurity,” said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert.
Duggal added the government needs to fast-track the initiatives related to cybersecurity. “We had on national cyber security policy announced in 2013 which remained in paper as there was no implementation,” he said.” Read More
Kaspersky Cybersecurity: Strengthening government initiatives, enterprise and cyber insurance
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and who specialises in cyber laws believes that cyber insurance is not just the future but the need of the hour. “Sony Pictures hacking case has demonstrated, that how a legal entity’s entire intellectual property rights can get prejudicially impacted by cyber security breaches. Hence, cyber insurance becomes a good option for corporates,” he said.
“Currently, this is not very prominently used by Indian entrepreneurs. This is so because Indian entrepreneurs believed in ‘chaltahai’ approach. Lot of people believed in Indian Jugaad School of Management. They think that they can do jugaad in cyberspace. However, the fact remains that the said jugaad do not work in the context of cyber security breaches; therefore cyber insurance needs to gain far more prominence and acceptability amongst the Indian entrepreneurs. It has to be the defacto way forward for all corporates in India,” Duggal further added.” Read More
Lack of strong laws makes ATMs vulnerable to cyber-attacks
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The absence of cyber security framework for ATMs is like a dream come true for hackers. For banks, updating the software of ATMs and putting in a place a cyber security framework should be a mandatory provision, not an optional exercise,” says Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert.
“The country needs a cyber security law that defines the duties of the stakeholders, starting from the banker to users,” he added.
During the past four weeks, cyber-crimes related to financial institutions and banks have gone up sharply, says Duggal. “Unless there is a penal consequence, such incidents will keep happening.” Read More
To go cashless, win people’s trust first
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Supreme Court advocate and cyber law specialist Pavan Duggal has been crying hoarse for India to have a dedicated law on digital payments. It’s very important to grant complete legality and remove doubts and provide clarifications pertaining to legal efficacies and legal validity of digital payments, Mr Duggal noted recently.” Read More
As India plans on going cashless, security concerns on transaction increases
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"It is possible that the swipe machines can be tampered with. It can be connected to a small card reader, a device which can read the details of the credit/debit card and the same can be misused by mischievous elements," says Pavan Duggal, an expert in the field of cyber law.
He warned residents about using ATMs in isolated places and those ATMs which use an outdated software.” Read More
Amid growing digitisation, India must gear up for cyber threats: report
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Amid this, Pavan Duggal, the country's leading cyber law expert, lamented that Indian cyber law does not have adequate provisions to deal with the growing cyber threats. "The Information Technology Act, 2000, amended in 2008, still does not comprehensively deal with all relevant issues in the cyber security ecosystem. India not being a signatory to any international treaty on cyber-crime complicates the intrinsic ability of the immense law and legal frameworks to provide effective remedies against cyber-crimes which are committed from abroad," Duggal said.” Read More
Banks gear up to make plastic money more secure for customers
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal told Mail Today that the country's existing cyber law is woefully inadequate to deal with the world of cashless digital transactions as it does not have enough remedies to compensate consumers in case they are cheated of their money threw a cyber-attack on banks or through phishing attempts. The Information Technology law does not envision the present world of cashless transactions as it was enacted in 2000 when this technology was not there.
Customers are blamed for not being careful with their passwords or misuse of the network for losing the money. There are very few cases in which compensation is given and even this is too low, Duggal explained.” Read More
Cybercrime-as-a-service a growing threat to India: Experts
“Cybercrime expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal said: “The figures from the government, though only representative, confirm the ground reality. The security concerns need to be addressed on a war footing. In India, CAAS came to the forefront in 2015, but the lack of awareness among probing agencies means there is no specific classification.”
“Last year, I remember a case where a known terror group had sought hackers and many Indians had joined the group. Our police don’t categorize these as CAAS cases and book them under various sections. While we don’t have the correct figure, I am sure CAAS has increased in the past one year,” he added.
“There are such institutes in every major city. They are not regulated, charge between Rs 10,000 and Rs 40,000 for certificates and promise jobs which don’t actually exist. Armed with the required skills and with no strong law in place, the candidates may stray,” Duggal said.” Read More
India to finally get electronic evidence authenticators
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“If you look at cybercrimes for example, the number of incidents are in five digits and convictions in two digits. One of the main reasons for this is lack of acceptable evidence. Such evidence are also part of conventional crimes today and it is good that we are trying to plug the gap in the system,“ Pavan Duggal, senior Supreme Court advocate and a leading cyber law expert, says.” Read More
Think twice before downloading mobile phone apps, say cyber experts
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate specialising in cyber law, said that the number of cases pertaining to mobile wallets being comprised in Bengaluru itself has gone up. “In the wake of demonetisation, breaches in cyber security have increased,” he said.
Mr. Duggal added that there is a need to have a proper legal framework to assist victims who lose money to cyber criminals. “There should be dedicated cyber security laws as India is already on the way to a cashless economy,” he said.” Read More
How safe are our CCTV cameras?
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer specialising in cyber law, said that he has seen a few cases from Bengaluru pertaining to CCTV hacking.
“People are not aware about cyber security of these equipment. Their cyber protection is very poor,” he said, recalling a recent case of an employee of a private company hacking into his company CCTV storage device to delete a footage of him stealing.” Read More
Data privacy back in spotlight
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, advocate in the Supreme Court, said "The Information Technology Act 2000 was for the PC era. This is the age of mobility and there is substantial change in the way people access the internet. Hence, there is an intrinsic expectation that data be protected." Read More
Hackers take payment e-commerce firms for a ride
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“This is a classic case of exploitation of data. Digital wallets and mobile wallets are extremely unsafe. There are only a couple of Reserve Bank notifications on it. The sector is unregulated; there are no minimum parameters to follow. A majority of the service providers do not focus on cyber security,” said Pavan Duggal, an advocate who specialises in the area of cyber and e-commerce law.” Read More
Hackers running parallel cab-hailing platforms
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“While such schemes benefit the users and the fake operators, they are eating into both Uber’s and Paytm’s revenues. According to cyber-security expert Pavan Duggal: “The flaw is in Uber’s system that it allows such a security breach.” Duggal, however, said people using such illegal schemes could become the victims of these hacker groups. As per Sections 43 and 66 of the IT Act, consumers also can be treated as co-accused and face three years’ imprisonment and a ₹5-lakh fine.” Read More
Mittal’s Social Trade: A Ponzi Scam In Substance, But Not In Form?
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pawan Duggal, an advocate specialising in cyber law, says Any scheme which ultimately doesn’t have a sustainable business model is considered to be a Ponzi scam and Social Trade has no sustainable model. There are no contracts between Social Trade and any other company. Money was being taken from ABC and being given to XYZ. I think it was a Ponzi scheme wherein the police came in before it went bust.” Read More
The Fake News problem in India can get out of hand if not controlled in due time; experts tell us why
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The law does not mention the word fake news anywhere. But since a lot of fake news is generated on electronic platforms – phones, computers, social media and so on – it gets covered under existing laws. When you disseminate fake news – publishing or transmitting as well as causing to be published in an electronic form, information which is likely to corrupt the minds of people, then it is an offence under Section 67 of the IT act. This involves three years imprisonment and a Rs 5 lakh fine,” said Pavan Duggal, advocate, Supreme Court of India and cyberlaw expert. But he says that since it is a bailable offence and lack of people following through after initial complaints, there are very few convictions.” Read More
Showing sex determination ads is illegal: Here is why there is no full stop to this
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Any intermediary who is operating a platform is well within the control of the advertisements that run on the platform. They can have adequate parameters to have them removed or disabled in case the said advertisements are against the provisions of law,” said Duggal.
“The Government should also come up with specific norms for intermediaries who are displaying these sex-determination tests.” he added.” Read More
Government must declare computer systems as 'protected'
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"All the systems must be declared protected," Duggal said at a seminar on Cyberlaw and Cyber security challenges for companies in the post-demonetisation era.
"After demonetisation, the volume of online transactions has gone up. Companies must comply with Indian legislation, i.e. the IT Act or else they will face trouble," he added.
"Non-compliance with norms exposes companies to legal issues, both civil and criminal. These unpleasant consequences could be avoided by ensuring compliances with these evolving norms," Duggal said.” Read More
Ransomware threats on a high, experts say no real solution yet
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber expert and Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal said: “The situation has gotten worse post demonetisation although no official cases are being registered.” Duggal, who has even authored books on cybersecurity, deals with several clients affected by cybercrime every month.” Read More
Paper leak: What measures government should take to check it
But then why that is the authority have so far failed to check cheating and paper leaks? According to Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert, hackers target government servers as they are soft targets. “Most servers are soft targets as they are not well-protected. Many a time, somebody from the conducting body reveals the time the question paper would be uploaded online, making it easier for the hackers to hack the computer,” he said.
Duggal suggested that the best way out is to invest in sound technology while underlining that the government has not yet prioritised cyber security.
“The government has to invest crores to acquire the right technology. Also, we need to keep revisiting the latest cyber security protocols and make stringent laws punishing the criminals,” he added.” Read More
Cyber-law inadequacies pose challenges for all
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Companies need to come up with out of the box thinking and creative legal approaches while dealing with Cyber law and challenges in cybersecurity laws post-demonetisation,” Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and expert on Cyber law told Express.
“At a recent conference, we urged the Government to give far more support and encouragement to intermediaries as innovators and technological disruptors, as these companies will further help the pace of adoption of cashless digital economy in India,” said Duggal.” Read More
Nasscom chief saying full data protection isn’t possible should wake us from our digital slumber
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
According to cyberlaw and cybersecurity expert, Pavan Duggal, “Going forward, there is an urgent need for India to take a strong view on privacy in terms of legislative frameworks. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, India does not have a dedicated law on privacy.”
According to Duggal, “The Information Technology Act, 2000 hardly has effective provisions to protect any data and personal privacy in the digital ecosystem. The Indian Government needs to come up with strong privacy law which can protect both personal privacy and data privacy in an effective manner.” Read More
India needs better legal framework for electronic health records
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The laws need to be worked to protect the privacy of individuals and their sensitive personal data, while, at the same time, giving sufficient flexibility to the medical and health industries to continue their research and related activities,” said Pavan Duggal, one of the leading cyber law experts in the country.” Read More
E-evidence gradually becomes a crucial part of prosecution
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“At present, overburdened forensic labs are taking 2 to 3 years to prove veracity of e evidence produced in different courts. Many times, even in strong online criminal cases, we are unable to get conviction in the absence of veracity of e evidence. Courts are very strict on evidence laws. Normally it takes years to convince courts on e evidence veracity. This is enough to point out the conviction rate in cyber-crimes, which has shot up by thousand times. The conviction rate is such case is still in double digits. A few Examiner of Electronic Evidence labs would won’t be enough to handle it. To tackle the increasing number of cyber-crimes, we should have at least 100 such labs to start with,” said Pavan Duggal, senior Supreme Court advocate and a leading cyber law expert.
“We have been receiving cases such as breaching of bank accounts, misusing digital wallet, mobile phishing, bank frauds, etc., but are we prepared for this? Also, there are massive increase in cyber-crimes like tampering computer source, hacking, trolling, sending obscene messages in recent years, messages that have potential to create war-like situation. All these need to be dealt immediately,” Duggal said.” Read More
The big national security versus privacy debate
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“I think one reality is very clear, WhatsApp has become the hunting ground of cyber criminals everywhere and this is the direction many discussions have taken recently, especially in the government. If this is to be allowed it will compromise the privacy of the users. However, strict mechanism needs to be in place in order to regulate surveillance. Technological limitations of companies too is a challenge whereby encrypted conversations just cannot be accessed at the drop of a hat. There is no final resolution on this, but there seems to be a push to extend intermediary liabilities to the service provider so as to help curb cyber terror. The intrinsic problem lies in the license to survey: who will determine whether a particular individual is a terrorist? There are also potential jurisdiction challenges. When a server is in a different country, it is difficult to summon the data. It is understandable that a sovereign state does not want to stand mute while OTT services are misused for cybercrimes. In India we have no documented policy on encryption, as the previous one was withdrawn. Service providers are legally mandated to provide information to the government when required to. People have also become fiercely protective of privacy and have been resorting to the dark web.” Read More
11,592 cases of cyber-crime registered in India in 2015: NCRB
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The post-demonetisation era saw the absence of any deterrent by way of legal provision. We must think of how to come up with an appropriate cyber resilience policy. Today, the Indian information technology law goes soft on cyber-crime especially after the 2008 amendment because except cyber terrorism and child pornography, all other cyber-crimes offences are bailable. This means that a person is free to come out and delete evidence,” said Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert at the Supreme Court.
“It is indicative of two things—cracks in India’s cyber security armour and the subtle warning by cyber criminals that if government websites are not safe, then nothing is,” said Duggal.” Read More
Lack of privacy law reason behind WhatsApp petition
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“In October 2012, Ajit Prakash Shah, a former chief justice of the Delhi HC, led a panel of experts which formulated a policy framework for a privacy law. Successive governments have ignored it, says Pavan Duggal, an SC lawyer. "Meanwhile, India has been quietly converted into a WhatsApp colony," he complains. "The case raises complex issues on cyber law jurisprudence. There are fundamental issues that need to be addressed. India has not deemed it fit yet to have dedicated data protection laws, a privacy law." Read More
Need to make Aadhaar ecosystem more cyber secure: Expert
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"There is a need for addressing newly emerging legal and cyber security challenges concerning Aadhaar ecosystem on an urgent basis," said Pavan Duggal, one of the leading cyber law experts in the country, during a conference on Aadhaar, its legalities and challenges here.
"There is a need for more comprehensive legal frameworks to protect and preserve data and privacy of individual Aadhaar account holders in specific and the Aadhaar ecosystem stakeholders in general," he noted.” Read More
Aadhaar data leaked from more government departments, UIDAI asks for audit to prevent further leaks
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, a leading expert in Cyberlaw has pointed out multiple times that the Aadhaar Act is utterly inadequate when it comes to cybersecurity, protecting the privacy of individuals and for offering remedial options to affected persons.
Essentially, he said that the law “fails to provide parameters for cybersecurity.” Read More
J&K social media ban: Use of 132-year-old Act can’t stand judicial scrutiny, say experts
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, senior lawyer specialising in cyber law, concurs. “Legally, the order is not viable. This is because the IT Act applies for blocking, under Section 69 (A). Also Section 81 of the IT Act also make it clear that this is a special law, which will prevail over any other older law. The IT ACT deals with everything related to the internet.”
So can the citizens challenge such an order, which puts a blanket ban on social networks? The answer is yes, as in this case this order “is legally untenable,” explains Duggal.
“While the IT Act allows for blocking, it should be remembered the process is always open to judicial review. Courts have final authority, and they can examine whether the principles of law were applied when passing such a blocking order,” explains Duggal.” Read More
Only import of book prohibited, say legal experts
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Supreme Court lawyer and cyber-law expert Pavan Duggal also said downloading the book is not a crime. “When you download content off the internet, you come under the Information Technology Act,” he said, “which overrides any other law in this regard.” Read More
The Indian Cyber Criminal Is Amongst The Best Brains In The World
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“India is beginning to witness mature cyber-crimes involving a lot of meticulous planning. However, along with this growth in cyber-crime, we are witnessing a decline in reporting of such crime. It means that corporates are now not reporting incidents of cyber-crime to the police and cyber-crime cells all across the country for fear of undue negative publicity. Only one in 20 cyber-crimes that take place is reported in the country.”
“The level of cyber-crime in India is pretty evolved. Various mature level cyber-crimes occurred in India at a much earlier point of time than their respective emergence in Western countries. The Indian cyber-criminal is very mature and sharp and can be counted amongst the best criminal brains of the world.”
“The IT Act 2000 basically deals with specified cybercrimes like damage to computer source code, hacking, publishing of obscene electronic information, breach of privacy and confidentiality, and publishing false digital signature certificates or for fraudulent purposes and breach of a protected system.” Read More
Indian law may satisfy data protection concerns
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"It is becoming extremely important for India to have in place a distinctive legal regime promoting data protection," said Pavan Duggal, a Delhi-based cyber law consultant. "This is necessary to create appropriate confidence among investors and foreign companies to the effect that the data they send to India for back-office operations is indeed safe and there are appropriate statutory mechanisms in place should a breach of data take place."
"However, foreign customers are increasingly realizing that such contractual obligations are not necessarily the best effective remedy available," said Duggal. Duggal added that the government should consider penalties of $5.5 million to $11 million for breaches of data.” Read More
India poised to tighten data protection law
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"It is becoming extremely important for India to have in place a distinctive legal regime promoting data protection," said Pavan Duggal, a Delhi-based cyber law consultant. "This is necessary to create appropriate confidence among investors and foreign companies to the effect that the data they send to India for back-office operations is indeed safe, and there are appropriate statutory mechanisms in place should a breach of data take place."
"However, foreign customers are, increasingly, realising that such contractual obligations are not necessarily the best effective remedy available," said Duggal. Duggal added that the government should consider penalties up to between $5.5m to $11m for breaches of data.
One case reported was of an employee in a call centre in Noida, who last year misused the credit card and other details of a US citizen to buy electronics equipment from Sony. "He was caught, arrested and subsequently convicted for online cheating in the subcontinent's first cyber-crime conviction," said Duggal, who was the counsel for Sony.”
Legal pill for cyber-crime
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Duggal said the groundwork for the amendments has already been initiated by the panel in consultation with CII, FICCI and Nasscom representatives.
'The new law will be formulated by the end of this year. It will be a New Year gift to internet and mobile users of the country,' said Duggal.
The panel members have reached a consensus that the act should have provision that if an individual does not want to receives e-mails, sms or phone calls from a particular organisation, he can ask it to stop doing so, said Duggal.
'If the organisation ignores the request it will be a legal offence. The amendment will also dispel doubts expressed by foreign companies that their database is not safe in the India due to absence of proper law,' he added.
He said the law would serve as a proper complain mechanism for victims of cyber-crime who suffer a loss due to infringement into their database be it personal, banking, financial or insurance.
'Companies suffer losses to the tune of several crore due to violation of database privacy, compared to which a fine of Rs 1 crore is a meagre amount,' Duggal said.” Read More
Security: New mantra for revised Act
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Data protection and liability of network service providers seem to be the most pressing issues which the committee will address, “said Pavan Duggal, an expert in cyber laws.” Read More
Phishing in people's accounts
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Phishing and phishers may be keeping banks on high alert but the law is lagging far behind. Cyber Law expert, Pavan Duggal explains, 'Phishing is not an offence that is specifically defined under the IT Act, 2000. The law enforcement authorities are keen if at all to report and register a case under the typical generic provisions of cheating and criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code, IPC.'
Duggal says, 'One of the biggest problems in phishing is how do you go ahead and arrest these kind of offenders. If you look at the law book, it gives you an academic answer. The IT Act, 2000 has extra-territorial jurisdiction and it applies to any person of any nationality anywhere in the world - so long as the impacted computer is physically located in India. But having said that, the reality is that the Indian law is still not applicable to people outside the territorial boundaries. Therefore, the law enforcement agencies reach a dead end.'” Read More
You Tube and § 79 of the IT Act – A Second Look
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
Pavan Duggal’s article states that the “IT Act, 2000… leaves… contentious yet very important issues concerning Copyright, Trademark and Patent… untouched in the said law thereby leaving many loopholes in the said law.” Read More
Target archaic laws, not individuals, say IT companies
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“According to the law, explains Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal, if there is contravention by a company, the person "running the company" is held liable. The management has two exit routes: either claim to have no knowledge of the contravention or submit that it took place despite exercise of due diligence. "The law is currently vague and it needs to specify what 'knowledge' means as well as parameters of due diligence. Since the IT industry has different requirements, the laws need to be sensitive to it or it will hamper the growth of the industry," Mr Duggal added.” Read More
Caught in the web; draft rules stir a hornet's nest
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"The proposed rules under Section 69A of the amended IT Act, 2000, could end up violating the fundamental tenets of the principles of natural justice since they condemn the affected website unheard and hence are ulta vires the Indian Constitution and, if implemented, could be struck down by any court of law," said Pavan Duggal, advocate, Supreme Court of India.
Duggal, meanwhile, describes the appointment of designated officers as a "failed experience". "There has not been a single case of anyone being awarded damages in the last eight years since the IT Act was instituted. I wonder how things will change." Read More
Amendment to Indian IT Act :- Browsing child porn sites set to be a crime
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The amendments will have a huge impact on the way cyber-crimes are handled and investigated in India,’’ said advocate Pavan Duggal, a cyber law specialist in Delhi. Mumbai-based cyber security expert Vijay Mukhi concurred. Both experts noted that an offence of “cyber terrorism’’ punishable with life imprisonment, for instance, is a vital new addition, and that its definition is exhaustive. Duggal said, “Once the bill becomes an act, Section 67B will have a huge positive impact, primarily because India does not have a special legislation to tackle child pornography. To that extent, the new IT law is path-breaking’’. Read More
India's New IT Law Increases Surveillance Powers
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The onus of proving that the intermediary has not shown due diligence, or that the offense or contravention was done with the connivance of the intermediary, now shifts to the individual complainant, said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court, in an interview earlier this year.
The amendment blocks out effective remedies for ordinary users, as they will not have access to records of the intermediary, and will never be able to prove that the intermediary conspired or abetted in the commission of an offense, Duggal added.” Read More
Cyber laws must punish individuals not society: specialist
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"You need to have a mix and match addressing specific offences but also taking into account new technologies and cybercrimes," said Pavan Duggal, Chairman of Cyber Law and IT Act. Committee in India, where data theft and unauthorised data use is posing the biggest challenge in cyberspace.
The new IT Act is also lacking in the area of data confidentiality and personal privacy, Duggal said.” Read More
Browsing child porn will land you in jail
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"The amendments will certainly have a huge impact on the way cyber-crimes are handled and investigated in India," said advocate Pavan Duggal, a cyber-law specialist in Delhi.
Duggal said, "Once the bill becomes an act, Section 67B will have a huge positive impact, primarily because India does not have a special legislation to tackle child pornography. To that extent, the new IT law is path-breaking". Read More
India lags in Cybercrime insurance
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"It's time for insurance companies to provide thought leadership in this space," concurred Pavan Duggal, a lawyer and consultant on cybercrime legislation.
For every 500 cybercrimes that take place, only 50 are reported; just one cybercrime is registered with the police and a cyber-criminal is rarely caught, said Duggal.” Read More
Digital afterlife: Leaving your legacy online
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Indians are very slowly waking up to the importance of handing over confidential digital (electronic and internet-based) documents to their loved ones," said Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court lawyer and cyberlaw expert. "For confidential reasons, I cannot disclose any details, but I have had hardly five clients who have signed a Digital Will to bequeath their confidential data to the next of kin. These are the crème de la crème of the society, besides being tech-savvy people."
"People have no clue how much digital data they generate, and there’s so much data they may wish to share with their loved ones even after they are gone," he added.
A Digital Will in India, however, is not part of an existing legal framework. "While the IT Act 2000 protects the sanctity of electronic records, there’s no such provision for Digital Wills. This has been the case for almost a decade since the Law came into being. The government ought to revisit this," said Duggal.” Read More
'Our cyber cells are not equipped to deal with cyber-crime'
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber terrorism is a big challenge for India. Only a couple of years back nobody wanted to acknowledge the relevance of cyber terrorism in the Indian context.”
“However, it is widely accepted that cyber terrorism is a major challenge for the India. I don't believe that enough is being done to curb cyber terrorism. The centre has already taken a number of steps in this regard. The Information Technology Act 2000 has been amended by the Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008 to incorporate the specific offence for cyber terrorism.”
“India has one of the most comprehensive provisions relating to cyber offences across the world. However, more needs to be done in this regard. Appropriate and specialized anti-cyber terror courts needs to be set up as effective implementation of law is just as much important as having put in place a good law.” Read More
White Collar Crimes with special reference to Cyber Crimes
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“According to Mr. Pavan Duggal the main intention of the legislators has been to provide for a law to regulate the e-commerce and with that aim the I.T.Act 2000 was passed, which may also be one of the reasons for its inadequacy to deal with cases of cyber-crime.” Read More
The sad case of our cyber security
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Duggal points out that there are plenty of ethical hackers in India. However we do not have a cyber army in that sense of the word. It is high time that India thinks in that direction in order to act pro-actively to protect our sovereign interests.” Read More
New Internet Protocol Laws in India Lead to Data Privacy Concerns for Companies
“The government does not have powers to do any blanket interception and monitor the entire population. Any interception of electronic communication in India, if done outside the parameters of Section 69 of IT Act, will infringe upon the fundamental right of privacy, part of Fundamental Right of Life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. But under Section 79 2C, all intermediaries (which includes Internet Service Providers) in India are mandated to comply with such directions as may be issued by the government from time to time. It is this power that the government appears to be using to issue directions to ISPs,” New Delhi-based cyber law expert Pavan Duggal told Sunday MiD DAY.
Indian government floats new rules for online censorship
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Some of the terms are so vague that to stay on the right side of the law, intermediaries may have to remove third-party content that is even mildly controversial, said Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in India's Supreme Court.
“Would creating a Facebook profile for a minor, for example, be considered as harming a minor?” Duggal said.
The new rules will give rise to subjective interpretations, thus giving non-judicial authorities in the country the power to decide whether the intermediary has observed due diligence or not, Duggal said.
Rather than recognizing the diversity of the businesses of intermediaries, the draft rules use a “one-size, fits all” approach across a variety of intermediaries including telecom service providers, online payment sites, email service providers and Web hosting companies, Duggal said.” Read More
'National panel needed to tackle cyber-crime'
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Cyber secrecy and network security are extremely relevant in today's context," said Pavan Duggal, chairman of Assocham's cyber law committee. "Both the requirements of national sovereign government as those of balancing the needs of data protection and privacy have to be appropriately addressed," he added. He also emphasised the need to ensure that relevant stake-holders are not burdened with costs of compliance in a manner that makes it difficult for them to run a business.” Read More
Now, Facebook and Twitter under government scanner
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Duggal says sections 1 and 75 of the Indian IT Act state regardless of the nationality, any company operating in India can be held accountable if the contravention of law has an impact on computer (systems and networks) in India. “But the problem is what would the government monitor on social networking sites---usage of keywords, all users, just the suspects or leave it totally to the service provider?” he asks.
There is another issue. Under Section 70 (B), service providers like ISPs and telecom companies have to report cybersecurity breaches on all computers in India to the government, failing which they could be punished with imprisonment. Moreover, under a separate section, it's mandatory for all cybercafés in India to retain identity proofs of users for one year. However, the government is simultaneously planning to introduce the Right to Privacy Bill to protect its citizens. The draft of this Bill, reportedly, would allow for penalisation of “unauthorised interception”, regardless of whether one is in the government. “Hence, there could be many legal challenges if the government does not go about its task of monitoring users in a transparent manner,” cautions Duggal.” Read More
Laws have teeth but government does not bite
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“For instance, hardly a month after the devastating blasts in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 (referred to as 26/11), the government amended the IT Act 2000 to make cybercrime an offence punishable with life imprisonment and a penalty (to be decided by the court) under Section 66F. The amendments were notified on October 27, 2009. "Every bomb attack nowadays has an element of cybercrime. We have the laws but they need to be enforced," asserts Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert, but rues: "Not a single cybercrime-related case has been registered in India till date." Read More
Government forced to take steps if social networking sites failed to screen derogatory material from their sites: Sibal
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"You cannot censor the Internet in India," said Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate and president, cyberlaws.net. "You can ask social media sites to ensure that they comply with the law, but you cannot look at censorship. Regulating content on the Internet is legally, practically and technologically impossible. At this rate, the chances of the government trying to enforce censorship cannot be ruled out." Read More
New media stresses new regulations in IT Act
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, a cyber law consultant and advocate in the Supreme Court says, “The propensity to commit cybercrime has increased tremendously over the last two years. Hackers now do not need highly secured computer systems and networks to hack a mobile or email ID. Nine out of ten smartphone users do not even know that their mobiles require an anti-virus software.”
As social media is becoming such an important tool, Duggal says that the government right now is concerned about defamatory content and the content that offends religious sensibilities and both of them are covered under the existing law.” Read More
Cybercrime on the rise, but not all cases getting reported
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“These numbers give us a false sense of security,” said cyber law expert and Supreme Court lawyer Pavan Duggal. “They fall way short of the reality. For every 500 cybercrimes that take place, only 50 are reported to the police and just one gets registered as an FIR (first information report),” Duggal said.
Another cyber law expert Na Vijayashankar, who runs cyber law information portal Naavi, also said the number of registered cases appears to be very low. “There’s no organized method of collecting information from states, because of which these numbers do not reflect reality,” he pointed out.
According to Duggal, the police continue to register some cybercrime cases under the IPC Act (and not the IT Act) since they’re more familiar with the IPC. “There have been only three reported cybercrime convictions till date—two under the IT Act in Chennai and one under IPC in Delhi,” he added.” Read More
Indecent Proposals
“Says cyber law expert Pavan Duggal: “This proposition could be ultra vires of the Constitution which guarantees fundamental rights under Article 19, which is about freedom of speech and expression subject to reasonable restrictions.” And the reasonable restrictions for monitoring, blocking and interception of internet content are already built into the IT Act.
Says Duggal: “The IT Act, 2000, was amended in ’08, but doesn’t talk about social media which came up only around that time. There is a need to bring social media within the ambit of the Act. What Sibal is suggesting doesn’t exist anywhere in the world.” Read More
Internet insecurity grips India due to lax policing in cyber land
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The existing laws lack in governing the internet. Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court lawyer and a cyber law expert, points out that the Indian IT Act 2000 and its regulations cover the post-publication phase. "The law is silent on any requirement on the part of social media firms to monitor content in any way," he says.
"Some cases filed show the problem had arisen because these firms had not responded within 36 hours to remove content. Many would argue this is too short a time, but in the cyber world, even a few minutes are enough to tarnish an image," says Duggal.”
‘Need to revisit Information Technology Act'
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The Government should also join hands with stakeholders to set up a dedicated cyber law university”, said Mr Duggal, at a seminar on ‘Social media networks: Opportunities and challenges'.
Referring to the recent incident involving three Karnataka ministers who allegedly watched porn during the State Assembly session, Mr Duggal said “charges can be slapped against the Minister who had the clipping stored in his cell-phone, under Section 67 and 67 (A) of the IT Act.”
On the recent Delhi High Court order to 22 social media sites to pull out inflammatory content, Mr Duggal said, “these Web sites were trying to get away by saying they were bound by US laws and were not amenable to Indian norms. These companies want to operate in India but do not want to comply with Indian laws. If your target is the Indian ecosystem, you then have to comply with the laws here and disable content from the Indian networks at least.”
This happened to Google in China. Yahoo! also faced a similar situation when it was asked by France to pull out links to Nazi sites and memorabilia, said Mr Duggal.
“The IT Rules 2011 mandates service providers to do “due-diligence” of content that which could be a threat to national security and integration. Any aggrieved party can lodge a complaint against content online. The Web sites are then required to pull out the content within 36 hours from the Indian network. Failing to do so invokes penalties”, said Mr Duggal.” Read More
Government urged to back National Cyber Law varsity
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“It should not be an initiative in the private level, there is a need for government support to reach out to the masses,” said cyber law expert Pavan Duggal during Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry conference on Internet/ Social Media Networks: Opportunities and challenges.
Duggal also stressed the need to regulate mobile phones. “By 2013, one out of three cases will have a mobile component,” he said, stressing that it is important to have adequate rules and regulations to cover mobile phones.
“A new paradigm shift is happening and the onus is on government to update laws in digital and mobile eco-system,’ Duggal added.”
New IT Act guidelines: Fixing leaking roof with band aid
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal states that by making the superintendent of police or an officer above register cases under this section does not help the purpose one bit. "It is like fixing a leaking roof with a band aid," he says.
"Now if the amendment to 66 (A) gives the power to the SP or an officer above him, it would mean that both Sections 78 and 80 need to be amended," Duggal points out.
"Moreover, these amendments would only mean we are reverting to earlier position. Under the IT Act of 2000 only an officer in the level of DSP or above could probe such cases. Further and amendment in 2008 stated that an officer in the rank of an inspector level could also probe such a case," he notes.
"It is very important that Section 66(A) remains in sync with Article 19 (2) of the Indian Constitution which deals with free speech. The problem is that the definition of free speech under Section 66 (A) goes beyond the definition as envisaged in the Indian Constitution. This makes Section 66 (A) ultra vires of the Constitution. Clearly the need of the hour is much more work on the subject and if any change or impact has to be made then, the lawmakers should think of getting 66(A) in sync with Article 19 (2) of the Constitution of India," he adds.” Read More
'Centre's guideline on Sec 66 (A) of IT Act has no backing of law'
In this regard, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“These guidelines will have no consequences because these are tertiary legislation. The primary legislation is the IT Act passed by the Parliament; the secondary legislations are rules and regulations, and the third are guidelines. And guidelines can’t overreach the main legislation, which is the IT Act,” said eminent Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert Pavan Duggal.
“I think we are fundamentally missing the main points. The main problem lies with section 66 (A). It is a can of worms. So, rather than opening it up and killing the can, we are just trying to give some cosmetic cover around the can. The approach is not going to be any productive till the time you amend the IT Act and amend 66 (A) so that it is in sync with the constitutional limitations on free speech under article 90 of the Constitution,” said Duggal.” Read More
Twitter can be used as secondary evidence in court cases: Legal experts
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer said, "The IT Act of 2000 was primarily legislation promoting e-commerce and the concept of social networking was not even heard of then. Thus, this clause was incorporated because of the widespread use of micro blogging and social networking sites.” "This trend is catching up now, especially in divorce cases. Although it started only last year," Duggal said.
Citing Anu Sharma's example, who suspected her husband of lying to her and found proof in the form of a tweet and filed for divorce, Duggal said, "Her husband used to give her excuses that he was going out on business tours. But instead he would meet friends and socialise. Finally, he was caught when on one of his so called business tours he tweeted, “Having a great time with friends over beer. I am in town, come over and join me." "Tweets and status messages are usually taken up as secondary evidence. And they are as important as the primary ones," said Duggal.
"Any written word available in the public domain can be used under this Act. A statement like this can be used on grounds of mental cruelty," added Duggal.”
Cyber bullying is a crime, but open to interpretation: Expert
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Under Section 66 (A) of the IT Act, 2000, cyber bullying is a bailable offence, punishable with three years of imprisonment and fine. However, the complainant and police can interpret what constitutes offensive behaviour”, said cyber law expert Pavan Duggal.” Read More
Experts Say India's Cyber Law is Outdated
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"When the law was framed, there were no technologies like MMS or sophisticated devices like mobile phones Latest News about mobile phones with cameras. The IT Act is struggling to cope with the change in modern technology," Duggal told UPI in an interview. He said that the panel had recommended several changes in the IT Act, but none was implemented since not many of the suggestions favoured the government perspective.
Duggal said that section 79 of the IT Act holds the network service provider guilty until proven innocent. "It is not fair to hold network service provider responsible for the data processing of a third party," Duggal said.
He said that the Delhi police have implemented the law in letter but not in spirit. "Bajaj's arrest was completely unwarranted," Duggal said, adding that police action will affect the outsourcing Latest News about Outsourcing industry. Just over a month-and-a-half ago, two 11th-grade students from Delhi Public School filmed themselves on the boy's mobile phone during an oral sex act "just for kicks." Read More
India unprepared to tackle online data security: report
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“India is not at all in a state of preparedness to take on the cyber criminals -- thus, to say, it is not prepared for Digital India,” said Pavan Duggal, a cyber-law expert and Supreme Court advocate.
“Without cyber security legislation, India will not be able to become the IT superpower as it aims to be,” said Duggal, adding, “The cyber security policy 2013 is merely a paper tiger. It has not been implemented.”
“The other issue is the awareness about the cyber-crimes among digital users in India is abysmally low,” he said. “All the stakeholders including government, enterprises and people need to come together to tackle this huge challenge.”
“If this kind of breach were reported, it would not only force other banks to follow suit” in making such incidents known “it would also result in the setting of new standards for others in the banking/financial services sector to follow,” Pavan Duggal, a New Delhi lawyer who specializes in cybersecurity law, said. “When cyber security is comprised and this is revealed, it puts pressure on the company or bank to fix the problem instead of hiding it.”
Duggal echoed the point. “We have a situation of gross under-reporting which is the norm. As a result, a false sense of complacency exists in the corporate India that everything is fine regarding the security of their businesses and their data,” he said.” Read More
Low Cyberattack Reporting Leaves India Vulnerable“If this kind of breach were reported, it would not only force other banks to follow suit” in making such incidents known “it would also result in the setting of new standards for others in the banking/financial services sector to follow,” Pavan Duggal, a New Delhi lawyer who specializes in cybersecurity law, said. “When cyber security is comprised and this is revealed, it puts pressure on the company or bank to fix the problem instead of hiding it.”
Duggal echoed the point. “We have a situation of gross under-reporting which is the norm. As a result, a false sense of complacency exists in the corporate India that everything is fine regarding the security of their businesses and their data,” he said.” Read More
Extensive framework required to tackle cybersecurity problems in India: Expert
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Today, a lot of work in personal, professional, social and governance space is being done on the internet. Therefore, there is a need to look at the issues in cyber space. It is here that issues like cyber law, cybercrime and cybersecuritycome in," Pavan Duggal, president, cyber laws.net and Supreme Court advocate, told IANS on the side-lines of a round table on cyber law, cybercrime and cybersecurity here.
"We quickly need to put legal framework to check this before it happens. Unfortunately, we do not have it. We have a provision but it is not completely effective," added Duggal, a cyber-law expert.
"We need cyber laws to give companies power to fight these attacks. People will start getting confidence into your ecosystem once they realise there is a legal framework in place which actually allows state to prosecute cybercriminals effectively," Duggal added.
"But when law enforcement agencies themselves conduct it, then the line becomes blurred. We need to have more clarity. If it is a crime, it should be a crime for an individual person or any law enforcement agency," Duggal explained.” Read More
India needs comprehensive legal framework for cyber-security: Expert
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Today, a lot of work in personal, professional, social and governance space is being done on the Internet. Therefore, there is a need to look at the issues in cyber space. It is here that issues like cyber law, cyber-crime and cyber security come in,” Pavan Duggal, president, cyber laws.net and Supreme Court advocate, told IANS on the side-lines of a round table on cyber law, cyber-crime and cyber security here.
Duggal said big trends like cyber terrorism and radicalization are going to hit big time in India. “We quickly need to put legal framework to check this before it happens. Unfortunately, we do not have it. We have a provision but it is not completely effective,” added Duggal, a cyber-law expert.
“Everybody is vulnerable. It is given that you will be attacked, and the bigger issue is not that you should be attacked or not, it is once you are attacked, how quickly you are able to come back to normalcy,” he noted. For cyber-resilience to get enforced, there is a need of enabling legal frameworks where law does not penalize you in case your network is accessed in an unauthorized manner. This framework should save companies from being slapped with various lawsuits by users who say their personal data has been breached, Duggal pointed out.
To a question about changing trends in accessing the information and attack on the internet, Duggal said that attacks will constantly happen. “Till now, companies were attacked from superficial net but now attacks are happening from the ‘dark web’ where the identity of the attacker is difficult to be found out,” he told IANS. “We need cyber-laws to give companies power to fight these attacks. People will start getting confidence into your ecosystem once they realize there is a legal framework in place which actually allows state to prosecute cyber-criminals effectively,” Duggal added.
”But when law enforcement agencies themselves conduct it, then the line becomes blurred. We need to have more clarity. If it is a crime, it should be a crime for an individual person or any law enforcement agency,” Duggal explained.” Read More
Indian Android smartphone users too at data theft risk: Experts
“Indian smartphone users are at the same risk as users in the US when it comes to sensitive personal data and information being copied from phones and transmitted to undisclosed locations without their consent or knowledge. This is owing to the security vulnerabilities that exist in the Android system,” explained Pavan Duggal, one of the nation’s top cyber-law experts.
“If the government comes to know that Chinese smartphones are stealing users’ data from their customers, then it is very apparent that our cyber law is not at all adequate to deal with such challenges,” Duggal told IANS.
“One of the biggest challenges in this regard would deal with the issue of attribution. How would the Indian agencies be able to attribute to the fact that the said misuse has been done from the indicated/suspected source. The issues pertaining to attribution need far more clarity,” Duggal noted.
Keeping new-age security needs in mind, steps must be taken to make Indian cyber-law more effective and redressal mechanisms must be built in for the users who are part of the digital and mobile ecosystem, Duggal added.” Read More
India lacks laws to protect customers of digital transactions: Experts
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“We don’t have any dedicated law on digital payments. That’s very important to grant complete legality and remove and doubts and clarifications pertaining to legal efficacies and legal validity of digital payments,” says Pavan Duggal, an advocate in the Supreme Court specialising in cyber law.
“There are no legal mechanisms available in case of disputes pertaining to digital payments. The compliance to the Indian cyber law is more done in the breach rather than in compliance,” adds Duggal.” Read More
Question on cyber-security: As India goes cashless, how safe digital payments are?
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Cashless economy is Prime Minister’s futuristic approach but India is still not prepared to become cashless economy. We have major loopholes that need to filled like the country needs a dedicated legislature on digital payment,'' says Pavan Duggal.
Duggal says, “As per National cyber policy it has remained to be just a collection of statements. It was aimed that India will boost manpower in cyber security by 10 lakh employee per year for development and research but on contrary we hire have just 20,000 employee. There exists a huge gap in National Cyber Policy implementation.”
“The absence of cyber security framework for ATMs is like a dream come true for hackers. Updating the software of ATMs and beefing up the cyber security framework should be a mandatory provision, not an optional exercise,” says Pavan Duggal, a cyber-law expert.
“The country needs a cyber-security law that defines the duties of the stakeholders, starting from the banker to users,” he added.” Read More
Cyber-crimes: Centre may soon come out with rules to validate electronic evidence
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“The authorised government examiner or a lab authorised by the government will help a lot of government entities under law, because government is the biggest litigant in the courts. For instance, three out of five cases require electronic evidence today. If government comes out with such rules/regulations, it could be treated as a gospel of truth and lot of challenges can be prosecuted in a time-bound manner,” Pavan Duggal, Cyber law expert and Advocate, Supreme Court, said.
Duggal said the IT Act 2000 did not have any such proposal for an electronic evidence examiner. But, in 2008, the government, under a concept order of Section 79 (A), proposed to have such an examiner for electronic evidence. This has now come back to the limelight, even though after nine years, he added.” Read More
Setting up of CERT-Fin is fine but cyber security needs more focus: Experts
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Although establishing the CERT-Fin is a nice move towards improving cyber security in the banking and finance sector, we need far more focus to safeguard computer networks and payment gateways targeted by state and non-state actors,” Pavan Duggal, a cyber-law expert, told IANS.
“We had expected far more allocation of funds towards fighting cyber-crime, including initiatives towards strengthening our cyber law enforcement agencies in the budget. We also need to strengthen our cyber law so that online fraudsters can be nailed fast,” Duggal added.” Read More
Cyber Crime Major Concern Area For Corporates
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
"Cyber secrecy and network security are extremely relevant in today's context," said Pavan Duggal, chairman of Assocham's cyber law committee.
"Both the requirements of national sovereign government as those of balancing the needs of data protection and privacy have to be appropriately addressed," he added.
He also emphasised the need to ensure that relevant stake-holders are not burdened with costs of compliance in a manner that makes it difficult for them to run a business.” Read More
Cyber laws need to be updated to deal with increasing security challenges: Expert
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“There is an absence of national industry platforms to represent the cumulative interest of intermediaries,” Pavan Duggal, advocate at the Supreme Court, told the gathering. ”While cyber-law as a discipline is integral to today’s corporate operations, stakeholders need to understand the nuances of cyber legal frameworks, the knowledge of which is currently very limited,” Duggal added.
“Legislative and policy action in areas pertaining to data protection, privacy, cyber security and amendments to the Indian Information Technology Act, 2000, is required in India to support India’s march towards cashless digital economy,” Duggal said.” Read More
Cyber-law inadequacies pose challenges for all
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Companies need to come up with out of the box thinking and creative legal approaches while dealing with Cyber law and challenges in cybersecurity laws post-demonetisation,” Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and expert on Cyber law told Express.
“At a recent conference, we urged the Government to give far more support and encouragement to intermediaries as innovators and technological disruptors, as these companies will further help the pace of adoption of cashless digital economy in India,” said Duggal.” Read More
Local court invokes annulled Sec 66A to convict a man
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Speaking to Express, Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate and expert in cyber law, said, “The Supreme Court is superior in the country and once it passes an order on any issue, the lower courts must follow it. The apex court has struck down Section 66A of IT Act, terming it unconstitutional.” Read More
Currently, privacy protection under Aadhaar is not strong: Pavan Duggal
In this report, Cyberlaw Expert Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“The recent Supreme Court judgment that right to privacy is 'intrinsic to life and liberty' may have repercussions on Aadhaar scheme which collects personal details and biometrics for generating a unique identification number.” Read More
India woefully under-prepared to protect data, users' rights on Internet
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“As governments the world over realise the urgent need to tame the anarchic world of the Internet -- dominated by a couple of tech giants -- and begin to write new rules pertaining to users' rights, data privacy and spread of false news and extremist content, India too must shun archaic regulations and implement New-Age cyber laws.” Read More
India is woefully under-prepared to protect data, users’ rights on internet
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“As governments the world over realise the urgent need to tame the anarchic world of the Internet – dominated by a couple of tech giants – and begin to write new rules pertaining to users’ rights, data privacy and spread of false news and extremist content, India too must shun archaic regulations and implement New-Age cyber laws.” Read More
Centre backs local cybersecurity tech
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“With a view to promoting domestic technology and preventing data theft by foreign entities, the government will soon announce a policy that accords preference in official procurement to ‘Made in India’ antivirus and cybersecurity solutions.” Read More
Indian companies to get preference in government’s cybersecurity procurements
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“Government of India shall give preferential treatment to Indian companies in the procurement of cybersecurity products used across all its departments at the center and state levels. See if you qualify.” Read More
One cyber crime takes place every 10 minutes in NCR: Experts
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“In every 10 minutes, one cyber crime took place in the National Capital Region (NCR) and over 22,782 such complaints had been lodged in the first six months of 2017, a cyber security expert said here today.” Read More
MeitY ropes in DoT to get ISPs to implement ban on online child porn
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“The Ministry of of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has sought the help of the Department of Telecom to enforce its order in blocking online Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).” Read More
Cellphone security law in works
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“The ministry of electronics and information technology plans to formulate a legal framework to ensure compliance with security standards which will be mandated for mobile phones.” Read More
Blue Whale has Delhi schools worried, advisories ask parents to be on guard
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“Ten days ago, a Class IV student told Sanghamitra Ghosh, principal of The Mother’s International School, about “Blue Whale — a bad, dangerous online game”. While she had been reading about this online phenomenon, in which players are assigned risky tasks that eventually leads to suicide, this chat with a student of her school made her send an advisory to parents.” Read More
Interview: 'Ban on pornographic websites is not a reachable target'
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“The disabling of 857 pornographic websites by the government has seen some angry reactions. The social media in particular is abuzz with discussions on this decision by the government.” Read More
Cyber frauds rise after demonetisation, Tikamgarh to Jamtara turn hubs for cheats
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“Online crooks cloned the credit card of Sanjay Singhal and stole Rs 1.83 lakh in a matter of eight minutes in August, before he could get a grip of the 53 text messages alerting him about the transactions.” Read More
Google launches online payment app Tez in India
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“United States tech giant Google rolled out its first Asian payment app in India, trying to cash in on the small but growing digital payment sector in the South Asian country where cash still rules.” Read More
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“India has emerged as one of the biggest contributors and consumers of child pornography despite a crackdown against such material on the Internet. Although it seems that web companies, on a global scale, and Indian authorities are attempting to keep the web clean of child porn, in India the efforts are falling short.” Read More
Social media, a hunting ground for terrorists
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“If you are a social media addict, better refrain from pouring your ideologies on to your Facebook or Twitter pages as you might come under the radar of terror modules. Militant outfits are now hunting for vulnerable targets, who may be easy to radicalise, on social media platforms.” Read More
Despite crackdown, India emerges as one of biggest contributors, consumers of child porn
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“India has emerged as one of the biggest contributors and consumers of child pornography despite a crackdown against such material on the Internet.” Read More
Indian child sex floods web: One porn video uploaded every 40 minutes as Kerala tops list!
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“In the second and third tier cities, most of the CSAM content is shot on mobile devices. A lawyer and an IT expert, Pawan Duggal told Mail Today that despite strict orders from Supreme Court, the CSAM is increasing in the market owing to the rising demand of Indian content.” Read More
SC Verdict Might Alter India’s Privacy Landscape, But Right to Privacy Won’t Be Absolute: Experts
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert and advocate, said the judgment would also pave the way for privacy protection by the corporate sector. “The judgment is topical, connected to ground reality, aptly recognises the challenges the users face with respect to internet and has opened up the door by saying this is what the privacy right is as of today while acknowledging the fact that technology will keep on changing.” Read More
Right to privacy: Supreme Court judgment mirrors people’s aspirations
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“August 24, 2017 is a red-letter day in the history of India. In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India has unanimously declared the right to privacy to be a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.” Read More
One Cybercrime Happens Every 10 Minutes
In this report, Pavan Duggal reported as under:-
“Pawan Duggal, a lawyer specializing in the field of cyber laws and e-commerce, said anything digital or electronic was covered under the cyber laws.” Read More
Right to Privacy verdict is unlikely to impact sting operations
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“Pawan Duggal, notable lawyer and IT expert, also talked on the same lines, maintaining that violation of a Fundamental Right is presumed to be done by the “State” and any other person intruding into privacy would be dealt with other laws available under the IT Act or the IPC.” Read More
Right to Privacy Judgment: The Long and Short of It in 21 Points
In this Article, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“On 24 August 2017, the Supreme Court of India passed a landmark, progressive judgment with significant consequences.” Read More
Rise in cyber crime jolts centre into action
“The post-demonetisation era saw the absence of any deterrent by way of legal provision. Today, the Indian information technology law goes soft on cyber crime, especially after the 2008 amendment because except cyber terrorism and child pornography, all other cyber crime offences are bailable. This means that a person is free to come out and delete evidence,” said Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert at the Supreme Court.” Read More
Right to privacy: Mixed response to SC verdict from experts in city
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“Pavan Duggal, SC lawyer and a Cyber Law Expert says that for this to happen the government must pass new regulations aimed at private companies and that the SC judgement gives a good scope to formulate tough laws in this regard.” Read More
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“The 24th of August 2017 is a red letter day in the history of Indian legal jurisprudence. For the first time in independent India, a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court has delivered an overarching and historic landmark decision on the right to privacy.” Read More
Swachh Digital India: What Happens to Those Who Post Fake News?
“But cases about posting misinformation on social media are a crime and could be registered under the Information Technology Act. Posting misinformation or someone hiding their true identity to misguide could invite charges of cheating.” Read More
Why cases go unreported: Outdated laws and tedious search for justice
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“The Act is outdated. It was last amended in 2008… Since then, social media has exploded in the country. The ground reality of 2017 is vastly different,” said advocate Pavan Duggal, who specialises in cyber law. Popular social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat, which entered the market only in 2010 and 2011, have also become avenues of bullying. Under-reporting of cases.” Read More
Kashmiri security forces prying cellphones for militants lead raise privacy concern among civilians
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Supreme Court advocate and renowned cyber law expert Pavan Duggal says "no" because this practice amounts to breach of privacy of a citizen.” Read More
Suicide rates are rising in India and internet is to blame, feels cyber experts and psychologists
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
"There is currently no mechanism to counter such poisonous sites," said cyber law expert, Pavan Duggal.” Read More
The dark world wide web of suicide
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“This came to light after the death of a 14-year-old boy who committed suicide in Mumbai on July 31 as a result of participating in the Blue Whale Game. “There’s no mechanism to counter such poisonous sites,” says cyber law expert Pavan Duggal. “It’s impossible for the government to monitor the internet, but they could set guidelines that make it binding on service providers or intermediaries to remove such content when notified.” Read More
Banned Blue Whale game still available in various other names
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
"Information Technology Act of India has enough powers to make the intermediaries like Google and Facebook to prevent from allowing such links to be hosted on their website.it requires political will, that is critical," says Pawan Duggal, a cyber law expert.In India, too, a number of deaths have been reportedly linked to this game. More than legal, psychologists suggest more parental indulgence to tackle such dangerous online games. "More parental observation, especially with kids indulging in online games is critical," says Ajay Sharma, a child psychologist.” Read More
Southern states most net-savvy but Maharashtra tops in online fraud
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Supreme court lawyer Pavan Duggal, who deals with cybercrime cases, disputed the government’s figures and said that they were not reflective of the real trend.” Read More
Blocking Websites: An Open and Shut Case?
In this Article, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“Today in India, we are beginning to see diverse trends in cyberspace. One of the favourite ones is the repeated blocking of websites. And the latest to be blocked is the Internet Archive — www.archive.org – which was not accessible and even if accessed, displayed this message: “The website has been blocked on the directions of Department of Telecommunications.” Read More
The 50 tasks of fatality: Is Blue Whale Challenge really killing youngsters in India?
In this report, Pavan Duggal quoted as under:-
“Supreme Court advocate and cyber law expert Pawan Duggal agrees that the dangers from the game are real. “If we are waiting for some mammoth figure like lakhs of children being affected, then that has not happened yet. But children are playing this game,” he says. “In the last one month I have had six parents from the Delhi-NCR region coming to me for advice because their children were playing the game. The kids, all teenagers, were at various levels of the game – some were in the thirties, some in forties (Level 50, in which the player has to kill himself, is the last level of the game). Some bore marks of self-injury.” Read More
Digital India Hails SC Verdict Because It Needs Right To Privacy More Than Ever
In this Article, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“This judgment is so important because India has never had a dedicated law on privacy. For lack of political will or otherwise, Indian legislators have refrained from coming up with the dedicated legislation on privacy.” Read More
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“Mr. Pavan Duggal, a leading cyber law expert, shared his insights with FE Online, “This is a historic, landmark judgment by the Supreme Court in its entire history. This is a progressive judgment, which has taken note of the current ground realities, the technological advances that are pertinent to Information Privacy. Across the board, this judgment affects every Indian and even non-Indians who live here.” Read More
Internet penetration in rural India just 16%: report
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
"India does not have any detailed legislation on data privacy on Internet/social media platforms. India also does not have a data protection law. The Information Technology Act, 2000, which got amended only in 2008, is neither a data privacy law nor a data protection law," Pavan Duggal, the nation's leading cyber law expert, told IANS.” Read More
India woefully under-prepared to protect data, users' rights on Internet
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“India does not have any detailed legislation on data privacy on India/social media platforms. India also does not have a data protection law. The Information Technology Act, 2000, which got amended only in 2008, is neither a data privacy law nor a data protection law,” Pavan Duggal, the nation’s leading cyber law expert, told IANS.” Read More
Centre backs local cybersecurity tech
In this report, Pavan Duggal shared his views as under:-
“This is a step in the right direction,” said Pavan Duggal, a cyberlaw expert. “India is alive to the possibility of breach of cybersecurity. Putting our cybersecurity as mortgage to foreign firms is not a solution.” Read More
Tackling corruption comes with its fair share of challenges: Economic Survey In this report, Cyberlaw Expert Pavan Duggal quoted as under:- “The post-demonetisation era saw the absence of any deterrence by way of legal provision because our current laws go soft on those engaging in financial and other online frauds,” said Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert at the Supreme Court.” Read More