Most cybercrime is an attack on information about individuals, corporations,
or governments. take place on the personal or corporate virtual body which is
given on internet. The people use social networking sites for information,
communications, messages, letters, court summons, e-mails etc. across the world.
With the advance technology even during lockdown period all the school and
colleges classes are going on-line. Even small children are also savvy with the
use of technology.
The children are playing games, chatting, making groups, video conferencing,
making tiktok and doing lots of activities on social networking sites. Some of
the people including children misuse technology knowingly or unknowingly for
illegal purposes for their feelings, misconduct, harass, threat, stalking damage
others through internet using cell phones, laptops, computers, pen drives, etc.
"Almost every school-going child has access to social media these days, but
shockingly hardly any of them know about the privacy settings on their profiles.
With details of their personal lives going public, they make themselves
vulnerable to all sorts of cyber harassment."
An international study done by software giant Microsoft in 2012 revealed that
53% of India's children have been bullied online. The child goes into various
faces like social isolation, few general friendships, negative attitudes and
ignorance, difficulty being accepted in activities, schools, workplace, etc.
Further, privacy and expectations for life and achievements are reduced.
The development of internet nowadays have both a positive impact as well as
negative impact in the form of crime that targets everyone, including children.
Cyber crime which impact children as a victim should be handled seriously. By
using computer, attacks are done by cyber terrorism such as hacking, spam,
virus, credit card fraud, trafficking in pornography, posting obscene
photograph, sending fake e-mails to get personal information, misusing personal
information, digital piracy, money laundering, and counterfeiting, altering data
for either profit or political objectives, violating privacy by stealing
identity.
Offenders use false identities in chat room to lure victims for personal
meetings which leads to child abuse and exploitation such as trafficking and sex
tourism. The child never knows the person with whom he or she is chatting. It is
only when they happen to meet each other in person that they see a person who
may be an old man in their 40's or 50's with whom they were chatting and realize
their mistake. Many children commit suicide when their offensive pictures are
posted online. Children often avoid telling their parents or anyone about this
mistake as they are afraid or there is a threat which causes further more
trouble.
The victims of online exploitation are forced to live with their abuse for the
rest of their lives. It also affects the overall mental development of children.
Children often unknowingly or deliberately share personal information without
realizing that by just forwarding illegal message they can be made to suffer
penal charges and can be punished for the crime committed by them. Facebooks
photographs, WhatsApp messages are uploaded and shared by children without
knowing the gravity of things and the impact that will it have on their future.
The internet is being highly used by its abusers to reach and abuse children
sexually, globally. The internet is becoming a household and school commodity in
India. It's explosion has made the children a viable victim to the cyber crime.
Types of Cyber Crime against Children:
- Exploitation is the act or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to
benefit from their work.
- Pornography has been defined as the sexual explicit depiction of
persons, in words or images, created with the primary, proximate aim and
reasonable hope, of eliciting significant sexual arousal on the part of the
consumer of such material. Child Pornography is an illegal act in India.
Information Technology Act, 2000 and Indian Penal Code, 1860 gives
protection against the child pornography. Child is referred who is below the
age of 18 years. The Information Technology Act is a set of rules which make
it illegal to transmit or create or surf child pornography in electronic
form. The above Act covers websites, graphics files, SMS, MMS, digital
photographs, abusing children online or records in any electronic form
pertaining to sexually explicit act with children. The Act also includes
repeated calls, SMSs, blank calls, threatening calls and even sending MMSs.
Girls and Women victims often compliant of mobile phone harassment.
Trafficking is an illegal deal or trade in children
- Kidnapping is the unlawful taking away or transportation of a person
against that person's will, usually to hold the person unlawfully. This may
be done for ransom or in furtherance of another crime, or in connection with
a child custody dispute.
- Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that
changes (or morphs) one image or shape into another through a seamless
transition.
By committing cyber crime some person induces children to online relationship
with one or more children for and on sexually explicit act. Depicting children
in obscene or indecent or sexually explicit manner.
Under The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, crime of Child
Pornography under Section 67-B which clearly highlight that whoever publishes or
transmits or causes to be published or transmitted material in any electronic
form that depicts children engaged in sexually explicit act or conduct or
creates text or digital images, collects, seeks, browses, downloads, advertises,
promotes, exchanges or distributes material in any electronic form.
These days a worst fear in teenager's eyes is Cyber Bullying. It is become
common over past five years, generally from the age below eighteen are more
susceptible and feared from Cyber Bullying as per inspection. It is becoming an
alarming trend in our society. As per inspection of data, the worst fear of
cyber crime is on teenagers female.
Cyber Bullying is a fear when person receives threats, negative comments or
negative pictures or comments from other person. This is all done through core
technologies described above mainly via online. Cyber Bulling can be done
through chatting, instant messaging etc. Where website like Facebook, Orkut,
Twitter user are more affected from Cyber Bullying. In my analysis generally
feared person can reach a limit of depression, humiliation and threatens.
Through this analysis we come to analyse that if person bullied online he or she
may be depressed up to the level of self harming.
Tamil Nadu and Cyber Crime
Cyber crime has recorded a multifold increase in Tamil Nadu. The number of cyber
crime complaints in the state has risen by nearly 18 times in the last one
decade. In 2011, the number of cyber crime complaints received were 748, while
in 2021 it increased to 13,077 - a 1,648 per cent increase over a decade, says
the Home, Prohibition and Excise Department's Tamil Nadu Police Policy Note for
2022-2023.
The process of digitisation, internet penetration and widespread use of mobile
phones had resulted in the steady increase of cyber crime. A major challenge
faced in cyber crime cases is that the accused are mostly from foreign
countries. This complicates the process of investigation, arrest of accused and
the recovery of property, says the Policy Note presented in the Assembly by
Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday.
Even though the accused's bank accounts are frozen, the process of redeeming the
money and returning it to the complainant is unduly delayed due to cumbersome
legal procedures.
Cyber crime teams have been formed in all 11 Police Districts of Greater Chennai
Police, in addition to the five cyber crime police stations. A cyber forensic
lab was set up with a high-end forensic workstation, disc forensic, mobile
forensic and social media tool costing Rs 6.90 crore under the 'Safe City'
project. With the efforts of the cyber crime squad, ₹6.75 crores was redeemed
and returned to the complainants in the last couple of months, the Policy Note
said.
The Cyber Crime Police stations started registering FIRs from April 2021. A
State Cyber Crime Investigation Centre has been formed to investigate
challenging cyber crimes.
The Government also sanctioned ₹11.36 crore to create the State Cyber Crime
Investigation Centre. Orders have also been issued declaring the State Cyber
Crime Investigation Centre a Police Station with State Level Jurisdiction, the
Policy Note said.
From June 2021, a round-the-clock control room was established at the Cyber
Crime Wing headquarters. Till date, 4,342 complaints have been registered
through the helpline. Further, ₹3.18 crore has been frozen by the Cyber Crime
Wing, by reporting the same on the 1930 Helpline.
During the current fiscal, the department plans to collaborate with the police
of other States on sharing information to tackle the growing menace of cyber
crime more effectively and to increase the FIR Conversion rate of the National
Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
It also plans to increase the percentage of money frozen in cyber crime
complaints and to ensure that the frozen amount is quickly returned to the
victim and to have a cyber cell or cyber support officer in each Police station
in the State.
Tirunelveli City and Cyber Crime
Though there are many western studies related to cyber bullying, there are no or
less empirical researches in India to unearth this modern phenomenon. A study by
Senthil Prabhu (2007) analysed school bullying in Tirunelveli city. The study
found that majority of the school students did not feel they were bullied (52%),
they were bullied by senior (69%), they did not report bullying to adults
(Parents and teachers) (69%), and felt that banning bullying in school would
help to avoid bullying (66%). One study by Kumar and Jaishankar (2007) found
that mobile bullying is common among the school students.
This study investigated the nature and the extent of school students' experience
of cyber bullying using mobile phones. The results showed that 65% of the
students were victims of cyber bullying using mobile phones. Interestingly, 60%
of the respondents have also involved in bullying others using mobile phones.
This study is pioneering one in this area, though a sweeping generalization was
not made. This survey is the only of its kind so far conducted in India at
Tirunelveli city.
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