CYBERCRIMES AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN INDIA

Abstract

This age of digital revolution has come with an unprecedented opportunity for growth and development, but, has equally opened its door for Crimes in a new dimension, that has confronted society with the worst form of crimes (cybercrimes), which jeopardizes the life of human beings, organizations and government (Badamasi and Utulu, 2021). The term “cybercrime” is a general designation for a broad range of criminal activity involving the use of computer systems, computer networks, or digital devices falling into one form or another (Mtuze and Musoni, 2023; Rakhmanova and Pinkevich, 2020).The range of cybercrimes is becoming wider and more diverse from financial fraud, to identity theft, to hacking, to cyber espionage (Achuthan et al., 2024).As a result of widespread use of technology in almost every aspect of human life, both individuals and organizations are increasingly under threat to fall victims to cyber-attacks, highlighting the necessity of strong legislation in the fight against these threats (Franjić, 2020).The introduction of social engineering tactics, using human’s weaknesses in combination with ICT tools has actually also added a layer of complexity to the situation, where cyber threats might be even empowered by the users themselves (Sèdes, 2024).Digital India, a fast-growing digital economy and internet user base, make it susceptible to the crimes related to cybercrimes in particular (Annappa, 2022).During the pandemic, the usage of electronic devices and digital platforms have surged, however, this has also made individuals more vulnerable to cyber fraud; and it has further exploited cybercrime not only at the national level but substantially at the international level (Gupta and Srivastava, 2023).