Cyber Terrorism and Law

Cyber Terrorism and Law

By – Pallabi Paul
Student of Department of Law,Assam Central University ,Silchar,Assam.

“Our enemies and our would be enemies are working very hard at cyber terrorism….They are trying to level the playing field because they know they can’t beat us tank for tank,plane for plane ” – Curt Weldon

Cyberspace is used as a chosen platform for spreading messages of violent nature .In India ,cyber space has been used as in the recent major terror attack in 2008 and 2009.It is the use of the internet to conduct violent act that result in or threaten a loss of life or significant bodily harm ,in order to achieve political or ideological gains through threat or intimidation.The cyber terrorism includes two different activities like cyber crime and misuse of information technology.
Definition of cyber terrorism

The term “Cyber terrorism” was tried to be defined from different angles
A criminal act perpetrated by the use of computer and telecommunication capabilities resulting into violence,destruction or disruption of services creating confusion among people and uncertainties with the given population with a goal to influence the government and population to conform to particular political,social or ideological agendas.
Cyber terrorism is not a recent criminal conduct but many instances were found where internet was misused to spread terror in the society.India is still trying to combat from this .

The Technolytics Institute defines cyberterrorism as

“[t]he premeditated use of disruptive activities, or the threat thereof, against computers and/or networks, with the intention to cause harm or further social, ideological, religious, political or similar objectives. Or to intimidate any person in furtherance of such objectives.”

Motivation of Cyber Attack
There are many different motive of cyber attacks ,with the majority being for financial reasons.However there is increasing evidence that hackers are becoming more politically motivated .Cyber Terrorists are aware of the fact that the Government are reliant on internet and have exploited it as s result.

Indian Interpretation of Cyber Terrorism

Sec 66F of Information Technology Act mentions that

(I) whoever with the intention of threatening the unity ,Integrity,security and sovereignty of India or to strike in people or terror in people by-
(I)denying or cause denial of access to any people authorized to access the computer resource

(II)Attempting to penetrate or access to a computer resource without authorization or exceeding authorised access.

(iii)Introducing or causing to be introduce any computer contaminant.
and by means of such conduct causes or likely to cause death or injuries to person and damage to or destruction of property or disrupts or knowing that it is likely to cause disruption of supplies or services essential to the life of the community or adversely effect the critical information infrastructure specified under Sec 70.

Knowingly or intentionally penetrates or access a computer resource without authorization or exceeding authorised access ,and by means of such conduct ,obtains access to information,data or computer database so obtained may be used to cause or likely to cause injury to the interest of sovereignty and integrity of nation ,the security of the state,or friendly relation with foreign states ,public order,decency and morality,or intention of contempt of Court or defamation and incitement to an offence or the advantage of a foreign nationals,group of individuals or otherwise,commits the offence of cyber terrorism.

(2) Whoever commits or conspires to commit cyber terrorism shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to life imprisonment.
Cyber Terrorism is an act of hacking,blocking or computer contaminating in order to restrict legally authorized persons to access to computer resources in general or to gain or obtain unauthorized access to information which is a restricted information for the security of the state or Friendly relation with the foreign states etc .

In India in case of 26/11 ,it was found that the terrorists has used communication devices but has not used it for hacking or blocking the computer device but for the purpose of committing that massacre that has shocked the world throughout and many people died as well as injured due to the incident .The information technology Act 2000 as amended by Information Technology Amendment Act 2008 has taken effort to protect the system which are defined by Section 70 of the Act.The appropriate Government may by notification in the official Gazette declsre any computer resources which directly or indirectly affects the facility of Critical Information Infrastructure to be a protected system.
In the present legal approach that shown that

Types of Cyber Terror capacity

In 1999,The Center for the study of terrorism and illegal warfare at the Naval.Post Graduate School in California described three types of Cyber Terror capabilities ,these are given below –
Simple unstructured – Under this,the hacking against individual device using of tools take place by using another person computer device

Advanced structured – The capability to conduct sophisticated attacks against multiple systems or network and possibilities to modify or create basic hacking tools .The organization possesses elementary target analysis.

Complex Coordinated – The capability of causing coordinated attack capable of causing mass disruption against integrated heterogeneous defense.

Incidence of Cyber terrorism

~Some of the attacks took place in furtherance of both political and social motives
In 1996,a computer hacker allegedly associated with White Supremacist Movement temporarily disabled a ISP and damaged part of ISPs record keeping system.The ISP has attempted to stop the hacker to sending out worldwide racist messages under the ISPs name.

~In 1998,Tamil guerrillas to disrupt Sri Lankan embassies by sending large volumes of email.The embassies received 800 mails in two weeks.

~In March 2013,the New York Times reported a pattern of cyber attacks US Financial institutions believed to be instigated by Iran as well as incidents affecting South Korea financial institutions that originate with North Korea Government.

International attacks and response
Convention

As for 2016 ,there have been seventeen conventions and major international instruments that specifically deals with terrorist activities and also applies to cyber terrorism too.

1963 : Convention on Offenses and certain other acts committed on Board Aircraft.

1970 : Convention for the suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft.

1971 : Convention for the suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation.

1973 : Convention on the prevention and Punishment of Crime against Internationally Protected Person

1979 : International Convention against taking of hostages.

1980 : Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear materials

1988 : Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Act of Violence at Airport Serving International Civil Aviation.

1988 : Protocol for the suppression of Unlawful act against safety of Maritime Navigation.

1999 : International Convention for suppression of Financing of Terrorism.

1997 : International Convention for the suppression of Terrorist Bombing.

2005 : Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Act against the safety of Maritime Navigation.

2010 : Protocol Supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful seizures of Aircraft.

2010 : Convention on the suppression of Unlawful acts Relating to International civil Aviation .

Pallabi Paul
Student of Department of Law,Assam Central University ,Silchar,Assam.