The Hindu : Business : Call for special courts to try cyber crimes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 30, 2006

Business

Business

Call for special courts to try cyber crimes

Special Correspondent

Amendments to the IT Act to come up before Parliament

— Photo: G. R. N. Somashekar

ENDING CYBER CRIMES: Kiran Karnik (right), President, Nasscom, and John McElenely, CEO, Solid Works, at a press conference in Bangalore on Tuesday.

BANGALORE: The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) on Tuesday called for the setting up of special and fast track courts to settle cases of cyber crimes expeditiously.

Talking to reporters here, Nasscom President Kiran Karnik expressed concern over recent cyber security breaches and the inordinate delay in obtaining convictions. The amendments suggested to the Information Technology (IT) Act by Nasscom on tightening up cyber security to protect IPR of companies operating from India were likely to come up before Parliament during the next session, he said.

Nasscom is concerned over the enforcement process and the abysmally slow conviction rate. There was a need to speed up the judiciary process, he said, adding that awareness had to be created in the judiciary on the issue and necessary legal expertise also needed to be built up.

A Cyber Security Lab would start functioning here shortly. The IT industry body was working with the police in several states on issues relating to cyber security and cyber crime.

On the recent incidence of IT companies folding up and leaving employees in the lurch, Mr. Karnik said Nasscom was not an enforcement authority to deal with closure of operations by IT companies. By and large, the industry had been acting in an exemplary manner except for a couple of black sheep. Nasscom had an ethics committee and governance code that applied to member companies. However, it could do little if fly-by-night operators were not members. The law must take its own course on such companies, he said.

UNI reports:

Mr. Karnik called for a radical transformation in the education system of the country to meet the increasing demand for talent for the emerging engineering services outsourcing market, expected to grow to a $50 billion business by 2020.

Mr. Karnik, who was here in connection with the second Solid Works World, said that though there was a steady flow of manpower from the universities and colleges, only 25 per cent of the graduating students were qualified and there was a need to increase the number.

There was a need to enhance the skillsets of students, for which radical reforms need to be incorporated in the educational system.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Business