A career in cyber law
GIRISH S. PATTANASHETTI
|
With the advent of IT, cyber crimes have become an important aspect of law enforcement in most countries.
|
Cyber laws have been structured in such a manner that they have universal jurisdiction. Consequently an Indian business entity or a netizen may be subject to the laws of several foreign countries.
In an era of Information Technology revolution and e-governance, the common man unwittingly becomes a part of a transaction that involves a computer. And most people do not realise that if they, in any manner, create any problem or tamper with information stored in the computer, they would be committing an offence under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act. This Act came into existence on October 17, 2000.
As Information Technology has penetrated the lives of the common people resulting in widespread use of computers in business, governance and communication, it has also brought with it the menace called cyber crime. With the advent of Information Technology, “cyber crimes” have become a very important aspect of law enforcement in most countries.
IT Act 2000
India was one of the earliest to bring the Information Society (electronic document-based society) under a legal regime, with the passage of Information Technology Act, 2000. Since then any document created out of a computer and in digital format has a special legal significance. With an amendment to the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (with effect from February 6, 2003) incorporating electronic versions of cheques, another revolutionary phase of Indian banking was opened up.
Cyber law in India
According to Na. Vijayashankar, a Techno-Legal Information Security Consultant based in Chennai, apart from the Information Technology Act and the Negotiable Instruments Amendment Act, there are several aspects of Intellectual Property Law such as copyright, trademarks, patents that affect the functioning of an Internet banking institution and other transactions done through the Internet.
And all these come under cyber laws. These laws have been structured in such a manner that they have universal jurisdiction. Consequently an Indian business entity or a netizen may be subject to the laws of several foreign countries.
There have been cases where U.S. laws have been applied to Russian companies or Australian laws applied to U.S. entities. Since Internet is a global transaction medium the cyber crime risks that affect companies and bankers arise from any corner of the globe and responding to these threats requires an understanding of the cyber laws in several countries, says Vijayashankar, popularly known as Naavi.
Course on cyber law
Cyber Law is a mutli-discipline subject, a study of which requires an appreciation of both technology and law. And for the same reason, teaching of Cyber Law is a multi-disciplinary task.
The curriculum would invariably include study of basic concepts of technology and law, law of digital contracts, intellectual property issues in cyber space, rights of netizens and e-governance, Information Technology Act, international scenario in cyber laws, cyber law issues for management and related subjects.
In India there are not many institutes that offer courses in Cyber Law. www.cyberlawcollege.com
founded by Naavi in the year 2000 is the pioneering virtual educational institution dedicated to the subject.
It offers online and offline courses in Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli, Mangalore and Chennai.
Symbiosis Society’s Law College, Pune, and NALSAR University ( www.nalsarpro.org
), with its head office in Hyderabad offer diploma courses in Cyber Laws. Asian School of Cyber Laws based at Pune in Maharashtra ( www.asianlaws.org
) offers diploma courses in cyber laws at Pune and Mumbai also through distance education mode. A master’s programme in Cyber Law & Information Security (MPCLIS) is offered at Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad ( www.iiita.ac.in
). Centre for Distance Education, University of Hyderabad ( www.uohyd.ernet.in
) is another institute from where one can do a P.G. Diploma in Cyber Laws &Intellectual Property Rights (PGDCL & IPR) .
Who can take up the course?
Qualified lawyers practising law, technology students aspiring to make a career in IT, management students of graduate and postgraduate courses can take up the course.
Chartered Accountants and Company Secretaries can also take it up as a value-addition course that will equip them with the required skills for the new career opportunities coming up in the areas of Computer System Security Audit and Cyber Law Compliance Audit.
A lawyer or a non-lawyer, an MBA or a B.E., a CA or an ICS, cyber law expertise is the cutting edge qualification for the competitive world, says Naavi.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Education Plus
Karnataka
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
