Since the invention of the Internet, communication throughout the world has advanced. The rise of cybercrime, also referred to as e-crimes (electronic crimes), is one of the biggest problems facing modern society. As a result, cybercrime is a threat to all countries, businesses, and people worldwide. Millions of people have fallen victim to it, and it has spread to many regions of the world.

Given the seriousness of e-crime, as well as its global scope and effects, it is obvious that a shared knowledge of such illegal behaviour is necessary for effective e-crime management. This paper covers the definitions, varieties, and intrusions of e-crime. It has also concentrated on the anti-e-crime laws in India.

Introduction
Cybercrime is a relatively recent development in the realm of crime. Cybercrime is any illegal activity carried out on or through a computer, the internet, or any other technology covered by the "Information Technology Act." The most prevalent type of crime in contemporary India is cybercrime, which has a catastrophic effect.

Criminals not only seriously harm society and the government, but they also greatly conceal their identity. Technically skilled criminals engage in a number of illegal activities online. Cybercrime can be broadly construed as any illegal activity that makes use of a computer or the internet as a tool, a target, or both. Although the term "cybercrime" is not defined in any act or statute approved by the Indian legislature, it has occasionally been interpreted by Indian courts.

The misuse of technology and society's increasing reliance on it in modern society are the root causes of cybercrime, an unstoppable evil. Computer use and other associated technologies are becoming an increasingly necessary part of daily life, supporting user ease. This medium is limitless and unquantifiable. Only a few of the recently growing cybercrimes include cyber-stalking, cyber-terrorism, email spoofing, email bombing, cyber pornography, cyber defamation, and others. Some common crimes may be considered cybercrimes if they are carried out online or via a computer.

Cyber Crime: A Way Forward

Cybercrime is the use of technology to commit traditional offences like robbery, theft, and false representation or to carry out a deliberate attack like hacking a warning system before entering an unapproved location. All of this is doable at the level of the person, the state, or the nation. In the event of a country attack, there will be no legislation or law-enforcing bodies prepared to give a positive outcome; instead, the main emphasis is on political, economic, or military pressure.

"Virtual only" offences like the distribution of illicit photographs, documents, or sensitive data are examples of cybercrime. Professional programming teams are likewise featured in this category; they offer digitally specified initiatives and items to everyone, from unidentified people to governments, including denial of administration attacks and accountability for traded off systems. The amount of time we spend online will increase, which will increase the prevalence of online misbehaviour.

This trend will undoubtedly continue to drive law enforcement farther online. The Information Technology Act of 2000, which addresses cybercrime, does not define the term. The Indian legislature has not supplied a precise definition of cybercrime in any act. However, the term "cybercrime" often refers to any unlawful activity that is carried out online or through computers.

Cybercrime is defined by Dr. Debarati Halder and Dr. K. Jaishankar as:
"Offences committed against individuals or groups of individuals with a criminal motive to intentionally harm the victim's reputation or cause physical or mental harm, or loss, to the victim directly or indirectly, via modern telecommunication networks such as the Internet (Chat rooms, emails, notice boards, and groups) and mobile phones (SMS/MMS)"

Oxford Dictionary defines cybercrime as follows:
"Criminal activities committed via computers or the Internet."
"Cybercrime can be defined as those species whose genus is traditional crime and where the computer is either an object or a subject of the criminal conduct."

Types of Cyber Crime

1. Child Pornography:
   One of the most serious offences is that. The Internet is used by predators to connect with and sexually assault children all around the world. Children have become a desirable target for cybercriminals as a result of the widespread use of the internet. Paedophiles approach children through chat rooms, where they befriend them and take personal information from their defenceless victims, in order to entice them into their traps. These paedophiles entice kids to the internet where they then assault them sexually or use them as sex objects.
    
2. Hacking:
   Hacking entails gaining access to a device without authorization, altering it to allow for continuing access, and changing the configuration, function, or service of the target equipment without the owners' knowledge or approval.
    
3. Denial of service attack:
   A denial-of-service attack uses extremely basic technology to overwhelm the target computer, which helps to prevent other machines from accessing the server. Hackers utilise a variety of techniques to download servers.
    
4. Virus dissemination:
   This sort of criminal behaviour calls for direct or unauthorised access to the operating system through the installation of additional programmes that are categorised as ss bugs, worms, or logic bombs. Computer sabotage, which generally refers to the unlawful destruction or deletion of machine data or the Internet function, which prevents standard device functions, is plainly an illegal offence.
    
5. Computer Forgery:
   This happens as data in computerised records is modified and processed. Machines can, however, also be employed to carry out forgery. Computerised colour laser copies' accessibility sparked a fresh wave of fraudulent modification or copying.
    
6. Card Card fraud:
   Modern businesses can readily exchange cash for cash that is held in computers, which leads to computer theft. Organised crime frequently targets credit card identity information as well as personal and financial credit card details. In addition to having a far larger worth than traditionally economic assets, assets in digital format can potentially belong to a higher economic class.
    
7. Phishing:
   Modern businesses can readily exchange cash for cash that is held in computers, which leads to computer theft. Organised crime frequently targets credit card identity information as well as personal and financial credit card details. In addition to having a far larger worth than traditionally economic assets, assets in digital format can potentially belong to a higher economic class.
    
8. Spoofing:
   Get one machine on a network to have a separate computer, usually a computer with special access privileges, so that the other computers can be accessed globally.
    
9. Cyber Stalking:
   In our culture, cyberstalking refers to the act of following or monitoring someone online. The victim of a cyber-stalker is not physically pursued; instead, he is tracked down after an online engagement and stalked, harassed, and intimidated verbally. It is an infringement on your online privacy.
    
10. Threatening:
    The suspect contacts the victim in chat rooms or sends obscene emails.
     
11. Salami Attack:
    In this type of fraud, the culprit makes small adjustments that are undetectable. Criminals take money from all of the bank's customers' accounts—as little as 2.50 per month—and deposit it on their own. No account manager can approach the bank for too little in this circumstance, although fraudulent gains are enormous.
     
12. Email bombing:
    Sending an enormous amount of mail to a victim—who might be a person, a company, or even mail servers—and causing the system or network to malfunction as a result.
     
13. Data Diddling:
    Involves making changes to raw data right before a computer processes it, then making those same changes again once the processing is finished.
     
14. Virus Attacks:
    Viruses are programmes that attach to a computer or a file and then replicate themselves on other computers and files connected to a network. They typically affect a computer's data by altering or erasing it.Worms do not need a host to attach to, in contrast to viruses. They just create functioning copies of themselves and keep doing so until all of the computer's available memory has been consumed.
     
15. Logic Bombs:
    This offence depends on a specific conditional circumstance occurring. The Chernobyl virus serves as the most prominent illustration; it was dormant for the majority of the year and only became active on a particular date.
     
16. Trojan Attacks:
    An illegal programme known as a Trojan hides its true purposes by appearing to be a legitimate piece of software and operating from within.
     
17. Internet time thefts:
    This occurs when someone who is not authorised makes use of someone else's paid-for Internet time. This kind of cybercrime was unheard of before the victim reported it. The Indian Telegraph Act and the Indian Penal Code are typically used to pursue this crime.
     
18. Cybersquatting:
    Cybersquatting, which includes typo squatting, is the practise of obtaining a domain name in order to demand payment from the owner of a trademark (such as a business name, trade name, or brand name) (where one letter is different). By demonstrating that the defendant registered a domain name containing the plaintiff's distinctive trademark in bad faith and with the intent to profit, a trademark owner can prevail in a cybersquatting action.
     
19. Cyber Defamation:
    Any disparaging message meant to damage a person's brand or reputation is referred to as cyber defamation. Someone can be defamed through libel or slander. Cyber defamation is the term for defamation committed using computers and/or the Internet.
     
20. Keystroke Logging:
    It is encoding and recording a user's keystrokes. This kind of programme is used to bypass security measures by extracting encryption keys and passwords.
     
21. Data-driven attacks:
    A kind of attack where the attack is launched by a user or another programme using innocent data as cover. Because it may start an assault against a system behind the firewall while still being in data form, a data-driven attack on a firewall is concerning.
     
22. DNS spoofing:
    A spoofing technique that uses the Domain Name Service, which enables networks to convert textual domain names to the IP addresses required to route data packets.
     
23. Dumpster diving:
    A type of human intelligence (HUMINT) in which abandoned items and data are collected in an effort to find useful information.

Cyber Laws in India

1. Information Technology Act, 2000:

   The Information Technology Act, which came into effect in 2000, regulates cyber laws in India. The main goal of this Act is to safeguard eCommerce's legal protection by making it simple to register real-time records with the government. The sophistication of cybercriminals and people's propensity to abuse technology led to a number of adjustments.
   
   The ITA highlights the severe punishments and fines established by the Indian Parliament to protect the e-government, e-banking, and e-commerce industries. The scope of ITA has been expanded to include all modern communication devices.
   
   1. Section 43:
      [Penalty and compensation] for damage to computer, computer system, etc.– If any person without permission of the owner or any other person who is in charge of a computer, computer system or computer network.
       
   2. Section 66:
      Computer related offences - If any person, dishonestly or fraudulently, does any act referred to in section 43, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees or with both.
       
   3. Section 66B:
      Punishment for dishonestly receiving stolen computer resource or communication device - Whoever dishonestly receive or retains any stolen computer resource or communication device knowing or having reason to believe the same to be stolen computer resource or communication device, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to rupees one lakh or with both.
       
   4. Section 66C:
      Punishment for identity theft– Whoever, fraudulently or dishonestly make use of the electronic signature, password, or any other unique identification feature of any other person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to rupees one lakh.
       
   5. Section 66D:
      Punishment for cheating by personation by using computer resources. Whoever, by means of any communication device or computer resource cheats by personation, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to one lakh rupees.
       

2. Indian Penal Code, 1980

   Identity theft and other related cyber offences are prosecuted under both the Information Technology Act of 2000 and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860.

The IPC's Most Pertinent Section Addresses Cyber Frauds:

1. Forgery (Section 464)
2. False documentation (Section 465)
3. Forgery pre-planned for cheating (Section 468)
4. Reputation damage (Section 469)
5. Presenting a forged document as genuine (Section 471)

Measures to prevent Cyber Crimes

Students should become more knowledgeable about cybercrimes and cyber laws and should be made aware of them. Students in computer centres, schools, colleges, and universities should also receive instruction in cyber literacy. In order to give students a foundational understanding of the Internet and its security, educational institutions might arrange cyber law awareness programmes.

Regularly reviewing bank and credit card statements can help to lessen the impact of online crimes and identity theft.

Keep your operating system up to date to deter hackers from accessing your computer. By keeping your computer updated, you can stop attackers from taking advantage of software flaws that could otherwise give them access to your system and allow them to hack it for illegal purposes.

Eight-character passwords should be strong and unique, utilising a mix of symbols, phrases, and figures for online activities like online banking. Avoid using passwords that are easily traceable, such as your email address, login name, last name, date of birth, or month of birth.You shouldn't use the same password for each online service you use. Keep various passwords on hand for various internet activities.

To secure your webmail or social media account, enable two-step authentication in the webmail. Add your cell phone number to your email account so you can be alerted if someone tries to access your account.

Your username and password are necessary to open your account with two-step authentication. However, for your personal protection, a verification code is sent to your listed mobile number if you forget your password. Even if a hacker is able to guess your password, he or she will be unable to access your account without the temporary verification code.

Your computer needs security software installed since it helps shield you from online threats and is therefore necessary for basic online security. These programmes are therefore essential for maintaining online safety. It comes with firewall and antivirus software. The firewall regulates who and what is able to communicate with your computer over the internet. By maintaining all online activities, including email and web browsing, antivirus safeguards the machine against viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other malicious programmes.

Since they provide all the security software required for online protection in a single package, integrated security programmes like Norton Internet Security, which combines Firewall, Antivirus, Antispyware, and other features like Anti Spam and Parental Controls, have gained popularity in recent years.

Avoid clicking on the links in emails that request personal information since they could direct you to a harmful or fake website. Read the privacy policies on a company's website and software before you give them your data. You won't receive emails from trustworthy businesses requesting personal information.

Conclusion
What appears to be perfectly organised and impenetrable today might not be tomorrow. The internet is a global phenomena, thus it is likely to draw many types of criminal activity. India has taken a big stride toward curbing cybercrime with the approval of the Information Technology Act and the giving of exclusive powers to the police and other authorities to combat cybercrime. The power of the human intellect is beyond comprehension.

Cybercrime cannot be completely eliminated from the internet. You could look them over. History has proven that no policy has ever been able to eradicate crime globally. The only way to stop crime is to make laws more strictly enforced and to educate people about their rights and obligations (such as reporting crime as a shared duty to society).

Without a doubt, the Act marks a turning point in the development of cyberspace. Furthermore, I do not contest the need for amendments to the Information Technology Act to improve its effectiveness in thwarting cybercrime. Finally, I'd like to provide a cautionary note to the pro-legislation crowd: it's critical to keep in mind that the parameters of the cyber law aren't made so tight that they stunt the industry's development and become ineffective.