Introduction:

Cybercrime is a criminal action that encompasses mobile phones, laptop, network, and computer.  It is a threat to country’s external and internal security and monetary status. Bengaluru registered the most number of cybercrime cases in 2018. The country’s technology capital saw a whopping 5,035 FIRs registered

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Instances of cybercrimes in recent times:

• there have been many instances of the hard-earned money of Indians being taken out of bank accounts and charges loaded onto credit cards through online frauds.
• Another emerging casualty of such cybercrimes is the emerging “startup” ecosystem.
• We are beginning to see multiple cases where customers of genuine startups, unicorns and Indian businesses have been subjected to online fraud.
• These customers initially presume that it is the customer care departments of the companies that have conned them, as we see in many of the cases that get filed.
• This is a dangerous trend. Not only does it shake people’s faith in digital systems, the scepticism vis-à-vis online transactions also hurt the potential of emerging companies.

Data Localization – need and prospects:

• Data localization can broadly be defined as ‘any legal limitation on data moving globally and compelling it to remain locally’.
• Data localisation laws refer to regulations that dictate how data on a nation’s citizens is collected, processed and stored inside the country.
• The main intent behind data localisation is to protect the personal and financial information of the country’s citizens and residents from foreign surveillance and give local governments and regulators the jurisdiction to call for the data when required.
• Data localisation is essential to national security. Storing of data locally is expected to help law-enforcement agencies to access information that is needed for the detection of a crime or to gather evidence.
• Where data is not localised, the agencies need to rely on mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) to obtain access, delaying investigations.
• On-shoring global data could also create domestic jobs and skills in data storage and analytics, as the Justice SriKrishna report had pointed out.

Challenges of Data localization:

• Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg recently expressed apprehension about nations wanting to store data locally. According to him, it gave rise to possibilities where authoritarian governments would have access to data for possible misuse.
• The US Electronic Communications Privacy Act bars US-based service providers from disclosing electronic communications to law enforcement agencies of any country unless US legal requirements are met.
• The U.S. criticised India’s proposed norms on data localisation as ‘most discriminatory’ and ‘trade-distortive’.
• EU termed data localisation as unnecessary and potentially harmful as they would create unnecessary costs, difficulties and uncertainties that could hamper business and investments.
• The bilateral mechanism of the India-US Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty is a bit outdated and does not seem to work.
• The US Cloud (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data) Act, however, enables law enforcement authorities in India to request electronic content directly from US service providers under an executive agreement with the US government.
• Data Localization could affect expression rights in a number of ways given that the Internet is built on the principle of easy transfer of information across borders.
• Localization may also permit greater censorship of domestic dissident or political voices and affect the extent to which Indian content is accessible abroad.
• One of the main arguments against mandatory localization stems from the cost that it is likely to impose on businesses and consequently, their consumers and the economy as a whole.

Way forward:

• Data localisation is a critical necessity for law enforcement.
• Access to data by Indian law agencies, in case of a breach or threat, cannot be dependent on the whims and fancies, nor on lengthy legal processes of another nation that hosts data generated in India.
• India urgently needs a legally-backed framework for a collaborative trigger mechanism that would bind all parties and enable law enforcers to act quickly and safeguard Indian citizens and businesses from a fast-growing menace.
• The customer also has a responsibility to maintain basic cyber hygiene, which includes following practices and taking precautions to keep one’s sensitive information organized, safe and secure.
• Real-time intelligence is required for preventing and containing cyber attacks.
• Periodical ‘Backup of Data’ is a solution to ransomware.
• Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for predicting and accurately identifying attacks.
• Using the knowledge gained from actual attacks that have already taken place in building effective and pragmatic defence.
• Increased awareness about cyber threats for which digital literacy is required first.

Conclusion:

All the players involved, including banks, telecom companies, financial service providers etc. and the government, need to play a responsible role in ensuring innocent citizens do not undergo the trauma of suffering losses. As a nation making a huge transition to a cashless economy, public faith in the digital system needs to be consistently reinforced.