The seamier side of computers

Web crimes are set to constitute most major white collar crimes in the coming century, with their large financial ramifications representing the seamier side of the computer world.

As one expert put it, 8220;The Harshad Mehta scam took place because in the public debt office of the Reserve Bank of India, there was no computerisation and the 15-day float available was exploited by him to perpetrate the scam8221;

Banks are now being forced to computerise at least 70 per cent of their records by January 1, 2001, he said.

Forensic scientists say that with increased web connectivity, there is bound to be a rise in these crimes, as in the case of advanced countries like the United States, where cyber crime is increasing at the rate of 35 per cent per year.

quot;Increasing computerisation and internet connectivity would lead mainly to the defrauding of banks and financial institutions, says R K Tewari, chief forensic scientist at the BPRD here.

The Central Forensic Laboratory at Hyderabad CFSL has also started tackling cyber crimes at its computer facility, at a primary stage.

Experts say computerised analysis of records could have helped prevent large-scale financial crimes like the C R Bhansali and Harshad Mehta scams.

Computerisation of records in banks and financial institutions helps in carrying out routine checks to sense the crime in advance and detect frauds quickly.

Explaining the process in the context of the Harshad Mehta scam, N Vittal, Central Vigilance Commissioner says legal recognition of these systems would assure users that in case of any misappropriation that ends up in court, such logs and audits can be produced as evidence without contradicting the provisions of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.

Two cyber bills, one drafted by the Department of Electronics DOE and the other by the Ministry of Commerce, are expected to recognise the usefulness of technologies needed to prevent fraudulent use of virtual documents.

Such security systems can become powerful tools to detect tampering of files and for monitoring file movement over a network.

The purpose of the draft DoE Bill is to facilitate reliability of electronic documents to help minimise forgery and fraud in electronic records.

It will help establish uniformity of standards in the authentication of electronic documents and augment public confidence in the use of electronic communication for commercial purposes, he said.

The E-Commerce Bill, drafted by the Ministry of Commerce, will also look into the existing standards for authenticating electronic records and create a legal infrastructure required for the use of digital signature.

Penalties proposed in the Bill include Rs one lakh fine and a year8217;s imprisonment, doubling with recurring offences.

While both Bills are in limbo, the country is yet to establish a legal framework for hi-tech crimes.

Police and forensic experts are at not in a position to offer much assistance to victims of cyber crime, since the existing legal framework does not contain a provision to punish cyber criminals, BPRD Director General B B Nanda said.

But the threat is far more than anticipated as banks and financial institutions electronically move huge amounts over networks, the physical movement of which is a logistical nightmare.

Cyber cash transactions have also rendered obsolete the traditional methods of tracking tainted money.

Vittal however, pointed out that if technology could give rise to new types of crime, it could also provide solutions for handling them.

Other forms of cyber crime, like breaking the security of Government networks, pornography on the net, threat and harassment, gambling and virus contamination can also be tackled by specific software, he says.

Though most of these crimes are not a cause for concern for the Indian police yet, an expert says such activities may take the country by storm in the next few years, adding it is better for forensic experts to prepare well in advance.