'Over 700 cases registered under IT Act in 2020 for privacy violation'

More than 700 cases were registered in 2020 for violation of privacy under Section 66E of the Information Technology Act, 2000, Parliament was informed on Friday.

"As per the data maintained by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs, a total of 389, 812 and 742 cases for violation of privacy under Section 66E of the IT Act, 2000, were registered during the years 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively," Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

He added that Section 66E of the Act provides for punishment for violation of privacy, and that these cases are dealt by law enforcement agencies of states.

"The Government is committed towards Open, Safe and Trusted and Accountable internet where intermediaries shall always respect the Constitutional rights of all Indians online specially Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. Government has taken several steps for digital safety of people..." he said.

In response to another query, the minister said over 12.1 lakh cyber security incidents were observed during 2021 (up to October).

"Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has reported that a total number of 11,58,208 and 12,13,784 cyber security incidents are observed during the year 2020 and 2021 (upto October), respectively.

Out of this, a total number of 54,314 and 32,736 cyber security incidents were related to government organisations during the year 2020 and 2021 (up to October), respectively," he stated.

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is mandated to track and monitor cyber security incidents in India.

Chandrasekhar said the government is well aware of cyber security threats as the Internet expands and more and more Indians get connected and use Internet.

He added that the government is fully cognizant and aware of various cyber security threats; and has taken a number of measures to enhance the cyber security posture and prevent cyber-attacks.

These include issuing issues alerts and advisories regarding latest cyber threats/vulnerabilities and countermeasures to protect computers and networks on regular basis, and holding regular training programmes for network/system administrators and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) of Government and critical sector organisations regarding securing the IT infrastructure and mitigating cyber-attacks.

Asked whether the government is considering stand-alone law for cybersecurity in the country to cater to the new age cyber crimes, Chandrasekhar said: "Presently, there is no proposal with the ministry for a stand-alone law in this regard".