READIT-2007 - Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

4.8 Cyber Defamation:
Cyber defamation is nothing but defamation takes place with the help of computers and /
or the Internet. e.g. someone publishes defamatory matter about someone on a website or sends
e-mails containing defamatory information to all of that person’s friends.
India’s first case of cyber defamation was reported when a company’s employee started
sending derogatory, defamatory and obscene e-mails about its Managing Director. The e-mails
were anonymous and frequent, and were sent to many of their business associates to tarnish the
image and goodwill of the company. Finally, the company was able to identify the employee
with the help of a private computer expert and moved the Delhi High Court. The court granted an
ad-interim injunction and restrained the employee from sending, publishing and transmitting e-
mails, which are defamatory or derogatory to the plaintiffs.
4.9 Cyber stalking
Cyber stalking involves following a person’s movements across the Internet by posting
messages on the bulletin boards frequented by the victim, entering the chat-rooms frequented by
the victim, constantly bombarding the victim with emails etc.
The first cyber stalking case filed by a lady was Ritu Kohli’s case. A friend of her
husband gave her telephonic number in the general Internet chat room. The general Internet
chatting facility is provided by some websites like MIRC and ICQ where any person can easily
chat without disclosing his/her true identity. The friend of her husband also encouraged this
chatters to speak in slang language to Mrs. Kohli. Finally the culprit was identified and taken
before law.
4.10 Email bombing
Email bombing refers to sending a large number of emails to the victim resulting in the
victim’s email account or mail servers crashing.
Simla Housing Board case is of this kind where a foreigner who had been residing in
Simla, India for almost thirty years wanted to avail of a scheme introduced by the Simla Housing
Board to buy land at lower rates. But, his application was rejected by SHB on the grounds that
the scheme was available only for citizens of India. The foreigner decided to take his revenge
and started sending thousands of mails to the Simla Housing Board till the SHB’s servers
crashed.
4.11 Data diddling
Data diddling is nothing but altering raw data just before it is processed by a computer
and then changing it back after the processing is completed. The NDMC Electricity Billing
Fraud Case that took place in 1996 is a typical example. The computer network was used for
receipt and accounting of electricity bills by the NDMC, Delhi. Collection of money,
computerized accounting, record maintenance and remittance in he bank were exclusively left to
a private contractor who was a computer professional. He misappropriated huge amount of funds
by manipulating data files to show less receipt and bank remittance.
4.12 Salami attacks
Salami attacks are used for the commission of financial crimes preferably in financial
institutions. The key here is to make the alteration so insignificant that in a single case it would
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