| Answer: Cracking down on cyber crime requires highly skilled understanding of the electronic world and Internet law, whether a particular activity on the Net is of a transgressive nature or whether it is legally permissible are difficult to ascertain. Cyber crimes, be it sale of illegal articles, pornography, online gambling, e-mail spoofing, forgery, defamation, or hacking, the nature of these offences could be extremely subtle and difficult to prove. This is a new field of legal specialisation and there are not enough books on cyber law, cyber crime, etc and no international benchmarks or models to rely on.
As a lawyer you can take up cyber law as a profession, and specialise in cyber crime. For this you would need a degree or diploma in cyber law after graduating as a lawyer.
There are also courses in cyber law for students of any discipline who may want to pursue this field. This is useful for IT and e-commerce professionals, as also for bankers and chartered accountants, and others who would like an in-depth understanding of cyber laws as applicable in India. Such professionals have an edge when working as a cyber consultant in an IT firm, government departments, such as the police department or in banks.
A number of law schools and universities now offer courses in cyber law at the postgraduate level. Law institutes such as NALSAR University of law, Hyderabad and Government Law College, Mumbai offer PG Diploma in Cyber Law.
After a course in cyber law you can work independently as consultant, or start off as an assistant or a junior practitioner in legal consulting and arbitration firms for providing assistance to advocates in cases related to cyber crimes. You can also opt for a law firm or a corporate career in the legal department of a large company, particularly one which is involved in commercial activities through the Internet, keeping watch on any possible infringement.
Cyber lawyers, and cyber consultants can work as advisors in government departments, particularly in ministries handling Information and Broadcasting, Information Technology, and Science & Technology, or as Security Auditors and Network Administrators in Technology firms. As Internet-based applications in government departments, banks, telemarketing and online stock trading is growing, responsibilities of cyber lawyers are also increasing, particularly due to the limited availability of trained and educated experts on the subject.
There is also a huge scope for research and teaching. Cyber law is a profession with a great potential, as much work needs to be done to help nab cyber-criminals, predict the crime patterns and motives for such crimes, and assess their impact.
Salaries in the legal field are increasing, so law professionals who have specialised in cyber law can hope to start at Rs 20,000 or more, depending on the corporate or law firms they choose to work in, in India and/or abroad, their experience in the field and how well they understand their subject.
So, if you have a strong IT background and interested in a legal career, cyber law is branch of law with a huge potential, for anyone who would like to be the Sherlock Holmes of the Internet.
Some institutes offering professional courses in cyber laws are:
- National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University of Law, Hyderabad-27. (www.nalsarpro. org)
- National Law School of India, University Bangalore-72 (www.nls.ac. in)
- Government Law College, Mumbai
- Symbiosis Society's Law College, Pune
- Asian School of Cyber Laws, Pune (www.asianlaws. org).
- Indian Institute of Information and Technology, Allahabad (www.iiita.ac. in)
- The Indian Law Institute (Deemed University), New Delhi
- Cyber Law College NAAVI in Chennai
All the best
CareerAge Counselor
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