Saturday, June 13, 2026

Unit 2 — Cyber Laws and Cyber Forensics

 


From MCA553 (Principles of Cryptography and Cyber Security) syllabus. 



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Cyber Laws


Cyber Laws are laws that govern activities on computers, networks, and the internet.


Objectives


Prevent cyber crimes


Protect user privacy


Secure digital transactions


Punish cyber criminals



Examples of Cyber Crimes


Hacking


Identity theft


Phishing


Online fraud


Cyber stalking


Data theft




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Cyber Security Regulations


These are rules and standards organizations follow to protect information.


Benefits:


Protect sensitive data


Reduce cyber attacks


Ensure legal compliance


Improve trust



Examples:


ISO 27001


GDPR


IT Act 2000 (India)




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Role of International Law in Cyberspace


Since the internet connects countries, international cooperation is necessary.


Functions:


Prevent cyber warfare


Control cyber terrorism


Handle cross-border cyber crimes


Protect critical infrastructure



Organizations:


United Nations (UN)


INTERPOL


International Telecommunication Union (ITU)




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Role of the State


Governments are responsible for:


Creating cyber laws


Protecting citizens


Developing cyber security policies


Investigating cyber crimes



Example: The Government of India established CERT-In.


CERT-In


CERT-In handles cyber security incidents in India.



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Role of Private Sector


Private companies:


Secure their networks


Protect customer data


Report breaches


Follow security standards



Examples: Banks, IT companies, e-commerce websites.



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National Cyber Security Policy 2013


India launched this policy to improve cyber security.


Objectives:


Create secure cyber ecosystem


Protect critical infrastructure


Increase cyber awareness


Develop skilled professionals




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Introduction to Cyber Forensics


Cyber Forensics (Digital Forensics) is the process of collecting, preserving, analyzing, and presenting digital evidence.


Purpose:


Investigate cyber crimes


Recover deleted data


Identify attackers


Support legal cases




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Need for Cyber Forensics


Why is it needed?


Rising cyber crimes


Digital evidence in courts


Data recovery


Tracking attackers




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Cyber Evidence


Information stored digitally that can be used in investigations.


Examples:


Emails


Photos


Videos


Chat messages


System logs


Browser history




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Documentation and Management of Crime Scene


During investigation:


Step 1


Secure the crime scene.


Step 2


Document everything.


Step 3


Collect evidence carefully.


Step 4


Maintain chain of custody.


Step 5


Analyze evidence.


Step 6


Prepare investigation report.



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Chain of Custody


A record showing:


Who collected evidence


When it was collected


Who handled it later



Importance:


Prevents evidence tampering


Makes evidence acceptable in court




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Image Capturing


Creating an exact copy of storage devices.


Example: Making a forensic copy of a hard disk.


Advantages:


Original data remains untouched.


Investigation can be repeated.




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Partial Volume Image


Instead of copying the entire disk, only important sections are copied.


Benefits:


Faster analysis


Less storage required




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Web Attack Investigation


Investigates attacks against websites.


Examples:


SQL Injection


Cross Site Scripting (XSS)


Website defacement



Evidence:


Server logs


Database logs


Firewall logs




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Denial of Service (DoS) Investigation


DoS attack: An attacker floods a server with traffic.


Effects:


Website becomes unavailable


Slow performance



Investigators examine:


Traffic logs


IP addresses


Firewall records




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Internet Crime Investigation


Investigates crimes committed online.


Examples:


Online fraud


Social media crimes


Fake websites


Cyber harassment




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Internet Forensics


Analysis of internet activities.


Sources:


Browsing history


Cookies


Emails


Chat records


Server logs




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Steps in Investigating Internet Crime


1. Identify incident



2. Collect evidence



3. Preserve evidence



4. Analyze evidence



5. Identify suspect



6. Prepare report



7. Present findings





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Email Crime Investigation


Email-related crimes include:


Phishing


Email spoofing


Threat emails


Fraudulent emails



Investigators analyze:


Email headers


Sender IP


Attachments


Mail server logs




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Important Exam Questions


Short Questions


1. What is Cyber Law?



2. Define Cyber Forensics.



3. What is Cyber Evidence?



4. Explain Chain of Custody.



5. What is Email Forensics?



6. What is CERT-In?



7. What is a DoS attack?



8. Define Image Capturing.





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Long Questions (6–10 Marks)


1. Explain Cyber Forensics and its importance.



2. Discuss National Cyber Security Policy 2013.



3. Explain the steps of Internet Crime Investigation.



4. Describe Email Crime Investigation.



5. Explain Cyber Evidence and Chain of Custody.



6. Discuss the role of Government and Private Sector in Cyber Security.





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Quick Revision


Cyber Law = Laws related to computers and internet.


Cyber Forensics = Investigation of digital crimes.


Cyber Evidence = Digital proof.


Chain of Custody = Evidence handling record.


Image Capturing = Exact copy of storage media.


DoS = Denial of Service attack.


CERT-In = India's cyber incident response team.


Email Forensics = Investigation of email crimes.



Next Unit 3:


Cryptography, Symmetric & Asymmetric Encryption, Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange, RSA Algorithm, DES, Block Ciphers — one of the most important units for exams and interviews.

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