Why in News?

• Eight out of 10 people in India have experienced some form of online harassment
• 41% of women having faced sexual harassment on the web
• Reported by a new survey commissioned by cybersecurity solutions firm, Norton by Symantec.

Findings

• The most common forms of online harassment were found to be abuse and insults, which was reported by 63% of respondents.
• This was followed by malicious gossip and rumours (59%), malicious comments/threats on a social media site (54%), trolling (50%), and attacks/abuse from a coordinated group (49%).
• Of the four countries from the Asia-Pacific region which were surveyed (India, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan), India recorded the highest level of online harassment, with 45% of the respondents having experienced cyberstalking.
• With Indians spending more time on social media platforms and mobile applications, it is important that online users take basic precautions to protect their safety and security to avoid unwanted contact
• As per the study, in 42% of the cyberbullying cases and in nearly half of all instances of cyberstalking where the victim was a woman, the perpetrator was a stranger.
• While the survey revealed that men and women reported similar experiences of online harrassment, people with disabilities and poor mental health were more susceptible to some of the more serious threats.

The Government has taken following steps for prevention of Cyber Crimes

According to reply by minister, women and child wellfare

• Cyber Crime Cells have been set up in States and Union Territories for reporting and investigation of Cyber Crime cases.
• Government has set up cyber forensic training and investigation labs in the States of Kerala, Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and Jammu & Kashmir for training of Law Enforcement and Judiciary in these States
• In collaboration with Data Security Council of India (DSCI), NASSCOM, Cyber Forensic Labs have been set up at Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Kolkata for awareness creation and training
• Pogrammes on Cyber Crime investigation. National Law School, Bangalore and NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad are also engaged in conducting several awareness and training programmes on Cyber Laws and Cyber crimes for judicial officers.
• Training is imparted to Police Officers and Judicial officers in the Training Labs established by the Government.
• The Scheme for Universalisation of Women Helpline has been approved to provide 24 hour emergency and non-emergency response to all women affected by violence.