Basic Concepts of Cyber Law and Technology Law

1. Origin of Internet

2. Internet functions

3. Nature & Scope of Cyber Law

4. Utility and Purposes of Cyber Law

#What is the Internet?

The internet is a globally connected network system facilitating worldwide communication and
access to data resources through a vast collection of private, public, business, academic and
government networks.

You can do all of this by connecting a computer to the Internet, which is also
called going online. When someone says a computer is online, it's just another way of saying it's
connected to the Internet.

Internet, a system architecture that has revolutionized communications and methods of

commerce by allowing various computer networks around the world to interconnect. Sometimes
referred to as a “network of networks,” the Internet emerged in the United States in the 1970s but
did not become visible to the general public until the early 1990s. By 2020, approximately 4.5
billion people, or more than half of the world’s population, were estimated to have access to the
Internet.

The Internet provides a capability so powerful and general that it can be used for almost any
purpose that depends on information, and it is accessible by every individual who connects to
one of its constituent networks. It supports human communication via social media, electronic
mail (e-mail), “chat rooms,” newsgroups, and audio and video transmission and allows people to
work collaboratively at many different locations. It supports access to digital information by
many applications, including the World Wide Web. The Internet has proved to be a spawning
ground for a large and growing number of “e-businesses” (including subsidiaries of traditional
“brick-and-mortar” companies) that carry out most of their sales and services over the Internet.

Finally in 1995, the term ‘Internet’ was defined by the Federal Networking Council (FNC)
as; ‘Internet’ refers to the global information system that-

• Is logically linked together by a globally unique address space based on the internet
protocol (IP) or its subsequent extensions/ follow-ons.
 • Is able to support communications using the Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet
Protocol (TCP/ IP) suite, or its subsequent extensions or follow-ons, and/or other IP-
compatible protocols.
• Provides, uses, or makes accessible, either publicly or privately, high level services
layered on the communications and related infrastructure described herein.

Simply, internet is the large group of millions of computers around the world that are all
connected to one another.

And, as per Section- 2 (8) of the ICT Act, 2006, ‘“internet" means such an international
computer network by which users of computer, cellular phone or any other electronic system
around the globe can communicate with one another and interchange information and can
browse the information presented in the websites.’

1. # Origin of Internet

A Brief History of the Internet

Sharing Resources

The Internet started in the 1960s as a way for government researchers to share information.
Computers in the '60s were large and immobile and in order to make use of information stored in
any one computer, one had to either travel to the site of the computer or have magnetic computer
tapes sent through the conventional postal system.

Another catalyst in the formation of the Internet was the heating up of the Cold War. The Soviet
Union's launch of the Sputnik satellite spurred the U.S. Defense Department to consider ways
information could still be disseminated even after a nuclear attack. This eventually led to the
formation of the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), the network that
ultimately evolved into what we now know as the Internet. ARPANET was a great success but
membership was limited to certain academic and research organizations who had contracts with
the Defense Department. In response to this, other networks were created to provide information
sharing. ARPANET, which established the first host-to-host network connection on October 29,
1969. It was created by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. Department
of Defense. ARPANET was one of the first general-purpose computer networks. It connected
time-sharing computers at government-supported research sites, principally universities in
the United States, and it soon became a critical piece of infrastructure for the computer
science research community in the United States. Tools and applications—such as the simple
mail transfer protocol (SMTP, commonly referred to as e-mail), for sending short messages, and
the file transfer protocol (FTP), for longer transmissions—quickly emerged. In order to achieve
cost-effective interactive communications between computers, which typically communicate in
short bursts of data, ARPANET employed the new technology of packet switching. Packet
switching takes large messages (or chunks of computer data) and breaks them into smaller,
manageable pieces (known as packets) that can travel independently over any available circuit to
the target destination, where the pieces are reassembled. Thus, unlike traditional voice
communications, packet switching does not require a single dedicated circuit between each pair
of users.

January 1, 1983 is considered the official birthday of the Internet. Prior to this, the various
computer networks did not have a standard way to communicate with each other. A new
communications protocol was established called Transfer Control Protocol/Internetwork Protocol
(TCP/IP). This allowed different kinds of computers on different networks to "talk" to each
other. ARPANET and the Defense Data Network officially changed to the TCP/IP standard on
January 1, 1983, hence the birth of the Internet. All networks could now be connected by a
universal language.

The history of the global network

Communication drives society and progress, and as human civilization evolves, so do

communication methods.

The internet finds its earliest roots in packet switching, which is a method that groups data and
transmits it through the network. It’s like ordinary delivery services: You pack something, and
you send it to an address.

Packet switching works electronically, and it transmits data packets through digital networks. It’s
the basis of global network communication, the foundation of what the internet is today.

As the first building block was laid, so came the prototype of the internet.
The ARPANET (Advanced Research Project Agency Network) started to develop in the late
1960s to allow communication between multiple computers in one network.

The first-ever communication between two computers happened on October 29, 1969, through
the ARPANET prototype. It happened between the Network Measurement Center at the
University of California, Los Angeles, and the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park.

Slowly but surely, the interest in the network grew. The society of engineers across the nation
saw the benefits of such a project. More connections were made across the country, and
international interest multiplied as well.

The international collaboration led to the development of protocols (sets of rules for data packet
transmission). Later on, the CSNET (Computer Science Network) was developed due to the need
for communication in the academic community.
As the academic society started to understand the benefits of networks, the TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol) became standardized.
The NSFNet (National Science Foundation Network) expanded across the continents.

The first commercial internet service providers (ISP) started in 1989 in the US. That was the
beginning of the internet and the end of the ARPANET.

So, the only thing we need to understand is how it works.

How Does the Internet Work?

The interconnected global network or the internetwork works by following TCP/IP protocols to
ensure reliable data transmission worldwide. Simply put, this is the network, the one that
connects all others.

Think about your home network. You have a couple of devices connected to it. That is your local
network. There are hundreds of thousands of networks worldwide that are public, academic,
business, and government networks.

So, what supports all of these networks?

2. Internet functions

The Pew Internet Project has looked at how people use the internet in four major ways: to
communicate, to gather information, to transact personal and professional business, and to
entertain themselves.

There are some key functions of Internet as follows:

1.Communication; 2.Online transaction; 3.Entertainment; 4.Getting information; 5.Map

navigation; 6.Weather forecasting information; 7.News; 8.Data interchange; 9.Shopping. 10.
And so forth.

#What does cyber mean?

Involving- using, or relating to computers, especially the internet. Cyber is a prefix that used to
describe a person, thing, or idea as part of the computer and information age. It also denotes a
relationship with information technology (IT) - anything relating to computing, such as the
internet.
Prior to the advent of the internet, cyber was used in the formation of words relating to
computers, computer networks, or virtual reality. This usage can be traced to the word
cybernetics, which was ushered into English in 1948 by the scientist Norbert Wiener.

# Cyberspace

Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology.

Cyberspace is a global computer network which felicitates online communication. It allows
users to share information and ideas, interact and communicate, play games, engage in
discussions, conduct business and many other activities. In other words, this computer-
generated worldwide stage of internet and web is known as Cyberspace.

It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday reality.

Cyberspace has its origin thanks to the writer William Ford Gibson, who in 1984 used it in his
science fiction novel Neuromancer.

Features of cyberspace

Cyberspace exceeds the limits of how and when to interact. Among the characteristics of
cyberspace are the following:

Identity and flexibility: the lack of physical interaction face to face causes an impact on how
people present their identification. Well, you have the opportunity to express only some parts of
your identity or maybe stay anonymous, you can even have an imaginary or false identity.

In cyberspace, we all have the same communication opportunity. Some call this Net Democracy.

It transcends spatial boundaries: Geographic distances do not limit who can communicate with
whom. You can communicate with anyone who is in another country.

Extended and condensed time: there may be communication with anyone via the internet, and
several people sitting on the computer.

This type of communication creates a temporary space, as interactive time extends, has time to
think, and gives answers.

# Definition of Cyber Laws-

Cyber Laws are the collection of these rules and regulations which conduct our behaviour on
digital platforms and provide legal sanction against its violation. Generically, cyber law is
referred to as the Law of the Internet.
Cyber Law is the term used to describe the a law that deals with the issues related to the Internet,
technological and electronic elements, communication technology, including computers,
software, hardware and information systems.

Cyber law is a term that encapsulates the legal issues related to use of communicative
transactional, and distributive aspects of networked information devices and technologies. It is
the law governing cyber space. Cyber space is a very wide term and includes computers,
networks, software, data storage devices (such as hard disks, USB disks etc), the Internet,
websites, emails and even electronic devices such as cell phones, ATM machines etc.

# When was first cyber law introduced?

Generically, cyber law is referred to as the Law of the Internet. The first cyber law was the
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, enacted in 1986 (IN the United States). Known as CFAA,
this law prohibits unauthorized access to computers and includes detail about the levels of
punishment for breaking that law.

# Nature & Scope

The nature & Scope of cyber law is very wide as it deals with various kinds of challenges and
threats imposed by the internet and developments in computer technology:

• Cyber Crimes
• Intellectual Property
• Data Protection and Privacy
• Electronic and Digital Signatures

1. Dealing with computer hackers, spammers and those who spread malware and viruses.

2. E-Commerce Transactions- Protecting the privacy of the individuals and preventing

frauds in money transactions.

3. Regulations and categorization of contractual obligations related to the acquisition of

software.

4. Protection of Intellectual Property Rights and dealing with issues of copyright in a

computer program and patent protection of software programs.

5. Dealing with the purchases from other jurisdictions under e-commerce.

6. Regulation and dealing with the issue of trafficking in domain names under the law; and
 7. Regulation of the content and information available on the internet.

8. Protection and regulation of freedom of speech and expression and right to information.

#Utility or Importance of Cyber Law

# Importance of cyber laws in Bangladesh-

1) To flourish E-Commerce in Bangladesh through online transactions.

2) To flourish E-Governance in Bangladesh with a view to ensuring transparency in govt.

offices.

3) To prevent crimes on digital platforms.

4) To ensure proper justice in case of cyber crimes.

5) 'Right to internet' is now-a-days is considered as 'fourth generation human rights'. Without

ensuring proper cyber regulations, 'Right to internet' of citizens will be a shame.