Interspersed with real-life cases of victims who have suffered due to the consequences of cybercrimes, which are a new threat to digital society and how these can be tackled, a new book on cyber crime authored by Dr. Deepak Shikarpur and Advocate Vaishali Bhagwat has hit the streets. Each chapter is dedicated to the various forms of these crimes, namely, online scams, internet banking fraud, spamming and data theft, cyberstalking and sexual harassment, etc.
Launched by Vishwakarma Publications, at an elite gathering, held at the British Council Library ,the book, penned in English and Marathi, was unveiled by Chief Guest, Padma Vibhushan Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, in the august presence of Guest of Honour, Sharon Memis, Director, British Council, and several eminent personalities. Dr. Mashelkar lauded the authors, Dr. Deepak Shikarpur & Adv Vaishali Bhagwat and Vishwakarma Publications at their initiative to bring this book to a vast spectrum of readers, in the wake of the shocking fact that Pune is ranked as the number one city in cyber crime, in the country.
Says Dr. Deepak Shikarpur, “I am pleased to present the 25th book written by me along with the leading cybercrime lawyer in Pune, Advocate Vaishali Bhagwat. I have been writing books for almost a decade and had co-authored a book on Cyberlaws in 2003. Cybercrimes were in an infancy stage then. With the advent of social media, cheaper smart devices are now available with the common man and the average age of IT users has dropped significantly. We do not have the concept of Cyberethics as well as a Guide and Regulatory mechanism in schools for promoting the right things and preventing wrong doings. Out of curiosity and fun, many young users try to undertake cyber adventures, which can lead to cybercrimes. Hence, the common man needs to show care and concern about this new-age crime. It is shocking that Pune is becoming the capital of cybercrimes”.
“My educational background in Computer Science, industry experience as a software developer and field experience as a lawyer provided me with enough motivation to pursue a specialised career path as a cyber lawyer. My world as a lawyer changed drastically after 2000. Training programs conducted by me for police officers, lawyers, judges, Information Security practitioners, corporates, students and parents made me realise the tremendous need for spreading awareness on this subject. The steady rise in the number of cybercrime cases being handled by me provided a new learning experience, every time, on the scope and limitations of the IT Act, modus operandi and mindset of cybercriminals, hurdles faced during investigation and the sufferance of victims. While conducting these cases, I kept thinking of writing about them so that a general audience could benefit from the learning, and thus was inspired to write this book”, smiles Adv. Vaishali Bhagwat.
The book ends with an important message from the authors - Cyber Crime cells have now opened across India. There is thus no need to panic. If you find that you are a victim of illegal content on the net, or if you suspect an identity theft, computer crime or a commercial scam, approach the police. If you need help with maintenance or installation of a software firewall or anti-virus software on your computer, consult a certified computer technician. Take care, and stay protected.
“This book is an eye-opener. A must-read book, it is sure to find a place in every college library and also the book-shelf of many youngsters, even those who may not be very tech savvy, as this will be a guide which will shield them against cyber crimes!”, says Bharat Agarwal, Managing Trustee & Executive Director, Vishwakarma Institutes.
The English version of the 160 pages book is priced at Rs.150, while the Marathi book consists of 112 pages and is priced at Rs.125, titled, ‘Ctber Gunhe’.