Are Our Laws Already Outdated in the Era of Hackers?

A few years ago, criminals required some sort of weapon or access to their victims’ houses to rob them. Now, the only thing that a criminal needs is just a laptop, the internet and perhaps a little human error. In the age of hacking, there is no stereotypical image of the criminal with a mask and hood breaking into someone’s home. Hacking is much more modern, and today it encompasses phishing scams, identity theft, ransomware attacks, financial crimes and even artificial intelligence-based trickery.
Hacking involves the manipulation or access of information technology and computer networks without the authorisation of the owner. Whereas ethical hacking is performed by organisations to ensure their security, cybercrimes are malicious hacking carried out for financial benefit, political reasons, or personal reasons. Lately, the targets of cybercrimes are regular people. In the digital age, being vulnerable has become common to all. Humanity finally achieved equality through equal panic. A strange feat, but nevertheless a victory.
Cybercrime has also grown tremendously in Bangladesh due to greater usage of internet banking facilities. Cheating on the internet, hacking, extortion, and internet fraud have become more common than ever before. In order to fight against such crimes, Bangladesh relies heavily upon the ICT Act and Digital Security Act. These two acts deal with crimes related to unauthorised access, hacking, cyber terrorism, and fraud via the internet.
However, the laws are not very effective. Jurisdiction is one of the major difficulties in tackling this issue since cybercrimes have no physical boundaries. A hacker in a neighbouring country can commit offences against targets in Bangladesh and leave the scene before an investigation can even begin. Criminal law was developed in the context of physical crime, which involved a distinct locus of offence, visible offender, and tangible evidence. But all these things become meaningless in the context of cybercrime.
The crime committed in a virtual environment could have spread across continents within seconds. There would be no way to recover data that is lost in a few minutes. One could easily use anonymous services such as virtual private networks, encryption, and proxy servers to hide their identities. The delay caused by these technical limitations creates an imbalance between laws and technology.
Another concern would be enforcement. Some developing countries such as Bangladesh do not possess advanced capabilities for conducting cybercrimes. Their legal process would be very slow compared to the adaptation of new methods by cybercriminals.
In addition, concerns have been expressed about certain aspects of the Digital Security Act as well. A cyber law that instills fear but provides no protection will be a strong weapon in terms of legal tools but not necessarily an effective one.
The emergence of artificial intelligence only makes the problem worse. Manipulated faces, voices, and other means of deception provided through deepfake technology are already being exploited all across the globe for fraudulent activities. A person's image and sound can be modified to discredit someone, spread misinformation, and commit fraud.
Moreover, there remains the problem of digital evidence regulation in law. There are countries with a better regulatory system, like the USA and the UK, where the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Computer Misuse Act provide better regulations combined with special units handling cybercrime and better international cooperation. Still, cybercrime increases worldwide every year. With the most sophisticated legal systems finding it difficult to manage cybercrime, the problem faced by developing countries will be even greater.
However, there is hope that lies within the possibility of laws being developed and enacted in tandem with technological developments rather than always playing catch-up. More robust laws governing cyber activity, efficient digital forensics and international cooperation are necessary. The public domain should also be educated on cyber safety because many attacks rely more on the victim making mistakes than on the hacker’s technical skills. One slip could bring down the whole system.
It is a world where crimes are committed without noise, almost instantly and without coming near their targets. In the age of the hacker, danger is not in the form of physical steps and guns; sometimes it is just a notification on the computer screen. The law tries to keep up, but the next notification may come soon.

The writer is a student at Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP)