Cyber criminals can misuse software

Although aimed at preventing malware attacks, Deep Freeze can wipe out details of all activities carried out on a computer, making it impossible for the police to nab the culprit.

We've read about terrorists and other miscreants using cyber cafes to carry out their nefarious activities. As a result, cyber laws have been made stringent in Pune and elsewhere in the country to prevent any untoward incidents.



Several cyber cafes in the city have installed a software called Deep Freeze to protect their computers from prospective malware attacks.
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Rogue code

Malware is a category of rogue computer code that infects computers and networks. It includes attacks by viruses, worms and Trojans.

However, the same software inadvertently helps cyber criminals hoodwink the investigating agencies. Deep Freeze can wipe out details of all activities carried out on the computer when one clicks on the 'restart' button.
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This makes it impossible for the police or the investigators, who visit the spot for clues after the International Service Provider points to a particular IP address from where the threat mail was sent or an the online phishing attack was carried out, to retrieve logged files.

Orkut case

R Narayanan, a cyber crime investigator who works for the cyber cell in Pune, said, "In a recent Orkut profile defamation case, the concerned cyber cafes had installed Deep Freeze, blocking access to any information for the investigators.
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It was quite evident from the register at the centre that the accused often frequented the place, but we need proof to prove someone guilty in the court of law. And we could not collect any evidence in that case."

However, the accused was brought to justice due to other corroborative evidence. But in several such cases, the guilty go unpunished.

Narayanan added, "There is an urgent need to create awareness among cyber cafe owners against the negative side of such softwares. We must urge all cyber cafes to install proxy servers that will maintain details of logged files on all computers."

This only proves that making identity cards mandatory for surfers does not guarantee adequate safety. Lots needs to be done to secure cyber cafes across the city.u00a0u00a0