Critical infrastructure protection (CIP) in India (CIP in India) and critical ICT infrastructure protection (CIIP) in India (CIIP in India) have emerged as two of the most important aspects of national security. We have not yet formulated an effective national security policy of India and therefore issues like CIP and CIIP have also remained ignored.

Critical ICT infrastructure protection has also become crucial part of the cyber security policy of India. Although India has not formulated a cyber security policy yet when it would be formulated it must include CIP and CIIP as essential components of the same.

These days a majority of crucial functions of private and government are essentially connected with the computers and computers systems. If these computers or computer systems are compromised, much damage can be done to the country where such breach has occurred.

India has been indifferent towards issues like cyber law, cyber security, cyber forensics, cyber espionage, cyber terrorism, cyber warfare, etc. India has not yet ensured a legal enablement of ICT systems as well national security and cyber security policy to ensure that these crucial issues are adequately and effectively covered.

Experts feel that, India does not have strong and effective cyber laws to deal with issue pertaining to critical infrastructure. India is blind towards cyber law, cyber security and cyber forensics requirements. The IT Act, 2000 (sole cyber law of India) is a poorly drafted law and badly implemented legislation. It is weak and ineffective in dealing with growing cyber crimes in India as it is the most soft and cyber criminal friendly legislation of the World, says Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of techno legal ICT Law Firm Perry4Law and Supreme Court Lawyer.

Even on the front of research, training and education India is a poor track record. We have a single techno-legal cyber security research and training centre in India (CSRTCI). The same is managed by Perry4Law, the exclusive techno-legal firm of India. CSRTCI is supported by Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB), the leading techno legal institution of India and a segment of Perry4Law.

CSRTCI and PTLB covers specialised areas like cyber law, cyber security, cyber forensics, cyber war, cyber terrorism, cyber espionage, corporate espionage, critical ICT infrastructure protection, CCTNS, Natgrid, NCTC, etc.

In order that CIP and CIIP can be protected in India we must have good policies regarding national security and cyber security as well as specialised research and training institutions like PTLB. Further, legal framework must also be streamlined to accommodate projects like Natgrid, CCTNS, central monitoring system (CMS), Aadhar project, etc. The efforts must come directly from the highest level like Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) if successful implementation is the criteria.

Computer forensics is a highly specialised field that requires techno legal expertise. Computer forensics is a growing field world over and India is also trying to use computer forensics for its legal and judicial purposes.

Indian legal and judicial fraternity must develop scientific temperament and technical knowledge in fields like cyber law, cyber forensics, e-discovery, digital evidencing, e-courts, etc.

However, computer forensics in India is still at nascent stage and it may take many more years before computer forensics can actually be used in India. Praveen Dalal, noted techno legal and cyber forensics specialist of India, has already written an exclusive book on techno legal aspects of cyber forensics in India. This book may go a long way in bringing actual implementation of cyber forensics in India.

At the same time we need good techno legal training and courses on computer forensics in India. India has a single techno legal cyber forensics research, training and educational institution. It is managed by Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB). The centre is providing techno legal cyber forensics education, trainings and course in India.

Registration for online education and trainings in the field of cyber forensics and other techno legal courses of PTLB can be done through its online platform. Application form for the enrollment to various courses, internships and trainings can be downloaded from here and more details about the courses of PTLB can be found here.

Computer forensics trainings are required to be undertaken by police officers, public prosecutors, lawyers, judges, etc in India. Initially, the basic level computer forensics training is enough that can subsequently be enhanced to more specialised training.

PTLB also exclusively offers online cyber law and computer forensics training to judges in India and abroad as well. This way the judiciary, especially subordinate judiciary, of India can be greatly benefited. Let us hope, that judges and lawyers in India would avail these exclusive and specialised courses and trainings of PTLB as soon as possible.

Legal education is India is passing through a transformation phase. For a very long period of time, legal education in India has been ignored. This is more so regarding specialised courses and higher legal education in India.

If we analyse the numbers of masters in law and doctors of law in India, the figure is not very pleasant. Very few law graduates prefer to opt for master and doctorate degrees. This is largely attributable to the academic nature of our legal system that is neither competitive nor professional in nature.

If we keep on teaching theoretical aspects of law and that also belonging to the era of 1980s, little is expected from the law graduates. The resulting output of lawyers is not qualitative and a majority of them re law graduates but not professional lawyers.

Defective policy decisions are also responsible for poor quality of lawyers in India. The Ministry of Law and Justice has not yet come out with a legal education policy that can help in producing qualitative legal personnel in India.

The quality of legal education is presently managed by the Bar Council of India (BCI). However, even the BCI has failed to maintain the quality of legal education in India. Neither law universities/faculties not BCI are doing much in this regard.

Take the example of recent bar examination proposed by the BCI after getting a law degree. The proposed bar examination of India 2011 is faulty on many counts. It is just a formality with no quality testing purpose. If the test is not going to check the quality of lawyers entering the litigation stream, there is no sense in having the same.

Legal education in India needs serious reforms. Presently, the legal education is not professional in nature, suffers from being excessive academic in nature and is producing law graduates who lack good research and analytical skills.

Foreign universities and institutions are looking towards India for establishing their branches or centers but the poor quality of education and bad policies are restraining them from doing so. Hopefully Law Minister Veerappa Moily would look into the matter urgently.

Legal education in India is undergoing a transformation as the education sector of India is opening for foreign universities and institutions. Legal education in India has for long remained archaic and stagnant due to academic nature of the same.

With the advent of information and communication technology (ICT), the doors for legal education reforms have opened. ICT has also opened the possibilities of global partnerships and collaborations. Further, these developments have also given rise to a new form of legal education known as continuing legal education.

Continuing legal education in India (CLE in India) or legal lifelong learning in India is a very new field. In India, not much attention is paid to higher legal education and even lesser to PhD and other specialised courses. This is so because legal education in India is not up to the mark and there is no implemental legal education policy in India.

Legal education in India needs urgent reforms. Some of the reforms that legal education in India must have include encouragement of higher legal education, research oriented legal education, professional and contemporary legal education, practical legal education and so on.

However, of all these reforms, nothing is more pressing than the requirement to have CLE in India. Presently, neither the Law Ministry of India nor the Bar Council of India (BCI) is providing CLE in India. Of course, they are mentioning about CLE but mere mention is not enough to actually implement it successfully in India.

Even worst is the techno legal area that has not even found a mention in the works of Law Ministry and BCI. The only instance of techno legal CLE in India can be found in a private initiative started by Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB).

PTLB is providing techno legal CLE in India and techno legal lifelong learning in India. To extend its reach and educational initiatives, it has also launched many online platforms where students, professionals, lawyers, judges, CEOs, etc can be enrolled and trained.

Law Minister Veerappa Moily must incorporate necessary policy related issues of CLE in India, lifelong learning in India and higher legal education in India in an effective legal education policy of India.

Computer forensics or cyber forensics in India is still at its infancy stage. This is so because there is a general lack of legal enablement of ICT systems in India. In the absence of adequate legal enablement of ICT systems in India, cyber forensics has also not developed much.

Another reason for lack of cyber forensics in India is absence of adequate and qualitative techno legal cyber forensics institutions. There are very few institutions that provide cyber forensics educations and training in India. However, cyber forensics is techno legal in nature that must cater both technical and legal requirements of the learners.

India has a single techno legal cyber forensics research, training and educational institution. It is managed by Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB). The centre is providing techno legal cyber forensics education, trainings and course in India.

PTLB is providing its cyber forensics courses and other techno legal course and trainings through the use of e-learning and online education models. Registration for online education and trainings in the field of cyber forensics and other techno legal courses of PTLB can be done through its online platform.

The present course is a basic level course and highly specialised courses would also be provided in future. The same would be managed by Perry4Law Techno Legal ICT Training Centre (PTLITC).

Some of the topics covered by the basic level computer forensics course include basic introduction about applicable law, cyber law of India, digital evidencing in India, e-mail tracing, data recovery, etc. The students or professionals undergoing the basic level trainings and education from PTLB would be given preference for courses and trainings undertaken by PTLITC.

Application form for the enrollment to various courses, internships and trainings can be downloaded from here and more details about the courses of PTLB can be found here.

PTLITC is also in the process of providing highly specialised and domain specific techno legal trainings, courses and educations in the fields like cyber law, cyber security, cyber forensics, anti cyber terrorism, anti cyber warfare, human rights protection in cyberspace, lawful interceptions and self defence against unlawful interceptions, etc.

If you have a temperament for techno legal course, get yourself a seat as techno legal profession is going to be one of the most remunerative and in demand profession in future.