Cyber Crimes Questions and Answers

Q: The Information Technology Act, 2000, distinguishes between civil liability and criminal liability in cases of misuse of computer resources. In which of the following situations would such conduct attract criminal punishment rather than mere compensation ?

Criminal liability arises when the act is done dishonestly or fraudulently in addition to unauthorised access.Section 43 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 lists acts such as accessing, downloading from or damaging a computer system without the owner's permission, and makes the wrongdoer liable to pay compensation. Section 66 turns the same acts into an offence, punishable with imprisonment up to three years or fine up to five lakh rupees or both, when they are done dishonestly or fraudulently in the sense of the penal law.So the dividing line is the mental element, not the size of the loss or the victim's choice of forum. Access without permission and without that intent stays within civil compensation.

Q: The offences under Sections 66B, 66C, 66D and 66E of Information and Technology Act, 2000, are :-

The offences under Sections 66B to 66E are cognizable.Section 77B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 provides that, notwithstanding the Code of Criminal Procedure, an offence punishable with imprisonment of three years and above is cognizable, and an offence punishable with imprisonment of three years is bailable. Sections 66B (dishonestly receiving stolen devices), 66C (identity theft), 66D (cheating by personation) and 66E (violation of privacy) each carry up to three years.They are therefore cognizable but bailable, and being punishable with up to three years they are triable by a Magistrate, not exclusively by a Court of Session.

Q: As per S.66E of the internation Technology Act, 2000 (As amended) what is the punishment prescribed for violation of privacy ?

Section 66E punishes violation of privacy with imprisonment up to three years or fine not exceeding two lakh rupees, or both.Section 66E, inserted by the 2008 amendment, punishes whoever intentionally or knowingly captures, publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without consent, in circumstances violating that person's privacy. The punishment is imprisonment which may extend to three years or fine not exceeding two lakh rupees, or both.The other options change the term, the amount, or the 'or' into 'and', so they do not match the section.

Q: What is the punishment for violation of privacy ?

The punishment is three years or fine not exceeding two lakh rupees or both.Section 66E of the IT Act punishes whoever intentionally captures, publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without consent, in circumstances violating that person's privacy, with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or fine not exceeding two lakh rupees, or both.Option A matches the penalty for identity theft under section 66C (three years and fine up to one lakh). Imprisonment for life is the penalty for cyber terrorism under section 66F, and five years with fine up to ten lakh rupees is the first-conviction penalty for sexually explicit material under section 67A.

Q: Which section of IT Act deals with Cyber terrorism ?

Cyber terrorism is dealt with in Section 66F.Section 66F punishes acts done with intent to threaten the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of India or to strike terror in the people, such as denying access to authorised users, penetrating a computer resource without authorisation or introducing a contaminant, where this causes death, injury, damage to property or disruption of critical services. The punishment may extend to imprisonment for life.Section 66C deals with identity theft, section 66D with cheating by personation using a computer resource, and section 66E with violation of privacy.

Q: In which case Supreme Court of India invalidated Section 66A of IT Act 2000

The case is Shreya Singhal Vs. Union of India.In Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015), the Supreme Court struck down section 66A of the IT Act, which punished sending 'grossly offensive' or 'menacing' messages, as unconstitutional. The Court held that its vague terms had a chilling effect on speech and were not saved as a reasonable restriction under Article 19(2), so it violated the freedom of speech in Article 19(1)(a).The other cases dealt with different questions; for example, Kaushal Kishore (2023) concerned restrictions on the speech of public functionaries. None of them invalidated section 66A.

Q: The power to issue directions to block content on the internet is provided under which section of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ?

The power to block content is in Section 69A.Section 69A of the IT Act empowers the Central Government to direct any agency of the government or any intermediary to block public access to information generated, transmitted, received or stored in a computer resource, in the interest of sovereignty, defence, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states or public order. The procedure is in the Blocking Rules of 2009, and the Supreme Court upheld the section in Shreya Singhal.Section 69B deals with monitoring and collecting traffic data for cyber security. Section 70A designates the national nodal agency for critical information infrastructure, and section 70B provides for CERT-In, the national incident response team.

Q: Which of the following actions is punishable under Section 66C of the Information Technology Act ?

Section 66C punishes identity theft involving fraudulent use of digital signatures or passwords.Section 66C of the Information Technology Act punishes whoever fraudulently or dishonestly makes use of the electronic signature, password or any other unique identification feature of another person, with imprisonment up to three years and fine up to one lakh rupees.False reviews, spam and failure to encrypt data are not what Section 66C addresses.

Q: Under Section 43 of the Information Technology Act, who can be held liable for unauthorized access to a computer system ?

Liability extends to any person accessing or damaging a system without permission.Section 43 of the Information Technology Act makes 'any person' who, without permission of the owner or person in charge, accesses, downloads, introduces a virus into, damages or disrupts a computer, computer system or network liable to pay compensation to the person affected.The section is not limited to licensed professionals, companies or government employees.

The Information Technology Act, 2000, distinguishes between civil liability and criminal liability in cases of misuse of computer resources. In which of the following situations would such conduct attract criminal punishment rather than mere compensation ?

A.When the damage to computer resources exceeds a prescribed monetary limit
B.When the affected party chooses to initiate criminal proceedings
C.When access to a computer system is without permission, irrespective of intent
D.When the act is done dishonestly or fraudulently in addition to unauthorised access

Exam Year(s)

AIBE - 2026,

Answer: D

Criminal liability arises when the act is done dishonestly or fraudulently in addition to unauthorised access.

Section 43 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 lists acts such as accessing, downloading from or damaging a computer system without the owner's permission, and makes the wrongdoer liable to pay compensation. Section 66 turns the same acts into an offence, punishable with imprisonment up to three years or fine up to five lakh rupees or both, when they are done dishonestly or fraudulently in the sense of the penal law.

So the dividing line is the mental element, not the size of the loss or the victim's choice of forum. Access without permission and without that intent stays within civil compensation.

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The offences under Sections 66B, 66C, 66D and 66E of Information and Technology Act, 2000, are :-

A.Cognizable.
B.Sessions Triable.
C.Non-bailable.
D.None of the above.

Exam Year(s)

Rajasthan High Court Civil Judge - 2018, Rajasthan Judicial Service - 2018,

Answer: A

The offences under Sections 66B to 66E are cognizable.

Section 77B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 provides that, notwithstanding the Code of Criminal Procedure, an offence punishable with imprisonment of three years and above is cognizable, and an offence punishable with imprisonment of three years is bailable. Sections 66B (dishonestly receiving stolen devices), 66C (identity theft), 66D (cheating by personation) and 66E (violation of privacy) each carry up to three years.

They are therefore cognizable but bailable, and being punishable with up to three years they are triable by a Magistrate, not exclusively by a Court of Session.

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As per S.66E of the internation Technology Act, 2000 (As amended) what is the punishment prescribed for violation of privacy ?

A.Punished with the imprisonment which may extend to three years and with fine not extending three lakh rupees
B.Punished with the imprisonment which may extend to three years or with fine not extending two lakh rupees or both
C.Punishment with the imprisonment which may extend to five years or with fine not extending three lakh rupees or both
D.Punishment with the imprisonment which may extend to one year or with fine not extending two lakh rupees or with both.

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: B

Section 66E punishes violation of privacy with imprisonment up to three years or fine not exceeding two lakh rupees, or both.

Section 66E, inserted by the 2008 amendment, punishes whoever intentionally or knowingly captures, publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without consent, in circumstances violating that person's privacy. The punishment is imprisonment which may extend to three years or fine not exceeding two lakh rupees, or both.

The other options change the term, the amount, or the 'or' into 'and', so they do not match the section.

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Which of the following provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (As amended by the Information Technology (amendment) Act, 2008) deals with the punishment for cheating by impersonation by using computer resources ?

A.S. 66 B
B.S. 66 C
C.S. 66 D
D.S. 66 F

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2021, SET Exam - 2021,

Answer: C

Cheating by personation using a computer resource is punished under Section 66D.

The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 added several offences. Section 66D punishes whoever, by means of any communication device or computer resource, cheats by personation, with imprisonment up to three years and fine up to one lakh rupees. Online impersonation frauds are prosecuted under it.

Section 66B deals with dishonestly receiving stolen computer resources, Section 66C with identity theft (fraudulent use of another's password, electronic signature or identification feature), and Section 66F with cyber terrorism.

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What is the punishment for violation of privacy ?

A.three years or with fine which may extend to rupees one lakh or with both
B.imprisonment which may extend to imprisonment for life
C.five years and with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees or with both
D.three years or with fine not exceeding two lakh rupees or with both

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2025,

Answer: D

The punishment is three years or fine not exceeding two lakh rupees or both.

Section 66E of the IT Act punishes whoever intentionally captures, publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without consent, in circumstances violating that person's privacy, with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or fine not exceeding two lakh rupees, or both.

Option A matches the penalty for identity theft under section 66C (three years and fine up to one lakh). Imprisonment for life is the penalty for cyber terrorism under section 66F, and five years with fine up to ten lakh rupees is the first-conviction penalty for sexually explicit material under section 67A.

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Which section of IT Act deals with Cyber terrorism ?

A.Section 66C
B.Section 66D
C.Section 66E
D.Section 66F

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2025,

Answer: D

Cyber terrorism is dealt with in Section 66F.

Section 66F punishes acts done with intent to threaten the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of India or to strike terror in the people, such as denying access to authorised users, penetrating a computer resource without authorisation or introducing a contaminant, where this causes death, injury, damage to property or disruption of critical services. The punishment may extend to imprisonment for life.

Section 66C deals with identity theft, section 66D with cheating by personation using a computer resource, and section 66E with violation of privacy.

Discuss in Forum

In which case Supreme Court of India invalidated Section 66A of IT Act 2000

A.Shreya Singhal Vs. Union of India
B.Kaushal Kishore Vs. Union of India
C.People's Union for Civil Liberties Vs. Union of India
D.The State of Uttar Pradesh Vs. Aman Mittal

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2025,

Answer: A

The case is Shreya Singhal Vs. Union of India.

In Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015), the Supreme Court struck down section 66A of the IT Act, which punished sending 'grossly offensive' or 'menacing' messages, as unconstitutional. The Court held that its vague terms had a chilling effect on speech and were not saved as a reasonable restriction under Article 19(2), so it violated the freedom of speech in Article 19(1)(a).

The other cases dealt with different questions; for example, Kaushal Kishore (2023) concerned restrictions on the speech of public functionaries. None of them invalidated section 66A.

Discuss in Forum

The power to issue directions to block content on the internet is provided under which section of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ?

A.Section 69A
B.Section 69B
C.Section 70A
D.Section 70B

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2025,

Answer: A

The power to block content is in Section 69A.

Section 69A of the IT Act empowers the Central Government to direct any agency of the government or any intermediary to block public access to information generated, transmitted, received or stored in a computer resource, in the interest of sovereignty, defence, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states or public order. The procedure is in the Blocking Rules of 2009, and the Supreme Court upheld the section in Shreya Singhal.

Section 69B deals with monitoring and collecting traffic data for cyber security. Section 70A designates the national nodal agency for critical information infrastructure, and section 70B provides for CERT-In, the national incident response team.

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Which of the following actions is punishable under Section 66C of the Information Technology Act ?

A.Publishing a false e-commerce review
B.Identity theft involving fraudulent use of digital signatures or passwords
C.Sending bulk unsolicited emails
D.Failure to encrypt sensitive user data

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2025,

Answer: B

Section 66C punishes identity theft involving fraudulent use of digital signatures or passwords.

Section 66C of the Information Technology Act punishes whoever fraudulently or dishonestly makes use of the electronic signature, password or any other unique identification feature of another person, with imprisonment up to three years and fine up to one lakh rupees.

False reviews, spam and failure to encrypt data are not what Section 66C addresses.

Discuss in Forum

10.

Under Section 43 of the Information Technology Act, who can be held liable for unauthorized access to a computer system ?

A.Only licensed IT professionals
B.Only corporate entities
C.Any person accessing or damaging a system without permission
D.Only government employees

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2025,

Answer: C

Liability extends to any person accessing or damaging a system without permission.

Section 43 of the Information Technology Act makes 'any person' who, without permission of the owner or person in charge, accesses, downloads, introduces a virus into, damages or disrupts a computer, computer system or network liable to pay compensation to the person affected.

The section is not limited to licensed professionals, companies or government employees.

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