SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH LAW

The intellectual thinking of man, since time immemorial, has resulted in the development of science and technology. The principles of science and technology have developed in response to differing objects of interest. Science and technology have had a great impact on the way we live. Law has tried to regulate the use and abuse of science and the extent of its application. The major question however is whether we are well equipped with the laws to regulate the use of such technologies.

The subject Law, Science and Technology is of great relevance today when Courts have become ”activists” and there has been a tremendous advance in science and technology. The need for sharpening the evidentiary techniques employed in Courts with the help of science and technology cannot be denied. At the same time, one has to be conscious of the limitations. The limitations of both science and the law and the need for both to join hands to strengthen the court-systems by legally admissible scientific evidence must be considered.

MEANING AND DEFINITIONS

v SCIENCE

The word “Science” comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning “knowledge” or “knowing”. According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, the definition of science is “knowledge attained through study or practice,” or “knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, esp. as obtained and tested through scientific method [and] concerned with the physical world.”

In other words, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge. This system uses observation and experimentation to describe and explain natural phenomena. The term science also refers to the organized body of knowledge that people have gained using that system. Less formally, the word science often describes any systematic field of study or the knowledge gained from it. Perhaps the most general description is that the purpose of science is to produce useful models of reality. Most scientific investigations use some form of the scientific method. Science as defined above is sometimes called pure science to differentiate it from applied science, which is the application of research to human needs. Fields of science are commonly classified along two major lines:

-Natural sciences, the study of the natural world, and

-Social sciences, the systematic study of human behavior and society.

v TECHNOLOGY

The word “technology” comes from the Greek word technologia, which means the systematic treatment of an art, form or skill or a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods or knowledge. In other words, the term technology refers to the application of science, especially to commercial or industrial objects.

v LAW

A rule of conduct established and enforced by the authority, legislation, or custom of a given community, State, or nation. In essence, law is the tangible and intangible context that links individuals to the community. In addition, it defines responsibilities of individuals to society as much as it defines and protects individual rights. In short, it is a pillar of good governance.

INTER-RELATIONSHIP OF SCIENCE AND LAW

Today”s high technology society forces the two professions (law and science) to interact in a wide array of cases. Legal disputes involving patents, product liability, environmental torts, regulatory proceedings and criminal cases are some fields of such interaction. Further, law and science encounter each other in the laboratory through a number of actions governing intellectual property, research misconduct, etc. The fact-finding agendas of the two disciplines have frequently begun to overlap, if not merge. Because there is a general lack of understanding of each culture, these interactions often lead to a cognitive friction that is both disturbing and costly to the society. Scientists are distrustful of the lawyers and legal proceedings and prefer not to venture into the courtroom. The scientific community that believes that its methods and procedures are above legal scrutiny and questioning often frustrates lawyers. Lawyers and scientists seldom speak the same language. Each should develop a better understanding of the principles and methods of the other”s profession. Bridging the gap between the two cultures is a challenge that this conference seeks to address.

Science and technology seek knowledge through an open-ended search for expanded understanding, whose truths are subject to revision. Law, too, conducts an open-ended search for expanded understanding; however, it demands definite findings of fact at given points in time. The meeting of these two disciplines in the courtroom magnifies the differences between the two cultures. Even the search of truth does not serve the same aims and may not be subject to the same constraints and requirements.

The Courts today deal with complex cases relating to highly sophisticated crimes where criminals take care to erase all evidence of their involvement. In such cases, modernized, scientific and highly sophisticated methods are required to trace the involvement of criminals. A report published in the New York Times (August 7, 2008) stated that with a new analytical technique, a fingerprint can reveal much more than the identity of a person. It can also identify what the person has been touching: drugs, explosives or poisons, for example. Such a laboratory technique can have a wider application in crime investigation. The chemical signature could also help crime investigators trace out one fingerprint out of the smudges of many overlapping prints if the person had been exposed to a specific chemical.

Then there are serious cases of medical negligence and related torts where rival parties seek to rely on expert evidence. Even in the field of environmental pollution involving toxic substances, there is serious difficulty in finding out the levels of danger, the extent of actual and latent damage to humans and environment, and there are uncertainties in accepting the technology installed by the polluter to conform to environmental standards. In some civil cases where handwriting, forgery, or paternity issues are involved there is extensive use of scientific techniques. The Courts are thus dependent and, in fact, compelled to analyse evidence of experts examined on each side. There is again the difficulty of evaluating the conflicting expert evidence adduced by the contesting parties in an adversarial judicial process. However, none can deny that expert witnesses retained by parties often are partisan. In such cases, the technique of “Hot Tubbing” must be embraced. The Australians discovered the technique of “Hot Tubbing” to improve expert evidence. In this procedure, also called concurrent evidence, parties still choose experts, but they testify together at trial-discussing the case, asking each other questions, responding to inquiries from the judge and the lawyers, finding common ground and sharpening the open issues. According to UCLA law professor Jennifer Mnookin, “‘Hot Tubbing is much more interesting than neutral experts.”

DEVELOPMENTS TILL DATE AND THE RECENT TREND

In this era of genomics, of crime prevention and of conviction the following questions need special attention:

Is the legal profession ready for this new information?

How would these techniques benefit the justice delivery system?

Is our society ready for the implications that genomics brings to every facet of our lives?

Is our society struggling with the ethical and social issues thrown up by the new biology such as human cloning, use of animals in biomedical research, etc.?

With the rapid progress in science, are laws in their present form really able to deliver justice efficiently or is some rethinking in the form of new laws or amendments to existing laws required?

Before any major changes can be effected, all stakeholders have to sit together and look for the answers to these unsolved problems. This contact which was missing in India became a reality when the first ever conference of this kind was held. This conference, who”s Chairman was the erstwhile President of India; Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam formed the basis of the ”Hyderabad Declaration on Impact of New Biology on Justice Delivery System”. These deliberations of law were co-organised by the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) and NALSAR University of law. The deliberations brought together the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, representatives from various Commissions like the Law Commission and the Human Rights Commission, Directors of the National Law Schools and other legal luminaries, lawyers, scientists, doctors, bio-industrialists, NGO”s, police investigators, journalists and a couple of participants from abroad. Inter alia the meeting emphasized the following:

To establish a Human Genetics Commission to provide technical and strategic advice about the current and emerging issues in Human Genetics, and a consultative mechanism for development oh National Genetics Policy and guidelines in that area;

To establish an Ethics Committee to assess ethical, legal and social issues raised by research on human genome and use of DNA databases;

To statutorily define status of human embryo so that research on embryonic cells is done under statutory control and regulations;

To devise a mechanism to establish links with the International Community of Dispute for resolution of new issues in new biology;

To suitably amend the Patents law to strike a fair balance between public and private interests in case of patents that assert property rights over genetic material.

IMPACT OF SCIENCE ON INVESTIGATION

Science is a compelling and commanding weapon in the armoury of administration of justice. Forensic Science is a science pertaining to law. In particular, it works as the branch, which is used mainly in criminal investigation and findings of which can lead to arrests and convictions. Undoubtedly, scientific investigations generate evidence in favour of the victims and against the accused. Forensic Science helps in providing the identity of the culprit or the accused who willingly or unwillingly, in most of the cases, leaves the mark of his crime, thereby making the job of the investigator much easier in proving the culpability with the aid of Forensic Science.

Forensic Science provides scientific study for investigation of crime. The growth, development and use of Forensic Science in detection of crime in developed countries are tremendous and increasing with new techniques. The area of Forensic Science in India has not been properly looked into, as it ought to have been and more so when the average acquittal rate is alarmingly high. Therefore, in our country, also, the necessity and importance of Forensic Science hardly needs any emphasis. The lack of understanding and appreciation of the importance of specialists in general, by non-specialists, in all fields, cannot be denied. The field of Forensic Science is no exception. Many a time, neither the judge, nor the lawyer nor even the police appreciate fully, the advances or the extensive, promising potentialities of the science and the fusion of new technologies, methodologies, modalities and research. Multitask and multi-professional nature of Forensic Science needs an inter-professional approach, which is, many a time, lacking. Therefore, sincere and serious efforts are required to be made to eliminate personal and professional bias of the involved personnel and professionals.

Forensic Science in criminal investigation and trial is principally concerned with materials and circuitously through materials, with men, places and time. It embraces all branches of science and applies them to the purposes of law. The scientific examination by Forensic Scientists adjoins a missing link or strengthens a weak chain of investigation.

Systematic uses of Forensic Science provide significant assistance in answering the following questions:

(i) How was the crime committed?

(ii) When was the crime committed?

(iii) Who committed the crime?

Law-enforcement agencies refer to Forensic Experts to help solve mysterious situations concerning human life and thereby, provide help and useful contribution to the criminal courts in the journey for search of truth in criminal trials. Forensic Science deals with various aspects, including routine post-mortem to sophisticated tracking piece like DNA analysis.

Unfortunately, techniques and methodology with necessary materials used extensively in Western countries has not successfully clicked in India because of a variety of reasons, the major one being the investment of huge finance. This science is also, at times, useful in finding out the truth in some of the civil cases.

The prosecution mainly calls Forensic Scientists as expert witnesses. The practice of the defense producing Forensic Scientists or the courts consulting on their own listed experts is not very much in vogue. In fact, there is an acute need to bridge the communication gap that presently exists between lawyers, judges and Forensic Scientists. An independent analysis and evaluation of the scientist”s data and any subsequent testimony that may follow again depends on the judges” familiarity and understanding of the principles of Forensic Science.

In Western countries DNA test and profile is widely employed. In a country like ours, the need of such a test and profile may, hardly, be emphasized. In many developed countries, DNA test, genetic testing techniques and “racmization” — testing based on systematic examination of teeth and bite-marks has proved to be very useful. “Racmization” technique is currently used in Japan and Germany. It has potential to replace the traditional method that took into account the eruption and/or fusion and falling sequence of teeth. A fusion of such knowledge of Forensic Science and newly developed techniques will, undoubtedly, not only provide proper perspective and dimensions, but will also lead to detection of crime, and be a great help in search of the truth. It will be useful in the prevention and control of crimes and will provide required assistance to the parties to civil disputes, as well.

IMPACT OF SCIENCE ON THE JUSTICE DELIVERY SYSTEM

Common view is that the Indian justice administration system is slow. However, the major question is, is it the primary problem with Indian justice delivery system? The key issue is, is it is delivering justice at all in majority of cases? If a machine is faulty and makes bad products, then if one speeds up the machine, it will deliver more of those bad products. Therefore, if we speed up a malfunctioning Justice Administration System, it will simply toss up more of injustice. Is that the goal of any justice delivery system?

In the words of Justice Shayamal Kumar Sen, “The investigation process needs to be hastened; otherwise the criminal justice system will suffer”.

Justice Sen urged that research and development should be initiated in a way that would ensure that crime at the grassroots level is detected immediately and an effective management system should be introduced.

According to M P Singh, vice-chancellor, West Bengal National University Of Juridical Science, new techniques should be introduced as it will help in crime detection and the infrastructure should be developed in a way that will not only give momentum to effective criminal delivery system but will also hasten the entire long drawn process of investigation.

IMPACT OF SCIENCE ON COURT AND COURT PROCESSES

Science is not new to the Indian courts. Towards the end of 1989, one low-end computer was installed in Supreme Court of India for caveat matching. Immediately thereafter, in 1990, Justice GC Bharuka, as a sitting Judge at the Patna High Court initiated the process of court computerization. On his transfer to Karnataka in 1994, he undertook to introduce ICT (Information and Communucation Tecnologies) in the entire judiciary of the state of Karnataka.

Presently all the courts upto the taluka level are computerized. All the judicial officers and court staff are trained. There is complete automation from filing of a case to grant of a certified copy. Digital production of under-trial prisoners by video-conferencing is made possible. Through website, causelists of the Supreme Court of India, High Courts, district courts and various Tribunals is made available online, a day before.

SCIENCE AND GREY AREAS OF LAWS

v SPACE LAWS

Simply put, Space law is a part of International jurisprudence related to outer space. It follows customary practice in defining outer space, the region 100 km beyond the earth”s surface.

With the advancement of science and technology, things that were once considered impossible are now increasingly becoming possible and even fashionable. No one, some six decades back would have thought of going to space, let alone marrying in space. Thanks to science, this has now become a reality. For $2.3 million, a person can cement bonds from 62 miles straight up. Japanese company First Advantage, along with former X-Prize contender Rocketplane Global, is teaming up to offer weddings in space.

According to a LiveScience article, Rocketplane Global “is developing the XP Spaceplane for private suborbital spaceflights. The four-seat spaceship is slated to be about the size of a fighter jet and designed to carry two jet engines and a rocket engine to reach space.”

Besides shelling out $2.3 million, a person has to undergo four day”s worth of training for the one-hour ceremony. Training includes safety procedures, weightless maneuvering, and to explain to one”s family why they were not invited.

Not only this, Sapporo Breweries, the Japanese beer maker established in 1876, is brewing beer from barley descended from seeds that spent five months on the International Space Station ( ISS).

According to a CNN article, “The project is part of biological studies of the adaptability of plants to environmental changes and the impact from stresses such as space travel.”

If successful, the study will bring the world one-step closer to growing crops in space. In addition, fortunately, right now, scientists cannot tell the difference between the ISS grains and homegrown barley.

However, in order for commercial space activities to grow, there must be an attractive legal environment. Unfortunately existing space law consists mostly of some inter-governmental treaties that are quite inappropriate for business.

Space is just another place where humans are going to live. In addition, because space is almost limitless humans are going to live there in vast numbers in the future. In other words, it will become a completely new habitat. Today most activities in space are government ones because getting to and from space is so expensive. Once travel from orbit is cheap enough, as on earth, individuals, private companies and organizations will carry on most activities in space. At that time space activities will involve almost every industry, be it catering and drinks, fashion and entertainment, or law.

An attractive legal environment is needed to enable operating companies to plan passenger services and place orders for the vehicles that they require, and for manufacturers to finalize vehicle design details and raise the investment that they need in order to put the vehicles into production.

Sovereignty over outer space is another debatable issue that needs to be resolved.

CYBER LAWS AND JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES

With the advent of internet, a whole new category of crime that includes fraud, theft of services and data, copyright infringement, destruction of data through computer sabotage (viruses) and acts causing inconvenience to agencies comprising sensitive, secret or confidential functions has come up. Chances of use of the web as a forum for publication of defamatory content has increased multifold and there is a need for a clear, coherent expression of the law in this area.

Hacking time theft (stealing someone else”s internet time) pornography, sending threatening e-mail, defamatory e-mail, hacking e-mail, e-mail bombs, etc. are the main areas of cyber crime.

The people who commit cyber crimes are mostly those who have white-collar jobs, unlike usual criminals. They can even be high school kids. The territory that a cyber crime can stretch across is immense. It can go over continents

The principles that govern the exercise of criminal jurisdiction are based on the assumption that “crime” is a territorial phenomenon. Cyber crime makes these principles problematic in varying ways and in varying degrees. Unlike real-world crime, it is not physically grounded; it increasingly tends not to occur in a single sovereign territory.

The perpetrator of a cyber crime may physically be in Country A, while his victim is in Country B, or his victims are in Countries B, C, and D and so on. The perpetrator may further complicate matters by routing his attack on the victim in Country B through computers in Countries F and G. The result of these and other cyber crime scenarios is that the cyber crime is not committed “in” the territory of a single sovereign state; instead, “pieces” of the cyber crime occur in territory claimed by several different sovereigns.

Cyber crime is a primary example of cross-border crime, and so, it raises the issue of jurisdiction. This is a tricky issue. Acts on the Internet that are legal in the state where they are initiated may be illegal in other states, even though the act is not particularly targeted at that state. Jurisdiction conflicts abound, both negative (no state claims jurisdiction) and positive (several states claim jurisdiction at the same time). Above all, it is unclear just what constitutes jurisdiction: is it the place of the act, the country of residence of the perpetrator, the location of the effect, or the nationality of the owner of the computer that is under attack? Or all of these at once? It turns out that countries think quite differently on this issue. The cyber crime statutes of numerous countries show varying and diverging jurisdiction clauses. Since internet allows transactions between persons of various jurisdictions, an international agreement (to be crystallized into a convention, later) is required for any regulation. However, in arriving at a uniform law, varying standards adopted by jurisdictions across the world and the point of balance adopted by them have to be kept in mind.

Jurisdiction is a highly debatable issue as to the maintainability of any suit that has been filed. Today with the growing arms of cyberspace the territorial boundaries seems to vanish thus the concept of territorial jurisdiction as envisaged under S.16 of C.P.C. and S.2.of the I.P.C. will have to give way to alternative method of dispute resolution.

In addressing the issues of what problems were posed by cyber-crime, Mr. Corell noted that the scope of international cooperation is limited by international agreements and by the national law of the State from which information has been requested. There are also differing priorities between developed and developing countries. These differences complicate international cooperation and expand the gap between the two groups.

There is no authoritative, comprehensive elaboration of the principle of universal jurisdiction concerning cyber-crime, he said. There are different views concerning the offences that constitute crimes under international law that are subject to universal jurisdiction. There are also different opinions with respect to the significance of the obligation to prosecute or extradite, as contained in various treaties, as evidence of universal jurisdiction. Whether States are not only permitted, but also required, to exercise jurisdiction with respect to crimes under international law, is also subject to different opinions.

CONCLUSION

The magnetism of science has always captivated members of the legal profession. People look up to science to rescue them from the experience of uncertainty and the discomfort of difficult legal decisions, and are constantly disappointed.

The notion of what constitutes science and what it would take to make law more scientific varies across time. What does not vary is our constant return to the well. We are constantly seduced into believing that some new science will provide an answer to laws dilemmas, and we are constantly disappointed.

In the words of Senior Advocate K.T.S. Tulsi — “There is no doubt that [science] is going to overtake the law enforcement agencies by storm. No one will be able to avoid it. It is like standing on the shore and asking the waves of the sea not to come. What is required is a proper debate about the real value of [science] and whether it fits into the overall picture and what use could be made of it by the investigators.”

REFERENCES

v BOOKS AND ARTICLES

A Convergence of Science and Law. A Summary Report of the First Meeting of the Science, Technology and Law Panel: National Research Council. Science and law blog: August 8, 2008. Fingerprints” Chemical “Footprints”? Science and law blog: August 11, 2008. “Hot Tubbing”: Old wine in New Bottles for Expert Witnesses. The New York Times: August 7, 2008, Kenneth Chang. Law, science and technology collaboration: Justice M. Jugannadha Rao-Chairman Law Commission of India. Kolkata Newsline, Thursday, February 01, 2007. A profile of forensic science in juristic journey: Justice Jitendra N. Bhatt. Do space laws need to be modified? S Bhatt Space weddings. I do. I really do. Carol Pinchefsky, 7 July 2008. Tara Blake Garfinkel, Jurisdiction Over Communication Torts: Can You Be Pulled into Another Country’s Court System for Making a Defamatory Statement Over the Internet? A Comparison of English and US Law, 9 Transnat’l Law 489, 492 Bryan P. Werley, Aussie Rules: Universal Jurisdiction over Internet Defamation, 18 Temp. Int’l & Comp. L.J. 199, 219 Para 1.16 of the British Law Commission Report on Defamation and the Internet, cited from (visited on 7th August, 2004 1996 US Dist LEXIS 8435 (SDNY 19 June, 1996), cited from R. Matthan: The Law Relating to Computers & the Internet, p. 2 (New Delhi: Butterworths, 2000). In this case, the defendant was an Italian, who had, using an Italian server, set up a website, under the name “Playmen”. The court had earlier issued a permanent injunction against the defendant from using that name in any magazine sold, published or distributed in USA. The court accepted that it could not order the website to be shut down as that would amount to asserting that every court in the world had jurisdiction over all information providers on the internet In info age, time for cyber savvy cops. Uma Karve. October 5, 2002. Learning the law, Indian Express. Karina Sudarsan Beware! Cyber Criminals are on the prowl, Navhind Times,March 17, 2002; by Shaikh Jamaluddin. 10 Myths of Electronic Security, Banking Frontiers September, 2002; Rohas Nagpal, Asian School of Cyber Laws. I”ll be watching you! Times of India, December 19, 2002; Zahra Khan, Times News Network. Approaches to Cybercrime Jurisdiction; Susan W. Brenner, University of Dayton – School of Law, Bert-Jaap Koops Tilburg University – Faculty of Law (TILT). Challenge of borderless ”Cyber Crime” to International Efforts to Combat Transnational Organized Crime Discussed at Symposium, 14 December, 2000. Towards Speedy, Inexpensive, Transparent and Accountable Justice; Justice GC Bharuka, 4th November, 2007.

source : www.thinklegal.co.in (ThinkLegal Resources Pvt Ltd)

It doesn’t matter where you log onto your computer. Whether it is in Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, San Diego, Orange County, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Long Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Riverside, Chula Vista, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Fontana, Oceanside, Garden Grove, Corona, Escondido, Orange, Fullerton, Costa Mesa, Carlsbad, Temecula, Murrieta, Mission Viejo, Westminster, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Buena Park, Indio or anywhere else in Southern California, we all rely on the internet and on our data and e-mails to be protected from others (even though people in the know say that every search you make is recorded permanently on your computers and on others). 

But recently not only the Vice Presidential running mate of John McCain, Sarah Palin’s e-mail account was hacked, so was the website of Bill O’Reilly. Is there a pattern here, besides the obvious one, that Republicans and Republican news anchors are being hacked? Does this mean that the hackers are Democrats? Or that democrat hackers are more internet savvy than Republicans. Or does it mean that Republicans don’t take internet safety seriously?

And what is the punishment for internet hackers? If they are Democrats, will they be forced to attend Republican political rallies and have to watch Fox News 24 hours a day while in prison, or is the punishment even more diabolical?

In all seriousness, what these two instances show once again is the ease with which a person’s e-mail account, data and websites can be hacked.

Most, if not all states have criminal statutes which make it illegal to participate in such hacking. Hacking also usually runs afoul of other statutes which prohibit theft by deception.

The punishment for such crimes varies with the state. In Alaska, for instance, the state of Sarah Palin, the crime is a Class-C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Such crimes, however, can be difficult to prosecute. First the hacker must be caught and if he or she does not boast about his crime and uses public computers to perform his thievery where the hacker himself is not under surveillance, it may be difficult to catch the culprit.

Second, most state statutes require that the person committing the crime be present in the state when the crime was committed. Computer hacking is one of those crimes however, where the criminal is often in a different state.

To go after the culprit in civil court can pose similar problems, including determining who performed the hacking, obtaining jurisdiction over that person in your state, and finding a defendant with any assets to pursue.

If you are worried about internet security, you should be. Features on many accounts that allow you to simply tell the site you forgot your password are magic to computer hackers such as the one that apparently hacked Sarah Palin’s e-mail account.

To be a little safer, you shouldn’t use the same password for all of your internet accounts and websites. Otherwise what you use at one account can be used to enter all of your other accounts if someone unscrupulous obtains your password. If you use a forget your password feature, answer the question with something ridiculous. Tell them that your favorite dog’s name was Thomas Edison instead of Fido and that your mother’s maiden name was Rothschild (or, if you want to be more ridiculous, that your dog is named Rothschild and that your mother was Thomas Edison).

And if you must use an internet connection at an airport, hotel or other public location, keep in mind that any geek with a small device can intercept all your data, all your communications and all your photos.

If you want to stay up at night worried about internet security, just think how much information was obtained by hackers from visiting CEOs during the Olympics in China.

If you have an internet legal issue in Irvine, Orange County, La Jolla, San Diego, in the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Palm Springs or anywhere in Southern California, we have the knowledge and resources to be your California Internet Lawyer and your Anaheim and Irvine Internet Attorney on your case. Be sure to hire a California law firm with internet lawyers who can serve areas such as Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Anaheim, Irvine, Newport Beach, Carlsbad, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Fullerton, Del Mar, San Diego, Orange County, San Luis Obispo, Buena Park, La Jolla, Oxnard, Ventura, La Quinta, and Santa Barbara so you are properly represented and get the compensation you deserve.

If you have an internet legal issue of any kind, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com  and learn how we can assist you. You can also call us to speak directly to Sebastian Gibson on the phone about your legal matter.

Beirut (RPN) – IT spending in the Middle East continues to rise, with five-year forecasts in some markets approaching the $5 billion mark.  Saudi Arabia’s highly lucrative market for technology products and services was valued at $3.5 billion last year, and projected to expand to $4.8 billion by 2013 – a compound annual growth rate of 8%.

Information Technology experts surveyed by RPN predicted that IT spending in the region will prove resilient despite ongoing financial turbulence in the region and in the global markets.

“We expect growth in IT spending in the MENA region next year, despite the uncertain economic environment and global financial crisis,” Johnny Karam, director for Symantec, in the MENA region, told RPN. “We project that spending in the region will outpace that seen in European markets, driven by sheer necessity,” Karam explains.

“Growth in infrastructure demands greater technological and security investments; upgrades to communications infrastructure will continue to be a driving force,” he added. 

Saudi Arabia’s IT market is the largest in the region, driven by economic and demographic factors that analysts expect will sustain growth in spite of a turbulent global economy.

“Saudi Arabia’s IT market has a number of positive factors which should help it avoid stagnation, including a growing population and government projects,” according to a report by Business Monitor International.

“Oil and gas will continue to be a key vertical, with sector giants such as Saudi Aramco spending on improving dataflow,” the report adds.

With per capita IT spending in the Kingdom expected to reach $180 by 2013, Saudi’s growing and youthful population demographic is an important driving force for IT spending in the GCC region.  PC penetration is expected to reach 30% within five years. 

In addition to population demographics, government projects, and improvements to infrastructure, Symantec’s Johnny Karam believes that the increasing threat of cybercrime will contribute to growth in IT spending, with businesses allocating more financial resources to securing data.

“Data is the bloodline of business – it is a core asset that must be effectively managed and secured. The need for business to effectively manage and secure its data will be a major growth driver in the IT market going forward,” Karam told RPN.   

As the Gulf’s second-largest IT market, estimated at $2.8 billion in 2009, the UAE is expected to post an 8% contraction in IT spending, on declines in hardware sales.  Despite the slump, analysts project the Emirates will register robust and sustained growth over the five-year term.  

“The total size of the UAE’s IT market is expected by BMI to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% to around US$4.1bn in 2013.  A number of fundamental drivers, including local and federal government initiatives, significant population growth and development of non-oil sectors such as real estate and tourism, should help to prevent market stagnation,” the report indicates.

Strong state-sponsored initiatives promote e-commerce and e-government services in the country, with the goal of providing 90% of government services electronically.  According to the Dubai Chamber, internet penetration in the UAE exceeded 54% at the close of 2008, well above the MENA region average. 

“UAE’s IT market is poised for exponential growth … approaching $ 4.7 billion in 2013,” reports Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

“Fundamental drivers for this market include local and federal government initiatives and development of the non-oil sectors, which include real estate and tourism,” the department adds.

With the third largest market in the Gulf, IT spending in Kuwait approached $800 million in 2009 and is projected to exceed $1 billion by 2013.  Analysts credit the country’s affluent, tech-savvy population as an important growth driver, along with efforts by Kuwait’s Central Agency for Information Technology, or CAIT, to make more government services available online.

“CAIT has led the drive to launch the Kuwaiti government’s new portal for e-services, making all government services available through a single site, and eventually over a mobile platform …Kuwait has ramped up its e-government efforts, rolling out a number of new services for citizens in 2008,” the BMI report said. 

Globally, Egypt’s IT market is one of the fastest growing, projected to reach $1.9 billion within five years, up from $1.2 billion in 2009, representing a compound annual growth rate of 12%

“While computers remain a luxury item for many, a series of factors should drive growth over the forecast period, including new oil and gas discoveries, a large young population, and stimulus package pay raises for civil servants and other groups,” the report said.

“Egypt’s emergence as a regional outsourcing location will attract more investment from vendors and create opportunities across various sectors,” BMI added.

Qatar’s $400 million IT market is expected to expand to $600 million by 2013, buoyed by high oil prices, expanding infrastructure, and the introduction of competitors into the telecoms industry. 

Lebanon’s IT spending is projected to see a compound annual growth rate on par with that seen elsewhere in the region.

Patrick Antoun is Lebanon Country Manager for Mindware, an IT distributor.  He estimates 100,000 computer units were sold in Lebanon in 2008, in a domestic IT market valued at over $250 million in 2008.  Lebanon’s IT sector is expected to register 7% CAGR in 2009, on extensive reforms in important economic sectors, including telecom, education, government, banking, and media.

“Looking at the activities within Lebanon’s IT sector, we are positive that this market has a considerable potential for growth, and therefore has a rapidly expanding need for more sophisticated hardware and applications designed for specific industries,” Antoun said.

In an interview with RPN, Antoun emphasized that advancements in Lebanon’s communications sector will contribute to the robust growth in the country’s IT industry, particularly efforts to expand bandwidth and recruit DSL users. 

“The steady increase in digital subscriber line (DSL) users is also indicative of an imminent expansion of the domestic PC market,” he added. 

In an unexpected twist, analysts such as Symantec’s Karam, predict some growth in the IT industry, attributable to tougher economic times. 

“Hardware is far more expensive than software, so extracting every drop of efficiency out of hardware is becoming more critical.  Investing in software that helps to maximize the storage efficiency of the existing hardware is one important growth driver for IT spending right now,” Karam explains.

“Companies want to maximize returns on yesterday’s investment in this difficult financial environment; that means finding ways to really maximize the returns on hardware investments that they have already made,” he adds.

The introduction of the Internet filled a lot of people with misguided trepidation about this unknown and new environment. Many saw the World Wide Web as a perilous and uncontrollable place. True there will likely continue to be some places on the net that it is best to steer clear of, but this sort of caution also applies to the actual world, and the Internet for the most part is as secure an environment to do business and to buy and sell as any other. If it wasn’t, then incredibly popular sites like Amazon and Ebay could never have achieved the winning status that they have.

            Unfortunately, crime on the streets continues to grow in many areas. The World Wide Web, giving people the option to shop online as it does, is increasingly seen as a safer substitute for the high street. For senior citizens, or those who are frail, it is a securer and more practical way to see to business matters or shop. Significantly, youngsters can communicate with their friends online on dark nights without risking being out when it’s late.

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            Despite arguments in favour of the Internet a handful of people will nevertheless regard it as a place that is as menacing as any shadowy and threatening forest in an old fable. Realistically it serves as an amenable setting for billions of people daily to socialise in and buy and sell and operate their businesses from.

We need to protect ourselves in any environment and ensuring that online shopping online is transacted via secure servers is advised. Being mindful to patronise only reliable companies to pay for merchandise and services is always wise. But don’t be anxious about the necessity for taking such precautions, this sort of vigilance is no stranger than keeping your bank card’s pin code a secret. It’s just common sense. And keeping safe the passwords we use online is important too – again, this is a sensible safeguard against crime, like keeping our house keys protected.

These days the World Wide Web is appealing to a vast number of people and a large number of companies are choosing to adapt their pre-existing businesses to better function online. Similarly new web businesses are being launched on a daily basis. The verdict is that the Internet is an accepted and effectual virtual workplace, and one which is economical. In today’s fluctuating financial climate that’s a real bonus.

Consequently, if we presume that people are comfortable to buying and selling on the Internet (Ebay’s success exemplifies this), what’s the score with launching an online business and how can success be augmented and guaranteed?

            We all know that a professionally built website really reflects well on any company. The company’s home page can be likened to the shop front or shop window. Each web represents the store’s interior, the place where your services or products will be displayed for sale. The store’s image should be designed to resonate with the demographic of the intended client bank. What is the best way to draw custom to your site? Enlisting professional assistance pays dividends. Many people can put together a basic web page, but a completely operational professional site, custom-built for a given business, requires a superior skill. It’s imperative too that a steady stream of visitors find their way to the site. With every best intention in the world, the most fantastic of web sites won’t be known about unless search results list them as priority.

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One Internet company that champions aiding small and medium sized businesses accomplish success on the net is WSI. They have been solving corporate business problems online for more than a decade and, as the methods they employ have been proven repeatedly to bring outstanding results for their customers, they’ve been awarded the accolade ‘No. 1 Internet and Technology Solutions Company in the World’. There are two ways that WSI prove how triumphant Internet commerce is: By assisting business clients attain success and, their franchisees (Internet consultants) reap direct rewards too from having satisfying and lucrative careers. WSI is genuinely one of the companies that encompass the potential of e-marketing and the benefits are justly shared: with clients prospering and franchise holders with the company building worthy careers.

With regard to fiscal security, the investment needed for a WSI franchise is very affordable, particularly when weighed against the far higher prices of other kinds of franchise. WSI also crusades against Internet rip-offs and have set up a scam coalition in order to allow people who have had unfortunate had experiences with Internet companies or bogus businesses can report details. By making sure that others are aware of the drawbacks of unscrupulous businesses, WSI sits at the epicentre of the endeavours to maintain Internet safety for all those who want to go shopping, manage their business or simply spend leisure time online.

           

           

What Is Trojan.Makplu.A?

Trojan.Makplu.A is a very dangerous Trojan that will only cause you complete chaos. One of the most alarming aspects with regard to the malicious Trojan.Makplu.A,is that it is actually able to install malware parasites onto your computer, when you least expect it, without your knowledge or consent.Trojan.Makplu.A is able to hide itself all over your machine, which will make the removal process extremely difficult.Trojan.Makplu.A is one of those Trojans which you want to keep as far away from your computer as you can.

Trojan.Makplu.A runs very high risks of being able to actually connect to a specified remote server which may allow hackers to gain access to your machine. Malicious online attackers are able to take complete control over your system, as well as gain access to your personal information, with the inclusion of your passwords. If you are unlucky and your machine gets infected with Is Trojan.Makplu.A, this could result in you becoming the next victim of identity theft or a nasty cybercrime.

How To Remove Trojan.Makplu.A Effectively?

At the end of the day Trojan.Makplu.A,is a Trojan which you want to keep as far away from your computer as you can. It is within your best interest to remove Trojan.Makplu.A immediately upon detection.You have the option of the manual removal process or the automatic removal process.You need to be warned that if you choose the manual removal process, you run the risk of creating further damage to your computer. It can highly be suggested that you invest in a decent antispyware application that is able to both detect as well as automatically delete Trojan.Makplu.A effectively for you.