Information Technology Act 2000

The United Nations General Assembly by resolution A/RES/51/162, dated the 30 January 1997 has adopted the Model Law on Electronic Commerce adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. This is referred to as the UNCITRAL Model Law on E-Commerce.
Following the UN Resolution India passed the Information Technology Act 2000 in May 2000 and notified it for effectiveness on October 17, 2000.
The Information technology Act 2000 has been substantially amended through the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008 which was passed by the two houses of the Indian Parliament on December 23, and 24, 2008. It got the Presidential assent on February 5, 2009 and was notified for effectiveness on October 27, 2009.

Essence of the Act

Information Technology Act 2000 addressed the following issues:

1. Legal Recognition of Electronic Documents
2. Legal Recognition of Digital Signatures
3. Offenses and Contraventions
4. Justice Dispensation Systems for Cybercrimes

ITAA 2008 (Information Technology Amendment Act 2008) as the new version of Information Technology Act 2000 is often referred has provided additional focus on Information Security. It has added several new sections on offences including Cyber Terrorism and Data Protection.