Data protection has been def‌ined to include-

• the legal safeguards of people‘s rights to see what information may be held about them in a computer database, and
• the protection f‌rom theft, destruction, or damage of software (programs) and data held in a cornputer‘s memory. The second type of data protection is also often called data security.

Examples of the former are Government departments and commercial companies that hold that hold personal data in computers. For example, a company may have a computer database listing the names and addresses of past customers. A tax off‌ice may have a similar computerised list of everyone who pays income tax. Some countries have laws giving various rights to people listed in such databases. In the UK, the 'Data Protection Act 1984‘ safeguards an individual‘s right to see his or her database entries, alter inaccuracies, or in some cases have it deleted. According to this Act, organisations holding computerised personal data must register with the 'Data Protection Registrar“. Organisations registered with the Data Protection Registrar must show any individual whatever information they hold on that person, except in a few instances. Any organisation that ought to have registered, but has not registered, is committing a criminal offence. Similar laws operate in other countries also, especially in Europe.

As far as the latter category is concerned, a technologically advanced India remains handicapped for want of legal support in implementing many of the technological innovations. The absence of law relating to digital signatures and encryption prevents our country f‌rom implementing Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) in a big way, apart from depriving the country of the benef‌its of E- Commerce. Apart f‌rom the above, the absence of law and legal deterrents relating to computer crime emboldens many a computer criminal in the country to indulge in computer crime. The absence of provisions enabling electronic data as admissible evidence‘ in courts has put our country decades back of other nations.