THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WITH REGARDS TO CYBER SECURITY A SOCIO LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

In the contemporary digital era, Information Technology (IT) has become an indispensable component of social, economic, and governance systems, while simultaneously giving rise to complex cyber security challenges.The study examines the use of information technology in cybersecurity via a socio-legal lens, including the evolving nature of cyber threats, their societal impact, and the corresponding legal responses.Digital access is simpler now that banking, healthcare, education, and e-government are all going digital quickly.But this has also left consumers more vulnerable to cybercrimes such online fraud, data breaches, identity theft, ransomware, and privacy violations.The paper examines the role of sophisticated technological solutions, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud security arrangements, digital forensic and threat intelligence services, in preventing, detecting, and investigating cybercrimes.It also examines the social impacts of cyber threats which include loss of money, loss of privacy, diminished confidence of people in digital platforms, and increased digital insecurity especially to the disadvantaged and unaware groups.The paper looks at how well Indian cyber laws work, such as the Information Technology Act of 2000, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023, its Rules of 2025, and laws about telecommunications and intermediaries, as well as important international laws.Cases and judicial rulings are presented to show the changing legal provisions concerning electronic evidence, privacy and intermediary liability.The paper has concluded that the challenge of cyber security should be handled in a dynamic and integrative manner that incorporates technological advancement, effective legal framework, ethical governance and institutional capacity development to ensure a safe and trusted digital ecosystem.