Forwarded From: Nicholas Charles Brawn <ncb05at_private> 16Nov98 JAPAN: UNAUTHORIZED COMPUTER ACCESS TO BE PUNISHED. The National Police Agency (NPA) unveiled Monday a plan to be used in drafting a bill to criminalize and punish unauthorized access of restricted computer networks. The plan will, among others, require businesses to save computer entry logs to aid police investigations, the agency said. It marks the first step toward giving Japan a legal weapon against hacking, a transborder crime that can lead to the commission of other illegal activity. The NPA intends to submit the bill at the next regular Diet session to be convened in January after consulting with the public, the private sector and related agencies and ministries, NPA officials said. The plan will be posted Tuesday on the agency's Internet website, they added. Except for Japan, the world's eight leading economies already treat hacking as a criminal activity. Existing Japanese laws only provide punishment against destruction of computer files through unauthorized accesses. The number of illegal access cases in Japan has risen this year, with 635 cases already recorded by the end of September, compared with the 492 cases reported for the whole of 1997, according to statistics compiled by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. The plan aims to protect computer networks owned by private firms, public offices and research institutes, to which only a limited number of individuals are given authority to access from the outside through the use of secret ID passwords or security codes. It does not target illegal access into personal computers used in homes, the officials said. The plan prohibits as illegal access the use of another person's password to enter a restricted computer system, or taking advantage of a system glitch to gain access into a computer. The agency does not set a specific punishment, leaving the matter for consultation. Apart from the proper management of passwords, businesses will be obliged to report the discovery of alleged illegal access cases and to save computer entry logs for three months. Individuals who provide their ID passwords to unrelated parties without authorization will be treated as abetting illegal access and will be subject to punishment should they fail to cease such action despite repeated warnings. The agency said it will accept suggestions or comments from the public about its proposed plan until Dec. 16. KYODO NEWS 16/11/1998 -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]
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