FC: Congress weighs life imprisonment for some computer intrusions

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Tue Feb 12 2002 - 05:37:46 PST

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    Text of the Cyber Security Enhancement Act:
    http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.3482:
    
    Cybercast of the hearing, at 4 pm ET today:
    http://www.house.gov/judiciary/schedule.htm
    
    ---
    
    http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50363,00.html
       
       Cybercrime Bill Ups the Ante
       By Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
       2:00 a.m. Feb. 12, 2002 PST
       
       WASHINGTON -- Some forms of illegal hacking would be punished by life
       imprisonment under a proposal that Congress will debate on Tuesday.
       
       A House Judiciary subcommittee will consider the Cyber Security
       Enhancement Act (CSEA), which ups the penalties for computer
       intrusions, funds surveillance research and encourages Internet
       providers to turn over more information to police.
       
       CSEA, sponsored by Crime Subcommittee chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas),
       is one of Congress' more recent responses to the Sept. 11 terrorist
       attacks. Smith introduced the bill in December 2001, saying that it
       will "combat cybercrime and cyberterrorism and send the signal that if
       you engage in cybercrime or cyberterrorism, you will be punished."
       
       [...]
    
       Currently it's illegal for an Internet provider
       to "knowingly divulge" what you're doing except in some specific
       circumstances, such as when troubleshooting glitches, receiving a
       court order or tipping off police that a crime's in progress. The bill
       expands that list to include when "an emergency involving danger of
       death or serious physical injury to any person requires disclosure of
       the information without delay."
       
       As an incentive for Internet providers not to be overly zealous in
       handing over terabytes of data to the feds, current law allows
       customers to sue for damages. But if CSEA took effect, an Internet
       provider's "good faith determination" that something smelled fishy
       would immunize it from lawsuits by irate customers.
    
       [...]
    
    
    
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