Another Anti-Spyware Bill Makes It Way Through Congress
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Another anti-spyware bill is making its way through congress with the hope of stemming the tide of spyware that infects so many of our computers. The bill is basically designed to provide penalties for those not only would infect our systems but also make it illegal to obtain personal information from them. The bill itself states that:
Internet Spyware (I-SPY) Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization, or exceeding authorized access, by causing a computer program or code to be copied onto the protected computer, and intentionally using that program or code: (1) in furtherance of another federal criminal offense; (2) to obtain or transmit personal information (including a Social Security number or other government-issued identification number, a bank or credit card number, or an associated password or access code) with intent to defraud or injure a person or cause damage to a protected computer; or (3) to impair the security protection of that computer.
Prohibits any person from bringing a civil action under state law premised upon the defendant’s violating this Act.
Provides that this Act does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency or a U.S. intelligence agency.
Authorizes appropriations to the Attorney General for prosecutions needed to discourage the use of spyware and the practices called phishing and pharming.
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Department of Justice should vigorously prosecute those who use spyware to commit crimes and those that conduct phishing and pharming scams.
I guess some of the question I would have is how are they going to prosecute criminals from other countries? Or even US citizens who send out spyware from neighboring countries?
Since the Internet is world wide, would a more logical approach to this problem be to have all countries agree upon investigation, prosecution and penalties that would apply world wide? Or would this even be possible?
Comments welcome.
[tags]spyware, theft, personal, information, illegal, [/tags]
3 Comments
John Everett
May 3rd, 2007
at 9:50pm
It bothers me that I would be barred from bringing a civil action if someone hijacks my computer, damaging my business and costing me money.
Steve Hobberstad
May 3rd, 2007
at 10:31pm
I have doubts about the feasibility of a worldwide crackdown on spyware perpetrators based on the ineffectuality of the highly touted “National Do Not Call Registry” right here in America. It kinda worked for awhile in the beginning but now some of these businesses are as brazen as ever–one construction company calling us twice in three days, despite the fact I advised them (with expletives) I was filing a complaint with the Registry. In fact, upon receiving THREE such cold calls in as many days I wrote three letters (one after each call) “thanking” the DNC Registry for absolutely nothing but the time I’ve wasted filling out their online forms–effectively doubling the annoyance.
If we can’t make something as simple as a Do Not Call system work against IDENTIFIED offenders within our own borders, what chance would the world have against elusive-and-infinitely-more-resourceful malware authors?
Thanks for another interesting article though, Ron!
Ron Schenone
May 4th, 2007
at 4:02am
Hello John,
Interesting point. Thanks for the comment.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. And I agree. If we can’t make the ‘Do Not Call’ work, how would we enforce anti-spyware? Thanks for your comments as well.
All the best, Ron