Prison for computer crime

The Justice Ministers of the 15 Member States of the European Union have decided to modify their country laws, with the aim of including prison sentences for the authors of computer crime. This decision may have more implications than it may seem: there are many different types of computer crimes, and all of them can be seen from different perspectives. For example, the attacks ‘against the integrity of information systems and databases carried out with the intent of hindering or interrupting the system’ will be a principal target of new legislation. That is, when a system is accessed and modified to affect its operation. However desirable it may be that these attackers end up in jail, without being a legal expert, this will be difficult if the author of the attack can not be identified. When a hacker wants to access a computer and steal information, he does not identify himself. If he did, it would be as if a thief went into a bank and said: ‘Hi, it’s me, I’m Jane Bloggs, I want to steal your money’. For that reason, a hacker will try to hide his actions in many different ways: from the most simple one, like using a computer in a Cybercafe, to the most sophisticated ones, like the usage of Trojans or logins in ill-protected computers. Full Story