11 Oct 2004
USA passes bill to jail internet spies, Sophos reports on anti-spyware steps
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| Criminals who infect computers with spyware can
be jailed for up to five years under the bill. |
The US House of Representatives has unanimously passed an
anti-spyware bill, to protect computer users from criminals who aim
to spy and steal information via the internet.
Under the Internet Spyware Prevention Act, it is a crime to
intentionally access a computer without permission or to
intentionally exceed authorised access. If the unauthorised
intrusion is to further another federal crime - such as secretly
accessing personal data - the criminals responsible can receive a
sentence of up to five years in prison.
Meanwhile, unauthorised installation of spyware designed to
deliberately injure or defraud an individual (for instance through
identity theft or breaking into their online bank account) will
carry a prison term of up to two years.
"There's nothing glamorous about cybercrime - and those who use
the internet to break into computers, and steal from and damage
others must be punished appropriately," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "All computer users should be on
their guard against spyware, and ensure their defences are in place
and up-to-date."
Sophos Anti-Virus protects computers
from the latest viruses, Trojans, worms and spyware.
About Sophos
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.