Hackers and virus spreaders facing hefty jail terms
Computer hackers in New Zealand found guilty of spreading viruses could face jail terms of
up to seven years, under new legislation being considered by the Law and Order Select
Committee.
Many countries are moving to avoid the embarrassment caused in the Philippines last year when authorities arrested the notorious Love Bug virus writer only to find no legislation under which to lay charges.
The latest estimate of damage caused by that one virus tops $US6 billion ($NZ14 billion). In a survey I did last week of various Internet sources it seems the average penalty, in 37 countries where statistics are available, is imprisonment for up to five years, for offences ranging from industrial espionage to obtaining information illegally from someone else's computer.
