US Senate Passes Bill that Would Update Cyber Crime Laws

The US Senate has passed a bill that would update the country’s laws related to cyber crimes. The legislation, known as the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act is tougher on cyber criminals and gives victims of identity theft an opportunity to sue for damages.

The Bill Proposes:

• Making it a felony to install keystroke-monitoring programs or spyware on 10 or more computers regardless of damage. This is a major change, since many cases of cyber crime involve thousands of computers at less then $5,000 in damages per victim.

• Allowing federal courts to prosecute cyber crime defendants within their states of residence, rather than only if they used interstate communication to commit a cyber crime against a victim.

• Making it a crime to extort companies using cyber technology.

• Giving victims of identity theft the opportunity to obtain restitution for time and money lost in their efforts to recover from the cyber crime.

In Massachusetts, if you have been arrested for a cyber crime, it is important that you seek the counsel of a defense attorney that will know how to defend you against any charges.

Examples of cyber crimes:

• Internet fraud • Cyber stalking • Internet porn • Identity theft • Internet gambling • Computer fraud • Sexual solicitation via the Internet • Computer hacking • Planting Internet viruses
Senate Approves Bill to Fight Cyber-Crime, WashingtonPost.com, July 31, 2008
S. 2168: Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2007, Govtrack.com
Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, USDoj.gov
Contact Altman & Altman LLP.

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