Cyber Security Enhancement Act: Life Sentences Proposed for Cybercrime

Some forms of illegal hacking would be punished by life imprisonment under a proposal that Congress will debate on Tuesday. A House Judiciary subcommittee will consider the Cyber Security Enhancement Act (CSEA), which ups the penalties for computer intrusions, funds . . . Some forms of illegal hacking would be punished by life imprisonment under a proposal that Congress will debate on Tuesday. A House Judiciary subcommittee will consider the Cyber Security Enhancement Act (CSEA), which ups the penalties for computer intrusions, funds surveillance research and encourages Internet providers to turn over more information to police.

CSEA, sponsored by Crime Subcommittee chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), is one of Congress' more recent responses to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Smith introduced the bill in December 2001, saying that it will "combat cybercrime and cyberterrorism and send the signal that if you engage in cybercrime or cyberterrorism, you will be punished."

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