Tough penalties for cyber-criminals are recommended in a new Australian review. The review, sought by federal, state and territory attorneys-general, recommends tough penalties for cyber-crime to deal with computer hacking, spamming, viral attacks, trespassing and data theft. It proposes jail terms . . .
Tough penalties for cyber-criminals are recommended in a new Australian review. The review, sought by federal, state and territory attorneys-general, recommends tough penalties for cyber-crime to deal with computer hacking, spamming, viral attacks, trespassing and data theft. It proposes jail terms ranging from two years for unauthorised access to restricted data, to 25 years for cyber-terrorism, ranking it alongside manslaughter, The Australian reported.

"These offences, which were developed from international proposals for anti-terrorism legislation, extend across the saboteur's destructive gamut, from bombs to computer viruses," the report says.

"The (offences) . . . range from physical destruction of Government buildings to major disruption of communication systems."

The report says workers who hack into an employer's computer system to surf the web without approval could be jailed for two years for "unauthorised access to data".

"The provision catches an employee who defies an employer's ban and bypasses a restriction to obtain access to the Internet via the employer's computer," the report says.

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