New amendments to Hungary's laws on internet crime have drawn criticism from industry players for not distinguishing enough between minor and major crimes. "The law is strict in places it shouldn't be so strict," said Dániel Nemes, CEO of internet firm telnet Hungary Rt, highlighting the fact that the amendments to Hungary's Criminal Code, which are effective from April 1, outlaw any attempt at hacking, even if no damage is caused.. . .
New amendments to Hungary's laws on internet crime have drawn criticism from industry players for not distinguishing enough between minor and major crimes. "The law is strict in places it shouldn't be so strict," said Dániel Nemes, CEO of internet firm telnet Hungary Rt, highlighting the fact that the amendments to Hungary's Criminal Code, which are effective from April 1, outlaw any attempt at hacking, even if no damage is caused.

"[Deliberate hacking by the company] can be good for boosting a company's IT security. It's good to experiment to show systems can be protected," he said. "The law goes a bit too far. I don't think a prison sentence for changing two words is what we need," agreed András Pogány, COO of internet services firm Kirowski Kft.

Nemes said the new legal provisions fail to provide stronger penalties for hacking that causes real damage, for example making a site inaccessible to users (known as "denial of service"). He said this issue will call for more lawmaking in the near future. However, a lawyer active in the field praised the amendments.

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