This time, the bill’s focused on victim restitution. Sponsored by Democrat Patrick Leahy, the new bill allows:

…victims of identity theft to seek restitution for the time they spend to fix the problems. The bill would allow prosecutors to go after criminals who threaten to take or release information from computers with cyberextortion, and it would allow prosecutors to charge cybercriminals with conspiracy to commit a cybercrime.

The bill also elevates damaging ten or more computers through the use of malicious software to felony even if the damage is less than $5,000, while in the past such activities would only count as misdemeanor. One other thing the bill addresses is federal jurisdiction even for a cybercrime committed by one person to another even if they both are located in the same state.

While this wouldn’t completely solve cybercrime, this bill will definitely give crackers and cyberbaddies something to think twice about as penalties are more harsh and the federal jurisdiction is widened (though the fear of guys in FBI jackets screaming “FBI! FBI!” inside your home has been sensationalized by media thanks to TV shows). Also, new legislation often inspires software companies. I hope this would push security software manufacturers to create more robust systems.

Via Computerworld