Earlier this week, the Queen made the strongest decree against cyber crimes I have ever read.
The UK government wants life imprisonment for any cyber crimes that leads to someone’s death, serious injury or illness, or major national security threat. It doesn’t stop there. There’s a call to strengthen their Computer Misuse Act of 1990, giving stiffer penalties for hackers found guilty of business espionage. This includes a maximum of 14 years for cyber attacks that cause social, economic or environmental chaos or disruption. Such attacks already carries a 10 year maximum sentence. They’ve talked about the mega virus Heartbleed and other security concerns. But I wonder if there is a deeper matter here.
This proposal starts off well: cyber crimes that leads to death or injury or illness. We’ve all read cyber bullying that has lead to someone’s suicide. We’re all concerned that one crazed act by one cyber sociopath can lead to a major catastrophe, such as a war or pandemic. So I get that. But the part of national security threat and business espionage concerns me. On paper that sounds great, and in some cases it is. But when I think about the NSA/Edward Snowden scandals and other things taking place, the cynic in me kicks in. Are they really going to go after cyber terrorist, or are they going after people they just don’t like, or after people that don’t conform to their agenda? I know it sounds like a Harrison Ford movie, but look at what Snowden had to endure. And what about censorship issues? Will this proposal lead to the UK government block websites they don’t like in the name of security? There are a lot of questions here I don’t have the answer to, and I don’t think too many people do. Are these new law proposals good for security or do they infringe on people’s liberties and rights?