“Draft House Judiciary Cybersecurity Bill Would Stiffen Anti-Hacking Law”

From The Hill:

A draft cybersecurity bill circulating among House Judiciary Committee members would stiffen a computer hacking law used to bring charges against Internet activist Aaron Swartz.
The bill draft would tighten penalties for cyber crimes and establish a standard for when companies would have to notify consumers that their personal data has been hacked, according to a copy obtained by The Hill.
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It’s unclear which Judiciary members are sponsoring the draft bill, which is unnamed. A House Judiciary Committee aide said the bill is still in the early drafting stage and is being circulated to stakeholders for their feedback on possible changes.
While the draft proposal increases the maximum sentence a judge can impose for computer crimes, the aide noted that it’s still up to a judge to determine the length of a sentence. The aide said the proposed changes in the bill would likely not have changed how a federal judge calculated Swartz’s sentence under the federal sentencing guidelines.

Read the Complete Report
Additional Coverage:  “Changes to law used to prosecute Aaron Swartz gets a cold reception in cyberspace” (via VentureBeat)

House Judiciary Committee discussion draft by JMartinezTheHill

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