, Newsbytes 2001-12-14
House legislation would also exempt ISPs from liability for overzealous Carnivore surveillance.
House lawmakers introduced legislation on Thursday designed to give federal judges more flexibility in imposing sentences for a range of computer crimes. The bill also would grant a liability exemption to Internet service providers that cooperate with law enforcement agencies.H.R. 3482, the "Cyber-Security Enhancement Act of 2001," urges the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend its guidelines for computer crimes by taking into account a wider range of criteria, such as the level of sophistication of the attack, whether the crime was committed for commercial or private financial gain, and whether the offense involved an attack on government networks.
Another provision in the bill would give liability protection to ISPs that make a "good faith" effort to help law enforcement agencies track suspects over their networks.
The U.S. Patriot Act, enacted in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, gives federal law enforcement officials broad authority to wiretap and monitor terrorist suspects. It also provides ways for ISPs to assist in law enforcement investigations without first obtaining a court order.
The House version of the Patriot Act would have exempted ISPs from customer lawsuits if the company inadvertently monitored the wrong account in connection with a law enforcement investigation.
Yet, that language was stripped in the Senate version of the bill, and was not included in the measure signed by the president. H.R. 3482 would reinstate the provision.
"This legislation will promote cooperation between law enforcement officials and the private sector, add resources to combat cybercrime and cyber-terrorism and send the signal that if you engage in cybercrime or cyber-terrorism, you will be punished," said House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who introduced the legislation with House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y.
The bill also would establish an Office of Science and Technology at the Department of Justice that would be charged with coordinating the development and technical assistance for new law enforcement technologies.
Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com .