Chairman Leahy adds cybercrime measure to defense bill

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) filed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act on Thursday that would increase the penalties for cybercrimes and make it a felony to damage a computer that controls systems critical to national security.

The amendment clarifies that only serious misconduct such as hacking should be prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, as opposed to relatively innocuous actions such as lying in an online profile or violating a site’s terms-of-use agreement. It would increase the criminal penalties for computer hacking and conspiracy to commit hacking. The amendment also includes several changes proposed earlier this year by the Obama Administration, including streamlining the criminal penalties for computer fraud and creating a new offense for damaging systems that control critical infrastructure such as transportation or public health networks.