More jail time for hackers, MPs urge

MPs want hackers to face stiffer penalties and have called for denial of service (DoS) and distributed denial of service attacks to be made an explicit offence.

But in its report into the revision of the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) the All Party Internet Group (APIG) said that the Act would not need a radical overhaul to tackle growing cyber-crime.

APIG agreed that the wording of the 14-year-old Act was unclear, and that there should be a new crime of "impairing access to data".

The group of MPs, which took evidence from internet experts earlier this year, also called for an increase in jail sentences for hackers from six months to two years, and said it must be made easier for private individuals or companies to pursue private prosecutions.

But the group said the CMA would not need to be amended to cover spyware, rogue diallers and phishing, as the Theft Act or Data Protection Act are more relevant.

And rather than use the CMA as a tool to fight cyber-crime, APIG wants the Home Office to speed up the passage of its new Fraud Bill through parliament.

Simon James, founder of forensic computer experts Ibas, commented: "I would have liked to see the penalty for hacking increased to five years.

"There also needs to be more focus on the need for resources to fund the skills and expertise to deal with this crime."

APIG's key recommendations:

Add a DoS offence to the CMA

Increase jail time for hacking offences six months to two years

Introduce a new Fraud Bill

Allow private companies to prosecute cases that the police or Crown Prosecution Service do not presently consider as priority matters

Provide educational material about the CMA on the Home Office website

Gather better statistics about cyber-crime

All Party Internet Group