The European Parliament on Thursday voted to strengthen its cyber-crime laws, with new penalties for running botnets or attacking critical infrastructure.
Under the updated rules, hackers will receive no less than two years in prison, with exceptions for "minor" cases, though each country will determine what constitutes a minor case.
When it comes to botnets, however, scammers will be subject to at least three years in prison. Anyone who attacks critical infrastructure like power plants, transport networks and government networks, meanwhile, will get five years in prison.
According to the EU, the vote builds on rules that have been in place since 2005, but streamlines the penalties and allows for more cross-border cooperation. That includes a new rule that will require member states to respond within eight hours to urgent requests for help from those who are being hit by a cyber attack.
A company that hires a hacker to access a rival's system, meanwhile, will be held liable for that intrusion and might lose government benefits or be forced to shut down.
"This is an important step to boost Europe's defenses against cyber-attacks," Cecilia Malmstrom, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, said in a statement. "Attacks against information systems pose a growing challenge to businesses, governments and citizens alike. Such attacks can cause serious damage and undermine users' confidence in the safety and reliability of the Internet."
The rules were approved by a vote of 541 to 91. EU member states have two years to implement these rules.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2421422,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121