New Legislation Would Crack Down on Hacker Havens

Hugh Pickens writes: "The Hill reports that Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) have introduced a bill that would penalize foreign countries that fail to crack down on cyber criminals operating within their borders. Under the bill the White House would have the responsibility of identifying countries that pose cyber threats and the president would have to present to Congress in an annual report. Countries identified as "hacker havens" would then have to develop plans of action to combat cybercrimes or risk cuts to their US export dollars, foreign-direct investment funds and trade assistance grants. “Cybercrime must be a top priority for our national security,” said Gillibrand in a joint statement with Hatch. “If we’re going to protect our networks, our infrastructure, our economy and our families, we have to go after cyber criminals wherever they may be — and it must be an international effort." Numerous American employers, including Cisco, HP, Microsoft, Symantec, PayPal, eBay, McAfee, American Express, Mastercard and Visa, as well as Facebook, are supporting the Senators’ legislation. “Microsoft strongly supports the International Cybercrime Reporting and Cooperation Act and applauds Senators Gillibrand and Hatch for their leadership in this area,” said Fred Humphries, Microsoft's Managing Director of US Government Affairs. “This legislation is a great step forward toward accessing the technology capabilities and judicial remedies of foreign countries to combat cybercrime and provide a safer, more trusted and secure Internet.”"