50 lines
2.1 KiB
Plaintext
50 lines
2.1 KiB
Plaintext
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MINNESOTA INVOKES COMPUTER LAW
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Several Other States Are Attempting to Implement Similar Measures
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By Rachel Parker
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ST. PAUL, MN. -- In the wake of the computer virus scare, the state of
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Minnesota is getting ready to implement the first computer crime law
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directed at individuals who distribute destructive software.
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The Minnesota Computer Virus Crime Bill was passed and signed into law
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in May. The law will take affect August 1, and will apply to crimes
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committed after that date.
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The new law prohibits the "intentional distribution of destructive
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computer programs," which are defined as programs that degrade the
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performance of or disable a computer, peripheral, or programming. In
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addition, any program that produces unauthorized data -- which
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includes data that simply takes up memory space -- or alters data, is
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also considered destructive.
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"We are trying to get the message out to programmers that they have to
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be responsible in their programming," said Daniel Kluth, a Minneapolis
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attorney who drafted the new law. "We are raising the stakes", he
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said.
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The law is accompanied by penalties ranging from a small fine and 90
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days in jail -- for crimes that do not result in any damage to a
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computer system -- up to 10 years in prison and $50,000 in fines for
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crimes that result in more than $2500 worth of damage.
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The Minnesota law is one of the first computer crime bills to
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specifically address the issue of computer viruses and Trojan Horses.
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Maryland and West Virginia recently passed computer virus crime bills,
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and several other states, including California, are working on similar
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measures, according to Kluth.
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In addition, two Congressman have proposed laws that would make the
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distribution of harmful computer code a federal crime.
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The computer industry is taking a leading role in these laws
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principally to prevent viruses from tarnishing its reputation.
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"We looked at existing crime statutes, and it was not clear that a
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virus is a crime," Kluth said. "From the developers standpoint, of
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course, it is a crime because it can sink a small company by damaging
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its reputation."
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