Compliance Management, Threat Management, Incident Response, Government Regulations, TDR

U.K. updates cybercrime law allowing for life in prison sentence

Cyber criminals in the U.K. could receive a life sentence for their crimes after updates were issued to the country's Computer Misuse Act earlier this month.

The recent amendment says a person could deserve life in prison if they have committed an “unauthorized act” when they knew it was unauthorized, Forbes reported. Additionally the person had to know it would cause “serious damage” to “human welfare or to national security,” or the person has to be “reckless as to whether such harm was caused.”

Forbes noted that the update's wording is vague, considering that “serious damage” and “national security” aren't clearly defined.

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, a separate cybercrime law was passed this month that says any attack on critical national infrastructure that causes a death will be sentenced to death through hanging.

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