The Netherlands is to to join a growing list of countries that prohibit the production of malware.
The Dutch Justice Ministry said the draft legislation will penalise DDoS malware creators and people perpetrating cybercrime, with fines or up to a year in jail.
The move makes the Netherlands one of the first European countries to comply with a cybercrime treaty that was signed in 2001 by the Council of Europe, the US and Japan.
The Dutch Justice Ministry said that the people behind DDoS and hacking attacks could not be punished under Dutch legislation until now.
Under the new laws, authorities will no longer need to prove criminal hacker behaviour, such as breaking through a security system or taking a false identity.
Any unauthorised entry, such as opening backdoors using a DDOS
application, will be classed as unlawful and could lead to a prison
sentence.
application, will be classed as unlawful and could lead to a prison
sentence.
The draft law is now under consideration and could become law by the end of the year.
