Proposed law to criminalize cyber-terrorism

MANILA -- Cyber-terrorists defacing government sites may soon face liabilities as two party-list lawmakers filed a House bill that would impose a fine of P200,000 to P1 million and imprisonment of at least six months to 12 years.

Buhay party-list Representatives Mariano Michael Velarde Jr. and Irwin Tieng filed a House measure to be known as the Anti-Cyber Terrorism Bill of 2012. The bill is now pending before the House committee on information and communications technology.

The bill defines cyber-terrorism as an act that disrupts information systems by using techniques that disrupt or damage computer-based information systems to cause fear, injury, or economic loss.

“The recent defacement of some government websites has caused concern and inconvenience to government and to the public,” he said.

Citing a report of the Earth Island Journal of 2000, Tieng said a 19-year-old American hacker was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $36,240 in restitution for hacking the White House web page.

The proposed law mandates the concerned agencies of the Philippine government to cooperate and render assistance to other nations for purposes of detection, investigation and prosecution of offenses and in the collection of evidence in electronic form.

Tieng added that the different acts that constitute cyber-terrorism are cyber-terrorist attack, computer attack, virus attack, e-mail bombing, e-mail spamming, hacking, among others.

Some attacks also result in explosions, plane crashes, water contamination, and similar incidents leading to death and/or injury or severe economic loss.

“Terrorism as a politically or ideologically motivated criminal act has been a growing concern and menace that haunts the national and international communities since such acts can be transnational in operation and effect,” Velarde noted. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)