ISACA commends EC plans for tougher cybercrime legislation

ISACA has applauded plans for the European Commission to increase the penalties against people committing cybercrime.

Under the new EC proposals, according to reports, prison sentences could be increased to five years or more for serious cybercrimes up from one to three years at present.

“It’s likely that the potential rewards from cybercrime are such that current penalties are not going to act as a deterrent,” says Rolf von Roessing, member of the ISACA’s Security Management Committee. “The rewards of criminal exploits can stretch into the millions.”

The reality, says von Roessing, is that there is no such thing as a victimless crime, as a large number of people are still paying for criminal acts that generate revenue for the perpetrators.

“Spam, botnets and out-and-out theft of electronic data are modern-day scourges. Cybercrime needs to be dealt with strongly and the EC’s actions are a step in the right direction for Internet users everywhere,” von Roessing added.