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109th
CONGRESS
1st Session
1st Session
H.
R. 744
IN
THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 24,
2005
Received; read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
AN
ACT
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as
the `Internet Spyware (I-SPY) Prevention Act of 2005'.
SEC. 2. PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES RELATING
TO COMPUTERS.
(a) In General- Chapter 47
of title 18, is amended by inserting after section 1030 the following:
`Sec. 1030A. Illicit indirect use of protected computers
`(a) Whoever intentionally
accesses a protected computer without authorization, or exceeds authorized
access to a protected computer, by causing a computer program or code to be
copied onto the protected computer, and intentionally uses that program or code
in furtherance of another Federal criminal offense shall be fined under this
title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
`(b) Whoever intentionally
accesses a protected computer without authorization, or exceeds authorized
access to a protected computer, by causing a computer program or code to be
copied onto the protected computer, and by means of that program or code--
`(1) intentionally
obtains, or transmits to another, personal information with the intent to
defraud or injure a person or cause damage to a protected computer; or
`(2) intentionally impairs
the security protection of the protected computer with the intent to defraud or
injure a person or damage a protected computer;
shall be fined under this
title or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
`(c) No person may bring a
civil action under the law of any State if such action is premised in whole or
in part upon the defendant's violating this section. For the purposes of this
subsection, the term `State' includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
and any other territory or possession of the United States.
`(d) As used in this
section--
`(1) the terms `protected
computer' and `exceeds authorized access' have, respectively, the meanings
given those terms in section 1030; and
`(2) the term `personal
information' means--
`(A) a first and last
name;
`(B) a home or other
physical address, including street name;
`(C) an electronic mail
address;
`(D) a telephone number;
`(E) a Social Security
number, tax identification number, drivers license number, passport number, or
any other government-issued identification number; or
`(F) a credit card or bank
account number or any password or access code associated with a credit card or
bank account.
`(e) This section does not
prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence
activity of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a
political subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the United
States.'.
(b) Conforming Amendment-
The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 47 of title 18, is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 1030 the following new item:
`1030A. Illicit indirect
use of protected computers.'.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
In addition to any other
sums otherwise authorized to be appropriated for this purpose, there are
authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009, the
sum of $10,000,000 to the Attorney General for prosecutions needed to
discourage the use of spyware and the practices commonly called phishing and
pharming.
SEC. 4. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING THE
ENFORCEMENT OF CERTAIN CYBERCRIMES.
(a) Findings- Congress
makes the following findings:
(1) Software and
electronic communications are increasingly being used by criminals to invade
individuals' and businesses' computers without authorization.
(2) Two particularly
egregious types of such schemes are the use of spyware and phishing scams.
(3) These schemes are
often used to obtain personal information, such as bank account and credit card
numbers, which can then be used as a means to commit other types of theft.
(4) In addition to the
devastating damage that these heinous activities can inflict on individuals and
businesses, they also undermine the confidence that citizens have in using the
Internet.
(5) The continued
development of innovative technologies in response to consumer demand is
crucial in the fight against spyware.
(b) Sense of Congress-
Because of the serious nature of these offenses, and the Internet's unique
importance in the daily lives of citizens and in interstate commerce, it is the
sense of Congress that the Department of Justice should use the amendments made
by this Act, and all other available tools, vigorously to prosecute those who
use spyware to commit crimes and those that conduct phishing and pharming
scams.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.