New Cyber Security Bill Targets Botnets Used for Cybercrime

Furthering the cause against internet scammers, spammers, spyware and cybercrime, the U.S. Congress has passed a legislation that seeks to punish purveyors of cybercrime who use botnets to aid in illegal activities, according to PC World.

So what are botnets, and why are they a target of this new legislation? Put simply, botnets are groups of computers that hackers have previously gained control of through illegal means, whereby they then utilize these computers as a tool to commit other illegal activities over the internet, ranging from spamming other computer users or companies, installing illegal spyware on computer systems, or identity theft.

Antivirus software is designed to find malicious bots on your computer or defend against bot attacks, but as hackers grow more sophistacted, security software continually needs to be updated against the continual threat. If your computer, which previously had been smoothly and quickly, suddenly begans to exhibit strange behavior, such as stuttering or slowing from time to time, it may very well have fallen victim to a bot attack, and is being used to conduct illegal activity even as you sit there typing away or surfing the net.

An anonymous user posting on Slashdot had this to say about botnets: "The kind of turf war seen in the real world by drug gangs is being replicated by the criminal gangs behind spamming botnets, and things are turning nasty."

Until now, the laws against perpetrators of cybercrime held little or no penalties for internet hackers and criminals that used botnets. The new Cyber Security Enhancement Act was introduced by California Democrat Adam Schiff and Ohio Republican Steve Chabot, and includes specific criminal penalties against those who use botnets to aid in cybercrime. The bill also includes stiffer penalties for groups of cybercriminals and increases the budget significantly in the fight against cybercrime.