Cybercrime bill

Date: November 17, 2006
Source: ZDNet UK


The Police and Justice Bill 2006, which received Royal Assent last Wednesday, contains amendments to the Computer Misuse Act 1990 that alter the law surrounding the creation and distribution of 'dual use' software tools. These are tools such as nmap — a security scanner — which are primarily used by legitimate users and security researchers, but can also be used by hackers to scan networks for vulnerabilities.

The amendments to the law could potentially prohibit the downloading of such security tools, according to Malcolm Hutty, head of public affairs at the London Internet Exchange (LINX).

"We do have to have responsible software supply. However, [under these amendments] any form of download tool could be prohibited," said Hutty earlier this week. "The Government is inadvertently throwing the baby out with the bathwater."
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