Mumbai: The UK government is seriously considering a life term imprisonment for hackers whose attacks cause catastrophic consequences.
Ars Technica reported that the proposal was given by the Queen in her speech and that there would be an update to the Computer Misuse Act.
According to The Guardian, the Queen’s speech added that the hacker could undergo life term if convicted of "cyberattacks which result in loss of life, serious illness or injury or serious damage to national security, or a significant risk thereof." The plan would increase the maximum sentence from 10 years to 14 years.
The same could be seen in US too, but no individual statute carries that penalty. Albert Gonzalez, a convicted hacker, was sentenced for 20 years in Boston in 2010. He was convicted for hijacking more than 90 million credit card and debit card details from T.J. Maxx and a few other retailers. The hack, considered the largest in history, was carried out in 2007.
