The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a new version of the Homeland Security Bill by a vote of 299 to 121. Under the proposed law, malicious computer hackers would face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The provision is included in the Cyber Security Enhancement Act (CSEA), which was inserted into the Homeland Security Bill before the beginning of the debate in the House of Representatives. The CSEA was originally introduced as a separate bill and was approved by the House in July 2002, however it failed to pass in the Senate.

CSEA provides for the penalty of life imprisonment for computer hackers who recklessly put human lives at risk.

The law would also give police the authority to carry out surveillance of internet and telephone communications without having obtained a court order, in the case of an "ongoing attack" on an internet-connected computer associated with a "national security interest." This surveillance, however, would be limited to traffic data and would not extend to the content of communications.

The text of the Bill can be downloaded as a 484-page PDF from:
http://hsc.house.gov/legislation/hr5710.pdf

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