Some Current Law addressing the Distribution and Creation of Malware and Viruses

“.. In the UK, the introduction of malware is covered by section 3 of the Computer Misuse Act [2]. The Act states that a crime is committed if a person “does any act which causes an unauthorized modification of the contents of any computer” and the perpetrator intends to “cause a modification of the contents of any computer” which may “impair the operation of any computer”, “prevent or hinder access to any program or data held in any computer” or “impair the operation of any such program or the reliability of any such data” ..

Malware is generally distributed unintentionally subsequent to its initial creation. Thus an ICP or an ISP would not be found criminally liable under either the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act or the Computer Misuse Act for most cases of dissemination ..”

What the Law Says about Distributing a Virus or Malware
Craig S Wright, InfoSec Island, 20 September 2011
https://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/16567-What-the-Law-Says-about-Distributing-a-Virus-or-Malware.html – last access 22 September 2011 – (Full article)

~

“.. The Japanese parliament has quietly passed legislation to make the creation or distribution of a virus or similar malware a criminal offense ..

the distribution of a virus created, for example, in the US, in Japan by a Japanese citizen, would come within the scope of the criminal law ..

what happens if the malware distribution takes place without the knowledge of the user of the computer, such as when a botnet is involved..

Legislators in Japan are less concerned about the semantics, however, as they say this is the country’s response to support the International Convention on Cybercrime, a treaty ratified by more than 30 countries and which mandates international co-operation in investigating crimes in cyberspace ..”

Creating or distributing malware in Japan is now a crime
InfoSecurity Magazine, 20 June 2011
http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/view/18782/creating-or-distributing-malware-in-japan-is-now-a-crime/ – last access 22 September 2011 – (Full article)

/cobramark3

September 22, 2011 | Categories: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Computer Misuse Act, Consumer Protection Act, International Convention on Cybercrime, Legal, Malware, News, PCI-DSS, Uncategorized, US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act | Tags: Botnet, CFAA, Computer Forensics, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Computer Misuse Act, Consumer Protection Act, Digital Forensics, EU, International Convention on Cybercrime, IT Security, Japan, Legal, Malware, PCI-DSS, UK, US, US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Virus | Comments Off on Some Current Law addressing the Distribution and Creation of Malware and Viruses