Security Bullet In
Communiques from the security front, sir
Tuesday 29 May 2007, 12:14 PM
Germany passes 'anti-hacking tools' law
Germany has toughened up its cybercrime laws in an effort to close up loop-holes, including those dealing with denial of service attacks.
However, the law, passed on Friday, has drawn criticism for allegedly making illegal the development of dual purpose tools -- programs that can be used for both security research and for hacking.
An amendment to the UK Computer Misuse Act passed in November drew similar criticisms from UK security experts.
On the German law, heise Security and ars technica have gone into the dual purpose tools angle in more depth, while Computerworld UK has more on the law.
However, the law, passed on Friday, has drawn criticism for allegedly making illegal the development of dual purpose tools -- programs that can be used for both security research and for hacking.
An amendment to the UK Computer Misuse Act passed in November drew similar criticisms from UK security experts.
On the German law, heise Security and ars technica have gone into the dual purpose tools angle in more depth, while Computerworld UK has more on the law.
PreviousComments on this post
I think this is a great step towards highlighting the global electronic security problems, but as a U.S. citizen it frightens me anytime a government gets involved. I personally hold that it is the role of privateers to make the advancements in security. As the founder of MyMobiSafe.com, I would encourage governments to make grants for companies involved in developing innovative security solutions. It is the agility of innovative technology companies that allows them to respond to an ever-changing security environment.
