WASHINGTON, D.C. - Following a spate of crippling cyberattacks this year from hackers based in Russia and around the globe, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reintroduced the International Cybercrime Prevention Act to arm law enforcement with the tools necessary to fight back and better protect Americans.
“Over the last few months, we have seen the severity cybercrime attacks can have on our nation’s infrastructure, and it is time for Congress to ensure our cyber defense can withstand these attacks in the future,” said Senator Tillis. “This bipartisan legislation will give our law enforcement the tools needed to strengthen our cybersecurity defenses and protect critical infrastructure across the nation.”
As our lives shifted online during the COVID-19 pandemic, a U.N. report found that there was a significant rise in cybercrime. The FBI reported a similar increase. According to The Center for Strategic and International Studies, there have been 56 significant cyber incidents this year with losses of more than a million dollars each. This includes the breach of the Colonial Pipeline Company, one of the largest ransomware attacks ever on an American energy system that disrupted the East Coast’s fuel supply.
The International Cybercrime Prevention Act would update our current security framework to match these types of threats by creating new criminal violations for those targeting critical infrastructure like dams, power plants, hospitals, and election infrastructure. The bill would also make it easier to counter and disrupt botnets — networks of infected computers used to facilitate a wide range of criminal activity, including the theft of personal and financial information, intrusions into online bank accounts, and identity theft.
The International Cybercrime Prevention Act would:
A more comprehensive summary of the bill can be found here.
“Over the last few months, we have seen the severity cybercrime attacks can have on our nation’s infrastructure, and it is time for Congress to ensure our cyber defense can withstand these attacks in the future,” said Senator Tillis. “This bipartisan legislation will give our law enforcement the tools needed to strengthen our cybersecurity defenses and protect critical infrastructure across the nation.”
As our lives shifted online during the COVID-19 pandemic, a U.N. report found that there was a significant rise in cybercrime. The FBI reported a similar increase. According to The Center for Strategic and International Studies, there have been 56 significant cyber incidents this year with losses of more than a million dollars each. This includes the breach of the Colonial Pipeline Company, one of the largest ransomware attacks ever on an American energy system that disrupted the East Coast’s fuel supply.
The International Cybercrime Prevention Act would update our current security framework to match these types of threats by creating new criminal violations for those targeting critical infrastructure like dams, power plants, hospitals, and election infrastructure. The bill would also make it easier to counter and disrupt botnets — networks of infected computers used to facilitate a wide range of criminal activity, including the theft of personal and financial information, intrusions into online bank accounts, and identity theft.
The International Cybercrime Prevention Act would:
- Allow authorities to confiscate communication devices and other property used to commit cybercrime.
- Enhance prosecutors’ ability to shut down botnets and other digital infrastructure used for a wide range of illegal activity.
- Create a new criminal violation for individuals who have knowingly targeted critical infrastructure, including dams, power plants, hospitals, and election infrastructure.
- Prohibit cybercriminals from selling access to botnets to carry out cyber-attacks.
A more comprehensive summary of the bill can be found here.
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