Identity Theft Bill Set to Become Law

The Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act has passed Congress and is on its way to the President to be signed into law.

The US is about to have and identity theft law. Known as the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act, it's passed Congress and is due to be signed into law the by President.

The Act will let victims sue criminals for restitution, as well as eliminate the $5000 floor that previously existed for unauthorized access charges to be filed, Vnunet reports, as well as making it a felony to install malware on more than 10 computers.

The bill was originally proposed in 2007 by Senator Patrick Leahy. However, it stalled in the House of Representatives until Leahy attached it to another bill regarding protection of former Vice Presidents.

Senator Leahy said: "The key anti-cyber crime provisions that are included in this legislation will close existing gaps in our criminal law to keep up with the cunning and ingenuity of today's identity thieves." 

Source: Digitaltrends.com

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Some of the key elements of this law will include eliminating limitations of previous legal safeguards against cyber crime, which only permitted federal jurisdiction if the criminal and victim were located in separate states. Now, any criminal proven to have installed malware or spyware on more than ten computers, even in a single state, can be pursued under this new federal law.

It also does away with the minimum previous $5,000 limit to damages incurred due to unauthorized access to computer systems before charges can be filed.

And victims will be allowed to sue criminals convicted under the Act for damages as result of any ID theft.