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Senate Passes Gordner Measure to Protect Computer Users
HARRISBURG -- The
Pennsylvania Senate has unanimously passed legislation authored by Senator John
R. Gordner (R-27) to improve computer security by preventing Spyware, a tool
used by cyber identity thieves to obtain personal information.
Senate Bill 711 would make it
a crime to distribute Spyware to a computer without the user's consent or
knowledge. Spyware is a term for a computer program that gathers information
through the user's Internet connection and transmits it to a third party. This
information, which includes passwords and personal identification numbers, can
be used to commit fraud.
"As more and more
Pennsylvanians choose to make purchases and handle their finances online, we
must take further steps to protect the privacy of our personal information,"
Senator Gordner said. "Spyware presents a serious threat to the security of our
personal information, and we must take action to prevent this valuable
information from falling into the wrong hands."
"This bill gives Pennsylvania
the nation's toughest law against Spyware. It prohibits the bad conduct and
deceptive practices used by Spyware providers, without over-regulating
technologies that provide valuable benefits to consumers, such as automatic
security updates," said Steve DelBianco, Executive Vice President of Public
Policy for Association of Competitive Technology and Executive Director for
Netchoice.
In addition to being used by
identity thieves, Spyware may also affect a computer's basic operations.
Spyware can be used to modify a user's bookmarks and home page, manipulate
search engines, remove or disable anti-virus software or trigger other harmful
downloads to the user's computer.
Spyware is a growing problem
in today's economy. AOL and the National Cyber Security Alliance examined the
computers of 329 randomly-selected Internet users last October and found that 85
percent were infected with some form of Spyware or Adware. Dell Computer now
estimates that one of every five customer support calls are related to Spyware.
Senate Bill 711 is a major
component of a comprehensive package of bi-partisan legislation introduced to
protect personal information and prevent identity theft in Pennsylvania. Other
bills in the package include measures to protect social security numbers,
require disclosure of computer security breaches and protect credit reports.
Senate Bill 711 now moves to the House of
Representatives for consideration.
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