A new bill to tackle rising menace of spyware was passed by the US House of Representatives. The bill will chalk out severe punishment for anyone caught spreading malicious codes around the Internet.
Punishment ranges from heavy fines to five years of imprisonment. While the bill, known as Internet Spyware Prevention Act, or I-Spy, has been sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats, it does not contain any provision making it mandatory for software makers to warn the user before installing.
California Democrat Zoe Lofgren, one of the chief sponsors of the bill, hailed its passing, stating that this will target only the worst forms of spyware.
"I-SPY is a bipartisan measure that identifies the truly unscrupulous acts associated with spyware and subjects them to criminal punishment. It targets the worst forms of spyware without unduly burdening technological innovation", Lofgren said. The bill will now have to be approved by Senate before it can be turned into a law.
The bill, which has been supported by industry bigwigs such as Microsoft, Dell and Symantec, also allows setting aside an annual amount of $10 million for a period of four years to arm the Department of Justice in its fight against phishing and pharming.
Spyware has steadily risen to become a scourge of the Internet, stealing personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers, from unsuspecting users. The meteoric spread of spyware has led to the rise of anti-spyware industry, whose aim is to prevent spyware programs from installing on unsuspecting computers.
