CICT endorses latest anti-cybercrime bill in Congress
Date: August 19, 2008Source: Newsinfo.inquirer.net
MANILA, Philippines -- The government's highest IT-governing body is hopeful that increased awareness and support will push lawmakers this time to finally pass a bill against cybercrime.
In a statement, the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT) said it has endorsed before Congress the "Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2008", which consolidates four cybercrime-related bills authored by different lawmakers.
This consolidated bill also resulted from a technical working group created last year and spearheaded by the CICT and Department of Justice.
In its Declaration of Policy, the bill authorizes the State, "to adopt sufficient powers to effectively prevent and combat such offenses by facilitating their detection, investigation, and prosecution at both the domestic and international levels, and by providing arrangements for fast and reliable international cooperation."
The proposed bill defines various forms of cybercrime offenses and prescribes corresponding punishments. These offenses include hacking, identity theft, phishing, spamming, website defacement, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, malware or viruses, child pornography and cyber prostitution.
A representative from the Council of Europe also joined the technical working group in refining the bill further in order to "harmonize" it with European standards on cybersecurity.
CICT commissioner Tim Diaz de Rivera is also counting on increased support from private sector groups this time, including the Business Process Association of the Philippines (B/PAP) which represents the outsourcing industry.
"B/PAP, for example, is supporting it order to sell the country better to investors and ensure they are very wel covered when it comes to cybersecurity in the Philippines," Diaz de Rivera told INQUIRER.net.
Cybersecurity-related bills have been filed in Congress and Senate since four or five years ago without success.
"Definitely there is increased support this time but it's really in the hands of lawmakers. We are always on-call if they need clarification about the proposed bill," Diaz de Rivera said.
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