Vol. 481 No. 7
47 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he intends to introduce legislation to prevent Internet breakins and to take the threat out of network security; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17095/97]
I take it that what the Deputy has in mind are concerns as to the misuse of computers in general and the misuse of the Internet in particular.
Section 5 of the Criminal Damage Act, 1991, makes the unauthorised accessing of computer data an offence, whether or not the person intended to access any particular data or data kept by any particular person. Misconduct relating to computers was also addressed by the Law Reform Commission in their report on the Law Relating to Dishonesty, where they recommended that the dishonest use of a computer to obtain a gain or cause a loss should be an offence. I am at present considering this recommendation in the context of the preparation of legislation on fraud offences.
As regards the Internet, the Deputy may be aware that a working group, chaired by an official from my Department, on the illegal and harmful use of the Internet is currently examining a range of issues in this complex area and their interim report is expected before the end of this year.
