Vol. 554 No. 5
1322 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans to ensure appropriate regulatory provisions and penalties are in place to deter hacking of e-commerce resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17141/02]
Aspects of the general offence of unauthorised access to computers, usually referred to as "hacking" are covered by a number of legislative provisions. Unauthorised access on its own is covered by section 5 of the Criminal Damage Act, 1991, which provides for imprisonment of up to three months on summary conviction or a fine of up to the euro equivalent of £500.
Section 9 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001, further provides that the dishonest operation of a computer within the State with the intent of personal gain, or gain or loss to another, is also an offence. The latter Act provides a penalty, following conviction on indictment, of up to 10 years imprisonment, or a fine, or both.
In relation to unauthorised access to personal data, section 22 of the Data Protection Act, 1998, provides for an offence involving unauthorised access to and subsequent disclosure of such data. Fines arising from conviction on indictment can be up to the euro equivalent of £50,000.
