Computer Misuse Act – Potential disaster avoided

Good news! It looks like the last really worrying amendment to the Computer Misuse Act is going to be improved. The amendment would have made it illegal if someone makes, adapts, supplies or offers to supply a program that is likely to be used to commit an offence. In an ideal world it would be deleted, but an improvement is still a good thing.

The amendment in its original form is horrible. By analogy, imagine a world where a politician with no experience of the building trade had heard that sledge-hammers could be used to break down doors to aid in burglary. So the politician writes a law that makes it illegal if someone makes, adapts, supplies or offers to supply building equipment that is likely to be used to commit an offence. I would be hard pressed to find an item of building equipment that could not be used in some way or form to commit a crime.

The always-impressive Spy Blog provides more details along with being the first people to spot the new amendment. Police and Justice Bill – dual use “hacker tools” – has the Government finally seen sense?