The House of Representatves this week voted 385-3 in favor of a bill that could make certain types of hacking an offense punishable by life in prison.

Sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee, and said to have the blessing of President Bush, the bill now heads to the Senate.

Click here to read the entire proposed Cyber Security Enhancement Act

Getting Tougher

The Cyber Security Enhancement Act would make hacking with the intent of causing bodily harm or death a much more serious crime than it currently is.

For example, if computer intruders take out the streetlight system in a town, making all lights green at the same time, a crash at the intersection would be their fault. Since occupants in the colliding cars could be killed, the hacker could face life in prison.

The bill would also expand the ability and duty of ISPs to report the suspicious behavior of their customers. Under the bill, any provider must report notable criminal activity if they feel that it involves "danger of death or serious physical injury to any person."

Any such reports made to a government entity must be disclosed to the U.S. attorney general, who in turn must submit those reports to Congress one year after the bill is enacted.

Current law prohibits service providers from reporting user activity unless it presents an immediate risk of death or injury, and allows users to sue for damages if their privacy is violated. But it includes threats to national security interests or attacks on protected computers in the cases when monitoring devices may be used without a warrant.

But civil libertarians have said it could encourage law enforcement agencies — or any government agency — to pressure Internet service providers to turn over their records without a search warrant, further eroding electronic privacy.