Bobby Scott: “I rise in support of H.R. 1525, the Internet Spyware (I- SPY) Prevention Act of 2007. I would like to commend…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 1525, the Internet Spyware (I- SPY) Prevention Act of 2007. I would like to commend Congresswoman Lofgren and Congressman Goodlatte for developing the legislation and moving the bill on a bipartisan basis. The bill amends title 18, U.S. Code, to impose criminal penalties on those who use spyware to perpetrate identity theft and numerous other privacy intrusions on innocent Internet users. The bill also provides resources and guidance to the Department of Justice for the prosecution of these offenses. Recent studies estimate that 80 percent of computers are infected with some form of spyware and that 89 percent of consumers are unaware of the fact that they have spyware. The greatest security and privacy challenges posed by spyware relate to technologies such as keystroke logging programs that capture a user's passwords, Social Security, or account numbers. This information can then be redirected for criminal purposes including fraud, larceny, identity theft, or other cyber crimes.”