Credit: Kasper Pempel/Reuters New legislation proposed by the German government aims to make computer hacking a punishable crime.The draft law, announced Wednesday, defines hacking as penetrating a computer security system and gaining access to secure data, without necessarily stealing data.As part of the draft, groups that intentionally create, spread or purchase hacker tools designed for illegal purposes could be punished by law, the Federal Ministry of Justice said in a statement.Other punishable cybercrimes include denial-of-service attacks and computer sabotage attack on individuals, which would extend the existing law that limited sabotage to businesses and public authorities. Offenders could face up to 10 years in prison for major offenses. Although Germany already has a comprehensive penal law against attacks on IT systems, the proposed revision aims to close any remaining loopholes, the ministry said.Some security experts warn, however, that “good” hackers, also known as “white hats” who work for security companies, could be restricted in their ability to help software makers and businesses as a result of the proposed law. If hackers can’t share their tools with the public, “white hats will not be able to get them and use them internally for testing or external security consultants won’t be able to do security testing,” a hacker, known by the pseudonym van Hauser, wrote in an e-mail. “It’s a win-lose law in favor for the bad guys.”Van Hauser is president of The Hacker’s Choice, a noncommercial group of security experts.-John Blau, IDG News Service (Dusseldorf Bureau)Related Links: Ore. Man Gets Home Detention for T-Mobile Hack Red Hat Exec: Hackers Still ImportantCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content Feature Industry clouds prove their business value Born of partnerships and ecosystem-centric by their nature, cloud solutions aimed at specific verticals are taking root, forming a complex, rapidly evolving market CIOs must be strategic about entering. By Paula Rooney Mar 24, 2023 7 mins Cloud Computing Feature What is data governance? Best practices for managing data assets Data governance defines roles, responsibilities, and processes for ensuring accountability for and ownership of data assets across the enterprise. By Thor Olavsrud Mar 24, 2023 10 mins IT Governance Frameworks Big Data Data Mining BrandPost Stay in Control of Your Data with a Secure and Compliant Sovereign Cloud By Stan Kwong Mar 23, 2023 6 mins Cloud Security Cloud Computing News Accenture to lay off 19,000 to cut costs amid economic uncertainty Technology services giant Accenture will continue to hire but meanwhile is cutting staff to streamline operations in the face of economic headwinds. By Anirban Ghoshal Mar 23, 2023 2 mins IT Consulting Services Technology Industry Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe