Blog: Stiffer punishments for cybercriminals and hackers

Catching sophisticated hackers is notoriously difficult, which often means the sloppy and the stupid will end up being prosecuted as well as a few who just have bad luck.

The White House asked for stiffer sentences for breaking into government and private computer networks.

Obama administration last month pressed Congress maximum sentence for potentially endangering national security to 20 years in prison.

There have been a number of instances in recent years causing government to take the matter seriously.

The computer break-ins have targeted multinational companies and institutions, including Sony Corp, Citigroup and the International Monetary Fund. Tackling cybercrime has often been complicated by the difficulty of determining who is responsible.

It remains to be seen if the proposal of maximizing the punishment will become a law or not.