September 11, 2001 was a devastating day for the United States. As many of us awoke, expecting to continue with our daily routine, the terrorist shattered our hopes for repetitiveness with attacks that struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The threat of terrorism is one that has always been a possibility, but our sedimentary lifestyles resulted in a state of bliss in the United States. As a result of the devastating September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, security clampdowns, command system upgrades, worksite modification, and a sense of renewed patriotism are among the many traumatic transformations that has occurred in the United States. .
New Cyber Crime Laws.
U.S. prosecutors and judges are cracking down on cyber crimes more aggressively than ever. The airplane hijack attacks in September have been used to justify harsher treatment for computer crimes in the name of national security. Of concern to many hackers are the U.S. Patriot Act enacted late last year and a new bill called the Cyber Security Enhancement Act overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives last month. The Patriot Act raised the maximum sentence for breaking into a computer network from 5 years to 10 years. Hackers who recklessly cause or attempt to cause someone's death could get up to life imprisonment due to the Cyber Security Enhancement Act. The Patriot Act also gives the FBI and Department of Justice broad new authority to use wiretaps, electronic eavesdropping, and other information-gathering techniques. Additionally, a new proposal aimed at expanding these powers, which has been dubbed by some as "Patriot II", seeks to collect and store information on .
individuals in central databases and then use data-mining techniques to detect possible terrorist and criminal activity. All three government efforts emphasize the use of technology both for data collection and surveillance (Stakes).
