Should computer virus writers go to jail?

Yes

10 of 45

by Linda Smith

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Yes. And I say again Yes! The title question implies that the virus writer was identified and caught or apprehended. It also implies that the virus was let loose upon the world with the intention of "infection" - hence the term "virus." Most virus writers do so with the aim of causing harm and mayhem. Why shouldn't they be prosecuted to the full extent of the law? And if there is not a law that answers this crime, then one should be written and put into play.

There is a very good reason for requiring severe penalty for computer virus perpetrators. The Internet is now home to a world-wide marketplace. And, like any other marketplace, it needs to be protected from terrorists and criminals.

Let's say that you have a business on Main Street in your town. And let's say that an arsonist sets the building where you have offices on fire. Whether or not your business is completely destroyed by the blaze or whether you lose but a day or two of trade, your business was harmed. The same analogy applies to Internet "arsonists." Whether they cause your computer to crash and burn and you lose your files, or whether it causes you to lose some hours of business, the result is the same - potential lose of revenue and customers.

Policing the world wide web may be an impossible job considering that it truly is world wide. However, if - in any country of the world - a person is identified as being the author of creating a virus that was let loose upon the web - that person should be punished. There can be no reason other than harm that the virus writer had for first writing the virus, and second, for letting it loose. Don't these people have better things to do with their time?

The Internet, world wide web...whichever terminology you choose to use...is an awesome phenomenon. It allows people all over the globe to do business with one another in a way unimagined by previous generations. It has opened up the world of commerce to millions of people. It has opened up ways to obtain knowledge and learning that have never been available before. It has allowed a means for people to connect with one another over vast distances that would be impossible otherwise. Surely the only reasons the writers of computer viruses have for writing them are criminal ones.

So, yes, computer virus writers should be punished.

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