Lindsey Graham Bill Targets Foreign Cyberhackers

Sen. Lindsey Graham has drafted a bill along with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) that would take aim at foreign cyberattackers who are targeting US businesses, according to a story in Politico.

The bill would be an upgrade to the Economic Espionage Act, which targets those who steal trade secrets. The upgrade would add a cybersecurity element to the legislation and give law enforcement more latitude to investigate and prosecute such crimes.

As more commerce has moved online, cyberterrorists have taken aim at American companies, often acting on behalf of state-subsidized businesses overseas.

Graham told Politico, "We must make sure we give law enforcement the tools to go after state-sponsored foreign hackers and organized cyberthieves that are stealing our intellectual property."

Last year in South Carolina, it was a government agency not a business that was attacked by cyberthieves. It is believed that overseas hackers targeted the Department of Revenue, accessing millions of South Carolinians' social security numbers.

No arrests have been made in the hack and one report indicated that a ransom may have been paid in the aftermath of the hack.

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