Foreign countries that turn a blind eye to cybercrime would lose US financial
assistance and resources under a bill introduced Tuesday in the Senate.
The International Cybercrime Reporting and Cooperation Act would require the
President to identify "countries of cyber concern" and to plot a course to help
each one get tougher on cybercrime. Those that don't reach prescribed benchmarks
would face economic penalties in the form of cuts to trade assistance grants, US
export dollars and foreign-direct investment funds.
The bill is sponsored by Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, and Orrin
Hatch, Republican of Utah. It has the support of about a dozen companies,
including Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, eBay, Visa, and Mastercard.