The Congress’ International Relations Committee passed the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. This Convention is the first international treaty to deal with the definition of crimes executed through computer networks, and allows signatory countries to share information on cybercrime.  The bill could be debated and voted on the floor next week. In the event that the House passes the initiative on the floor, the agreement will be sent to the Executive for promulgation.

Key features of the Convention:

• Typification of crimes of access, interception and illegitimate interference to computer systems and data. The agreement urges States to pass legislation that establishes in their domestic law crimes of access, interception and deliberate and illegitimate interference of a computer system and data.

• Forgery and computer fraud. States must pass legislation that establishes in their domestic legal framework, crimes of alteration, deletion, removal or entering of data, which may lead to false data. It also includes deliberate and illegitimate actions that harm somebody’s property by modifying, deleting, removing or entering data or interfering in a computer system, with the intention of illegitimately obtain an economic benefit for oneself or for somebody else.

• Liability of legal people. Every State must pass legislation and take any necessary measure to make legal people liable for the crimes mentioned in the Convention.

• Request of data stored by service providers: Grants powers to the competent authorities, so that they can request service providers and other individuals to deliver stored data in their possession.