On June 11th, Interior Minister, Andrés Chadwick, and Justice Minister, Hernán Larraín, announced that the government is evaluating an amendment to the Cyber Crimes Law (Nº 19.233). The bill will demand greater investment in public and private security, mainly in the financial and commercial sector. To finish elaborating the initiative, the Executive will call specialists in the field.  

The update of the Cyber Crime Law was central in the meeting that Piñera held with his ministers last June 10th. The intention to update the legislation arises after the cyber attack that the Central Bank of Chile suffered last May 24th, in which 10 million dollars were robbed.

“We are analyzing introducing amendments to the law, to demand that some activities of the private sector, especially financial or commercial, have to invest more in security,” said Chadwick.

They will also seek to modernize local legislation (dating from 1993) to meet the international standards. This would include having judges and institutions trained to face this type of crime, as well as recognizing the need for a disclosure policy of responsible vulnerabilities in public and private sector organizations.

Although they did not specify deadline for the presentation of the modifying bill, discussions with different political sectors have already begun. Chadwick met with Senator Felipe Harboe (PPD-opposition party) and said that it’s “urgent” to call for a specialized team to study cybersecurity and cybercrime issues.