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New bill takes aim at DDOS, Doxxing, Swatting and other cyber crimes

Posted at 12:03 PM, Jan 28, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-28 14:57:00-05

SALT LAKE CITY – A new bill in the Utah State Legislature takes aim at Doxxing, Swatting, and other cyber crimes.

Rep. David Lifferth, R-Eagle Mountain, has filed House Bill 225, which would modify Utah law to address cyber crimes, including Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDOS), where servers are targeted to shut a website or network down.

It also criminalizes “Doxxing,” where personal information is given out online in an effort to encourage harassment, and “swatting,” where a false 911 call is made to prompt a heavy police response to someone’s home when they are unaware of it.

The severity of the crimes could range from misdemeanors all the way to a third-degree felony.