A Late Valentine's Gift to Hackers
quietus writes:
It is now legal to hack into any company or government institution in Belgium, but only under certain circumstances.
That's the result of a new law on whistleblower protection that came into effect on February 15. Under the law, any citizen with the Belgian nationality is allowed to breach networks of Belgian legal entities without any previous notification or consent, provided he/she describes and reports the breach to the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium within 72 hours, and does not request a reward for it.
This new framework allows any natural or legal person, acting without fraudulent or malicious intent, to investigate and report existing vulnerabilities in networks and information systems located in Belgium, provided that certain conditions are strictly respected (see detailed explanations).
Do you think those hacking misfits should have any protection at all? Which legal framework exists for hackers in your country?
[Editor's Comment: The new law is specifically targeted at pen testers or 'ethical hackers' - it applies only to those acting "without fraudulent or malicious intent". There are specific "obligations in the context of the search for and reporting of a vulnerability" which are fully explained in the linked article. Whether or not such obligations will be abused or ignored is yet to be seen. --JR]
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