STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4273
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 6, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. ANTONACCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi-
ty and Military Affairs
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to creating the crime of
cyberterrorism and calculating damages caused by computer tampering
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 490.28 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 490.28 Crime of cyberterrorism.
4 1. An individual is guilty of the crime of cyberterrorism when he or
5 she:
6 (a) With the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population,
7 influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coer-
8 cion, or affect the conduct of a unit of government, commits any of the
9 crimes contained within article one hundred fifty-six of this chapter;
10 or
11 (b) With the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population,
12 influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coer-
13 cion, or affect the conduct of a unit of government, commits a denial of
14 service attack against any computer network administered or operated by
15 a local, state or federal government entity, any utility (including
16 electricity or water) or a financial institution.
17 2. For the purpose of this section "denial of service attack" means
18 preventing authorized access to computer resources or delaying time
19 critical computer operations by inundating or otherwise overloading a
20 computer network, or attempting to inundate or otherwise overload a
21 computer service.
22 Crime of cyberterrorism is a class B felony.
23 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 156.25 of the penal law, as amended by
24 chapter 89 of the laws of 1993, is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04082-01-9
S. 4273 2
1 4. he or she intentionally alters in any manner or destroys computer
2 data or a computer program so as to cause damages, to the computer
3 tampered with or to any other computer affected by the tampering, in an
4 aggregate amount exceeding one thousand dollars.
5 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 156.26 and section 156.27 of the penal
6 law, subdivision 1 of section 156.26 as amended by chapter 590 of the
7 laws of 2008 and section 156.27 as added by chapter 89 of the laws of
8 1993, are amended to read as follows:
9 1. computer data or a computer program so as to cause damages, to the
10 computer tampered with or to any other computer affected by the tamper-
11 ing, in an aggregate amount exceeding three thousand dollars; or
12 § 156.27 Computer tampering in the first degree.
13 A person is guilty of computer tampering in the first degree when he
14 or she commits the crime of computer tampering in the fourth degree and
15 he or she intentionally alters in any manner or destroys computer data
16 or a computer program so as to cause damages, to the computer tampered
17 with or to any other computer affected by the tampering, in an aggregate
18 amount exceeding fifty thousand dollars.
19 Computer tampering in the first degree is a class C felony.
20 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
21 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
