U.S. joins European cybercrime convention

The U.S. government has embraced European legislation meant to help the global fight against cybercrime. The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime calls on countries to coordinate international law to investigate and prosecute online criminal activity. The convention has now been signed by 43 EU member states and 15 other parties, including the U.S. It will come into U.S. law on Jan. 1.

Under the convention, countries must have criminal laws addressing activities including hacking, spreading viruses or worms, unauthorized access or damage to computer systems, fraud and copyright violations. It also is meant to foster sharing of electronic evidence on matters such as child sexual exploitation, organized crime and terrorism.

Tom Espiner of ZDNet UK reported from London.