Delays in securing subpoenas caused by courts being closed at night or on weekends are curbed by the new provisions. Prosecutors can now issue subpoenas. Thackeray cited school threat cases. In one instance, she said, a Scottsdale campus had to shut down temporarily because Internet mail was received stating there were bombs planted. In this case, a series of delays were encountered because subpoenas were required for first one Internet service provider, and then another.
Fast action is needed.
The legislation, which also better defines computer crimes, followed incidents that were handled poorly because of limitations in the law. For example, in 1998, a computer user hacked into a local public utility and gained access to the Valley's canal control system. Todd Lawson, an assistant attorney general assigned to Thackeray's unit, said the perpetrator under the old law could be punished for only a low-level felony when he could have held the whole Valley hostage without water. New powers better match punishment with the crime. Thackeray said that while law enforcement is positioned to strike against hackers, businesses need to do what they can to protect themselves.