A new Brazilian law that aims to curb cyber crime will go into
effect in April, as announced on Tuesday. The law, passed last
year, will make cyber crimes a criminal offense with jail
sentences ranging from three months to two years. Brazil is the
world’s fourth largest source of phishing, which cost local
banks $700 million in 2012. Given the growth of cyber crime,
there is concern that the jail sentences will not be severe
enough to deter criminals who openly trade stolen information
online. Limor Kessem, an expert at the leading international
security firm RSA, predicts that the law will not have an effect
on the level of crime until criminals start seeing their
counterparts arrested and imprisoned. Although Brazil is still
considered an emerging market, 48 percent of Brazilians connect
to the Internet and use online banking at a comparable rate to
more developed nations. The seventh-largest economy in the world
has a growing middle class—53 percent of the total
population—that has propelled online banking