The German parliament voted earlier this month to amend the country’s anti-hacking laws and close loopholes being exploited by cyber criminals.

The new legislation follows a sharp rise in computer crimes targeting the public and private sectors.

It cracks down on both the perpetration of denial of service attacks, and the possession and supply of hacker utilities ­ tools which make it easier for amateurs to avoid detection.

Electronic crime is a particular challenge for legislators. It evolves rapidly, so laws that are too specific have a limited lifespan, says Struan Robertson, technology lawyer at law firm Pinsent Masons.

‘In the US, legislation is very technical and quickly goes out of date,’ said Robertson.

The UK’s Computer Misuse Act (CMA) has so far stood the test of time. Although it was passed in 1990, and denial of service attacks only started to occur 12 years later, the legislation is sufficiently broad to still be appropriate.

David Lennon was the first person in the UK to be accused of perpetrating a denial of service attack, after he sent five million emails to his employer.

Lennon was charged under the CMA and sentenced to two months curfew in 2005.

The UK parliament has passed more recent legislation ­with a similar aim to that just approved by the German Bundestag ­ but with mixed results.

There are parts of the 2001 Police and Criminal Justice Act that apply to the possession and selling of hacking tools, and the use of denial of service attacks.

But they have been left dormant out of concern that legitimate providers of equipment and hardware could be prosecuted.

It is still possible that those clauses may be activated, most likely when the Serious Crime Act is brought into force in 2008.

But it will be needless if existing laws are broad enough to do the job, says Robertson.

‘There is a question over whether it is necessary because denial of service attacks can be caught by the CMA,’ he said.

But even the most general legislation will not last forever.

And though the Lennon case set a precedent for using the CMA in denial of service cases, no one in the UK has yet been prosecuted for supplying or possessing hacking tools.

Technology is fast-moving so it is difficult to envisage the CMA still being applicable in 20 years’ time, says Tom Cowling, technology lawyer at law firm Swan Turton.

And any new laws will need to follow the CMA’s example if they are to last as long.

‘The key is for a broad-brush approach from government which can then be interpreted more specifically by individual judges,’ said Cowling.