The European Commission is planning to impose harsher penalties for people who use the internet to commit crimes. New rules could see jail sentences for cybercrimes increased to more than five years, from about one to three years at present.

“We need new legislation to fight cyber attacks. Large-scale attacks are on the rise but the penalties . . . are not severe enough to dissuade criminals,” said Radomir Jansky, one of the senior cybercrime officials within the Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice, Freedom and Security.