108 people have been prosecuted under UK hacking laws between 2003 and 2007.   Of these, sixty-one were convicted.   This is equivalent to a 56% conviction rate.

A junior minister at the Ministry of Justice, in a written response to a question from Cardiff Lib Dem MP Jennifer Willott, reported the number of successful prosecutions under the Computer Misuse Act.  

Section One, the least serious category, includes simple attacks like unauthorised access to a computer.   Section Two offences cover computer hacking.   Section three offences cover more serious issues like the creation of computer viruses and the instigation of denial of service attacks which can impair the operation of computers and website servers.

The figures only cover prosecutions where computer hacking offences were the principal offence being considered by the courts.   That is, those cases most likely to lead to the toughest punishment upon conviction.   Figures from both magistrate and crown court prosecutions are included in the figures.

The written answer on CMA prosecutions was made available online on Tuesday (22 September) by Hansard, the Parliamentary record of proceedings.