The British government has proposed sharply increasing penalties for computer crimes, which are taking a financial toll on U.K. businesses. The Police and Justice Bill would amend the Computer Misuse Act of 1990, a Home Office spokeswoman said Friday. It would increase the maximum penalty for unauthorized modification of a computer from five years to 10 years, a provision that would cover all forms of DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks, she said.