Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

• Congress enacted the the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in 1986. At that time, the statute was extremely narrow, as computer crimes were not a widespread occurrence. However, the statute has since been repeatedly amended to broaden its provisions as new technologies and circumstances arise.
  
  

Computer Crimes

• One area of the law addresses computer crimes involving government computers or sensitive government information. Any unauthorized access could damage the computers or affect the government's ability to use the computers. Someone would be in violation of the law by intentionally accessing the computers of a governmental department or agency without the appropriate authorization.
  
  In addition to computer access, it is also a crime to access restricted government information regarding the national defense of the United States or any foreign relations involving the United States without appropriate authorization. That information includes anything that has been labeled "restricted" by an executive order of the president or any statute. Anyone who accesses such protected information and transmits it to any other party who is not authorized to view the information can be found to have violated the law.
  
  

Financial Information

• The cyber-crime statute has also criminalized unauthorized access of computers containing financial information. Under the law, it is illegal to use a computer to gain access to protected financial information from any banking institution. Information contained in the files of consumer-reporting agencies is also protected under this statute.
  
  

Fraud

• Using a computer to commit fraud is another act now criminalized by the cyber-crime act. The fraud must be intentional, the person's computer access must be unauthorized, and the victim's loss must have a value of more than $5,000. Such crimes involving computers that are now prosecuted under the cyber-crime act include theft, bank fraud, embezzlement, credit-card fraud and money laundering.
  
  

Computer Viruses

• It is also a crime to transmit computer viruses to computers. Anyone who intentionally transmits a code, program or virus that one knows will cause damage can be prosecuted under the cyber-crime act. However, even reckless conduct is a crime. If one is not authorized to access a computer and accidentally causes damage to that computer, that person can be charged with a computer crime.
  
  

Hacking

• The cyber-crime act also prohibits hacking. One cannot access a computer without authorization in order to transfer, destroy or gain control of any information on that computer. If the unauthorized conduct affects interstate or foreign commerce, one can be sentenced to a year in jail. That penalty can be up to 10 years if the person has been convicted of the crime more than once.
  
  

Extortion

• Using computers to commit extortion violates the cyber-crime act. Extortion is the attempt to gain money or something else of value by threatening a victim. One commits extortion involving a computer by threatening to damage a computer or information contained on the computer. Additionally, a person who attempts to extort money or valuable objects by threatening to disclose confidential information obtained from a computer can be prosecuted under the law. Lastly, even if the person fails to successfully extort money or something of value, if a computer is damaged during the attempted extortion, the cyber-crime act has been violated.