The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is a law passed by the United States Congress in 1986 intended to reduce cracking of computer systems and to address federal computer-related offenses. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (codified as 18 U.S.C. § 1030 governs cases with a compelling federal interest, where computers of the federal government or certain financial institutions are involved, where the crime itself is interstate in nature, or computers used in interstate and foreign commerce. It was amended in 1988, 1994, 1996, in 2001 by the USA PATRIOT Act, 2002, and in 2008 by the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act. Subsection (b) of the act punishes anyone who not just commits or attempts to commit an offense under the …show more content…
§ 1030(e)(2) to mean a computer:
• exclusively for the use of a financial institution or the United States Government, or, in the case of a computer not exclusively for such use, used by or for a financial institution or the United States Government and the conduct constituting the offense affects that use by or for the financial institution or the Government; or
• which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication, including a computer located outside the United States that is used in a manner that affects interstate or foreign commerce or communication of the United States;
Criminal Offenses Under The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
1. Knowingly accessing a computer without authorization in order to obtain national security data
2. Intentionally accessing a computer without authorization to obtain: o Information contained in a financial record of a financial institution, or contained in a file of a consumer reporting agency on a consumer. o Information from any department or agency of the United States o Information from any protected computer if the conduct involves an interstate or foreign