Laws Against Computer Hackers

• Computer hacking is illegal.background with binary data image by Pedro Nogueira from Fotolia.com
  
  Several laws and acts have been passed in the U.S. Congress to protect against individuals who unlawfully access protected or private computer databases. Convicted hackers have been known to introduce detrimental viruses to computer systems which can cease or destroy its function. The laws, or acts, seem to diminish the number of computer hackers by clearly stating harsh punishments for a hacking conviction including jail times and costly fines.
  
  

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

• The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was enacted in by the U.S. Congress in 1986. Computer hacking in this 1986 law has a broad definition. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act condemns those individuals who have accessed a computer without specified authorization for the purpose of obtaining information that could be detrimental to the security of the U.S. or U.S. foreign policy. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act also prohibits individuals attempting to deliver, communicate or transfer any of the unlawfully obtained information to individuals who do not have the right to access such information. A person who has accessed an unauthorized computer database and obtained information regarding the financial archive of that institution has broken the law according to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Individuals convicted for these computer hacking offenses can be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in a federal prison.
  
  

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

• The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was passed in 1998 by President Bill Clinton. One of the many functions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was to set forth protective laws for corporations who hired outside companies to perform security checks on their computer networks or databases. Any individual accessing a corporation's database must adhere to the security testing guidelines as set forth in the Copyright Act. Security testing involves an individual accessing a computer system or database with permission from the owner for the purpose of correcting or testing security issues in that system. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act protected the contents of the system and prohibited the security tester from distributing any of the information accessed during the testing process. The security tester by law must also inform the owner of the computer network or system about any issues that could be detrimental to the computer's security.
  
  

Computer Maintenance Competition Assurance Act

• The Computer Maintenance Competition Assurance Act was one of the laws passed through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. The Computer Maintenance Competition Act set forth specific laws to protect against the unlawful reproduction and use of computer programs. Only the owner of the program has the lawful ability to reproduce a necessary copy of the program during the act of maintenance or repair. The Computer Maintenance Competition Assurance Act states that the reproduced copy of the program must be destroyed directly after the repair or maintenance has been completed.