Computer laws in US. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Research Paper

fancyr police forces in US. computing device Fraud and Abuse Act - Research authorship ExampleJust like any other designing, computers watch two sides the positive and the negative side. The positive side is where business flourish, scientists do more invention and government offer better services while on the other hand, it gives criminals an extra tool to commit more crimes and get away with it. Computer crimes have been on rapid increase since the advent of intern. Internet has facilitated the criminal activities as a means of admission fee other peoples computers regardless of geographic location. Crimes such as cyber-stalking, child pornography, fraud and scams, hacking copyright violations, malicious code are some of the computer crimes that are now easily committed because of the internet. Compute crimes are unavoidable to organizations that use IT in delivering their services and products. Computer professional therefore should ensure that there are frameworks put in pl ace to defend and face these challenges through laws. This paper will identify and detail some of the computer laws put in place by US federal legislation. Computer laws face greater challenge because of the dynamic nature of computer crimes because of the new and evolving technologies. The wire fraud statute was the first law in the US employ to prosecute computer criminals. This law prohibited the use of communication wires that are used in the international commerce with an attempt to commit a fraud. This law is still in place and is used to date to prosecute computer criminals.... The challenges with the initial structure of CFAAA was that to successfully prosecute fraud charges, one must append evidence that the suspect gained unauthorized access into the computer outline (CFAA, 1986). Have a clause that touched on the method of entry into the computer system rather than focusing on the computer usage was a loophole for crimes committed by insiders. An employee within the c ompany who has legal access to the computer can besides commit a crime using the computer. Since it will non be proved that he/she had illegal access, then such person will not be prosecuted. CFAA was modified for the second time in 1994 so as to deal with the act of malicious code such as viruses, worms and other programs designed with an aim of changing or damaging data on the computer (Title 18 U.S.C section 1030). This amendments enhanced the law because initially it focused on the access to the computer system without looking at how the computer system was used. The law was now able to prosecute those who executed illegal or malicious programs on computers with indention of causing damage to data or the computer. There are several acts that have been passed to add strength or deal with loopholes in CFAA. The National study Act (NIIA) was enacted in 1996 to protect computer systems against those who access them using other peoples authorization. Penalties under CFAA Offense M inimum meter Maximum sentence Getting national security information 10 social class 20 eld Unauthorized access in government computer 1 year 10 years Knowing access and damage 1 year 10 years Knowing access and reckless damage 5 years 20 years Trafficking in passwords 1 year 10 years Extortion involving threats of damage computer 5 years 10 years Theofel v. Farey-Jones in 2003 is a