-
(Section 2)Unauthorised access to a computer system with intent to commit or facilitate the commission of a serious crime.
A person is guilty of an offence under this section if the person commits an offence under section 1 above with intent, to commit an offence to which this section applies; or to facilitate the commission of such an offence (whether by himself or by any other person)
-
(Section 3)Unauthorised modification of computer material or data.
A person is guilty of an offence if the person does any act which causes an unauthorised modification of the contents of any computer; and at the time when he does the act he has the requisite intent and the requisite knowledge.
The Computer Misuse Act prosecutions and penalties;
- The offence the intends to commit or facilitate is referred to applies to offences for which the sentence is fixed by law; or for which a person of twenty-one years of age or over (not previously convicted) may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of five years.
- A person guilty of an offence under(section 2) shall be liable on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both; and on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to a fine or to both.
- A person is guilty of an offence if he does any act which causes an unauthorised modification of the contents of any computer; and at the time when he does the act he has the requisite intent and the requisite knowledge.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act 1986
This act was mainly to do away with hacking. Any federal agency and/or the Secret Service are authorised to investigate any offences under this act.
The list below is what is considered illegal under this act.
-
(Section1)knowingly access without authorisation (or in excess of authorisation) any computer system, and in doing so obtain restricted or classified government information
-
(Section2)Knowingly access without authorisation (or in excess of authorisation) any computer system, and in doing so obtain financial information held by a financial institution, credit information held by a consumer reporting agency, or credit card information held by the issuer of credit cards.
-
(Section3)Intentionally and without authorisation access any computer of a department or agency of the United States if the computer is exclusively for their use, or if not exclusively for their use, in a way that affects the government’s use of the computer.
-
(Section4)Knowingly, and with intent to defraud, traffic in any password or similar information through which a computer can be accessed without authorisation if such trafficking affects interstate or foreign commerce or such computer is used by the government of the United States.
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act prosecutions and penalties;
The person who attempts to commit an offence from this act shall be punished as provided as shown below:
-
A fine or imprisonment for not more than ten years or both, in the case of an offence under (section1)
-
A fine or imprisonment for not more than two years, or both, in the case of an offence under (section 2)
-
A fine or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, in the case of an offence under (section 3)
-
A fine or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, in the case of an offence under (section 4)
Child Online Protection Act 1998
The word Child from this title means an individual at the age of 13 and under the age of 13. This act is implementing rules provide important new protections for kids who surf the net. The Act puts parents back in charge of their children's personal information online. It gives them the tools to control who collects personal information from their kids, how that information is used, and whether it is shared with third parties.
The Rule applies to operators of commercial Web sites and online services directed to children under the age of 13, and general audience sites that know that they are collecting personal information from a child. As shown below the sites must:
-
provide parents notice of their information practices;
-
obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting a child's personal information, with certain limited exceptions;
-
give parents a choice as to whether their child's information will be disclosed to third parties;
-
provide parents access to their child's personal information and allow them to review it and/or have it deleted;
-
give parents the opportunity to prevent further use or collection of information;
-
not require a child to provide more information than is reasonably necessary to participate in an activity; and
-
maintain the confidentiality, security, and integrity of information collected from children.
The Child Online Protection Act 1998 prosecutions and penalties;
- Prohibited conduct.-Whoever knowingly and with knowledge of the character of the material, in interstate or foreign commerce by means of the World Wide Web, makes any communication for commercial purposes that is available to any minor and that includes any material that is harmful to minors shall be fined not more than $50,000, imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 covers the copyright of software. An offence is committed under this Act if you make unauthorised copies of a software package, whether for personal use or for sale.
This act provides legal protection for original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, for films, sound recordings, broadcasts and cable programmes, and for typographical arrangements of published editions.
Software is generally not sold outright to the purchaser. Instead the purchaser is granted the right to use it as laid down in the user licence. It is normally expected that only one person at a time will have access to and use the software concerned. A network licence may be purchased, normally at a reduced rate, for a defined number of users. A site licence may be available to cover all unlimited users within the premises.
It is thus illegal to make copies of software without the copyright owner's consent, or to duplicate software loaded on a hard disk for use on any other personal computer unless allowed for under the licence.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 prosecutions and penalties;
Unauthorized use, distribution, or replication, either in part or in whole, of any portion of this site may result in severe civil and criminal punishment to the fullest extent of the law.
- Anyone convicted of an offence under this act can expect a fine of unlimited amount plus a prison sentence ranging up to a maximum of 2 years
Computers Crimes Act 1988
The purposes of Computers Crimes Act 1988 are to make further provision for offences relating to the manipulation of computers and other machines and the falsification of documents and to amend certain penalties. This Act comes into operation on a day or days to be proclaimed.
As shown below the acts declare;
- Computer related crime is a growing problem in government as well as in the private sector.
- Computer related crime occurs at great cost to the public since losses for each incident of computer crime tend to be far greater than the losses associated with each incident of other white collar crime.
- The opportunities for computer related crimes in financial institutions, government programs, government records, and other business enterprises through the introduction of fraudulent records into a computer system, the unauthorized use of computer facilities, the alteration or destruction of computerized information or files, and the stealing of financial instruments, data, and other assets, are great.
- While various forms of computer crime might possibly be the subject of criminal charges based on other provisions of law, it is appropriate and desirable that a supplemental and additional statute be provided which proscribes various forms of computer abuse.
Official Secrets Acts 1911-1989
The Official Secrets Acts 1911-1989 establish severe criminal penalties for any person who discloses any material which relates to security, intelligence, defence or international relations and which has come into that person’s possession through an unauthorised disclosure by a Crown Servant or Government contractor.
They also cover material which has been legitimately disclosed by a Crown Servant or Government contractor on terms requiring it to be kept confidential or in circumstances in which it might reasonably be expected to be treated as confidential. This means that certain information handled by the University’s departments may be covered by the provisions of the Acts, particularly if such information concerns a project specifically commissioned by a Government office.
You must ensure that any such material is securely stored and avoid displaying it on the University’s IT facilities.
Criminal Law
The incitement to commit a crime is a criminal offence in itself, regardless of whether a crime has actually been committed or not. This includes the provision of information via computerised services which facilitates any of the activities which this code has highlighted as criminal offences.
You must not place links to sites which facilitate hacking and activities of a similar nature, not place links to sites where copyright protected works, such as computer software, are unlawfully distributed, place links to Bulletin Boards which are likely to publish defamatory materials, place links to sites which display pornographic materials and not place links to Bulletin Boards which are likely to contain discriminatory statements.
Anti-Cybercrime Act of 2002
The Anti-Cybercrime Act of 2002 seeks to punish crimes in which the computer is used as the tool.
Some of the relevant provisions deal with:
- punishable acts and corresponding penalties;
- provision on corporate liabilities, conspiracy and accomplice;
- attempted Cybercrime;
- reaction of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Council;
- preservation and disclosure of computer data and traffic record; and
- international cooperation and jurisdiction
Anyone convicted of an offence under this act can expect a fine of unlimited amount plus a prison sentence ranging up to a maximum of 2 years
The Computer Security Act of 1987
The Computer Security Act of 1987, is a Public Law, requires each Federal agency to identify all Federal computer systems that contain sensitive information and implement security plans to protect these systems. The Computer Security Act defines the term "sensitive information" as any unclassified information, which could adversely affect the:
- national interest,
- conduct of Federal programs, or
- privacy to which individuals are entitled under the Privacy Act of 1974.
Agencies are required to protect this information against loss, misuse, disclosure or modification.
