NCJ Number
129811
Date Published
1991
Length
266 pages
Annotation
Novel issues have arisen in connection with computer crime that involve criminal law, evidence, jurisdiction, and criminology. Responses to these issues in the United States and England are considered.
Abstract
Computer misuse has frequently been in the news over the past few years. Stories about computer fraud have vied with descriptions of teenage hackers breaking Pentagon computer access codes, the introduction of worms and viruses into computer systems, and the phenomenon of computer eavesdropping. Other concerns have been widespread computer software piracy and the unauthorized removal of confidential information held on computers. Legislative changes have been made in the United States to deal with computer crime, but progress in England has been slower. The first criminal statute in England to tackle the misuse of computers was passed in 1990. Other law reform initiatives on computer misuse are pending, particularly with respect to conspiracy to defraud. Developments in computer crime and related legal remedies are the focus of the book's seven chapters. The first two chapters examine the nature of computer misuse and the scale of the problem. The next two chapters focus on unauthorized access and use and on fraud and information theft. The fifth chapter discusses associated offenses such as description and damage, denial of access to authorized users, blackmail, corruption, and secondary liability. The final two chapters are devoted to the detection, proof, and prosecution of computer crime and to international dimensions of the problem. Appendixes contain computer crime bills in England and a law commission report on computer crime. Tables of statutes and cases in the United States and the United Kingdom are included. 272 references