NCJ Number
99845
Date Published
1985
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Section 1030 of the Federal Criminal Code is not an effective Federal computer crime statute; S. 1678, the Reagan administration's computer crime bill, would substantially improve the Federal computer crime statute.
Abstract
Subsection 1030(a), which proscribes the unauthorized use of a computer to obtain information related to national security, is unnecessary, because other statutes prohibit this whether or not a computer is used. This subsection also proscribes the unauthorized use of computers to obtain personal financial records. The proscription should also cover corporate financial records. Additionally, the subsection proscribes the unauthorized use of a Federal computer to use, modify, destroy, or disclose information or prevent authorized use of the computer. This does not make the access itself (a trespass) a crime. S. 1678 would make willfull, unauthorized accessing of a Federal computer a crime. S. 1678 would also make an offense of using a computer to commit fraud, an act not adequately covered under current Federal fraud and embezzlement statutes. This portion of the bill would be modeled on the Federal mail and wire fraud statutes. The bill also proscribes the unauthorized, willful destruction of any Federal computer or its data. It also contains a criminal forfeiture provision that requires any person convicted under the statute to forfeit any benefit gained from the offense. 5 footnotes.