The scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act's Sect. 1030(a)(5)(A) is
especially broad, dangerously so even before the ATA would attempt to
redefine violations of this section as "terrorism". It criminalizes
the following:
(5)(A) [one who] knowingly causes the transmission of a program,
information, code, or command, and as a result of such conduct,
intentionally causes damage without authorization, to a protected
computer [is in violation of the statute];
One thing they do not note is the definition of "protected computer" is
ANY computer that connect to an interstate network, including via
modem. So if that PC is/"can be" connected to the Internet or AOL, or a
Banking network, it is a "protected computer." (By can be, means it has
a modem and has the software to connect. A brand new system mught be a
grey area, but it is doubtful to be an issue.)
So be careful when people say it effects "government computers." All
the federal laws I have spotted, reference "protected computers."
For bill texts and analyses, see the EFF Surveillance Archive:
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/
The source:
About EFF:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties
organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded
in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and
government to support free expression, privacy, and openness in the
information society. EFF is a member-supported organization and
maintains one of the most linked-to Web sites in the world:
http://www.eff.org
--
Zot O'Connor
http://www.ZotConsulting.com
http://www.WhiteKnightHackers.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sun May 26 2002 - 11:28:46 PDT