82 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
82 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
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Computer Hackers Beware!
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Senate Passes Computer Fraud And Abuse Act
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The Senate October 2 unanimously passed the Computer
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Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986. The bill, s. 2281, imposes
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fines of up to $500,000 and/or prison terms of up to 20
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years for breaking into government or financial
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institutions' computers.
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The Federal Government alone operates more than 18,000
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medium-scale and large-scale computers at some 4,500
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different sites. the Office of Technology Assessment
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estimates the government's investment in computers over the
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past four years at roughly $60 million. The General Services
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Administration estimates that there will be 250,000 to
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500,000 computers in use by the Federal Government by 1990.
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In 1984, Legislators' attention to and concern about
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computer fraud was heightened by a report by the American
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Bar Association task force on computer crime. According to
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the report, based on a survey of 1,000 private organizations
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and public agencies, percent of the 283 respondents had been
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victimized by some form of computer crime, and more than 25
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percent had sustained financial losses totaling between an
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estimated $145 million and $730 million during one twelve-
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month period.
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To address this problem, the Senate and House enacted,
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in 1984, the first computer statute (18 u.s.c. 1030). Early
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this year both the House and Senate introduced legislation
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to expand and amend this statute.
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In the current bill, which is expected to be signed by
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President Reagan next week, penalties will be imposed on
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anyone who knowingly or intentionally accesses a computer
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without authorization, or exceeds authorized access and:
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(1) Obtains from government computers information
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relating to national defense and foreign relations.
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(2) Obtains information contained in financial records
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of financial institutions.
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(3) Affects the use of the government's operation of a
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computer in any department or agency of the
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government that is exclusively for the use of the
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U.S. Government.
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(4) Obtains anything of value, unless the object of the
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fraud and the thing obtained consists only of the
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use of the computer.
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(5) Alters, Damages, or Destroys Information in any
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federal interest computer, or prevents authorized
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use of any such computer or information.
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Under the bill, a person would be guilty of computer
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fraud if he or she causes a loss of $1,000 or more during
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any one year period.
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Depending on the offense, penalties include fines up to
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$100,000 for a misdemeanor, $250,000 for a felony, $500,000
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if the crime is committed by an organization, and prison
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terms of up to 20 years.
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The bill also prohibits traffic in passwords and other
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information from computers used for interstate or foreign
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commerce. This part of the bill makes it possible for
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Federal Prosecutors to crack down on Pirate Bulletin Boards
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and similar operations because the bill covers business
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computers, online networks, and online news and information
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services, all of which are considered interstate commerce.
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