8 Legal Issues And Data Security

8.1 The Computer Missuse Act 1990

This act made it a criminal offence for anyone to access or to modify computer held data or software without authority, or attempt to do so.

It created three specific offenses:

1. Access is deliberate and unauthorised.
2. Access is without authority and with attention to commit a further offense (either immediately or in the future).
3. A person does any deliberate act that causes an unauthorised modification of the computers contents.

Note that:

• Conspiring, attempting and inciting others are all offences.
• The prosecution does not have to have proof that actions were directed towards particular items of data or programs.
• The accused need not be in the U.K. at the time of the offence.
• The computer data need not be in the U.K.

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