Two years later, Congress significantly expanded the computer crime statute, and it became known as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
In fact, the original bill characterized the 1983 science fiction film WarGames as “a realistic representation of the automatic dialing and access capabilities of the personal computer.” Id. The purpose of the statute was to deter “the activities of so-called ‘hackers’ who” were accessing “both private and public computer systems.” Id. Congress recognized that the main issue underlying counterfeit credit cards was the potential for fraudulent use of ever-expanding and rapidly-changing computer technology. This original bill was in response to a growing problem in counterfeit credit cards and unauthorized use of account numbers or access codes to banking system accounts. § 1030, even before the more recognizable form of the modern Internet, i.e., the World Wide Web, was invented. In 1984, Congress passed the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, which included the first federal computer crime statute, later codified at 18 U.S.C. Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School, has called it “the worst law in technology.” While it is true that CFAA violations have been, at times, over-aggressively charged, the Supreme Court’s decision could drastically curtail how the CFAA can be used to curb trade secret misappropriation.Īs computer technology has proliferated and become more powerful over the years, Congress has expanded the CFAA-both in terms of its scope and its penalties-numerous times since its enactment. Opponents have long argued that the “without authorization or exceeds authorized access” language is so unreasonably broad that it criminalizes everyday, insignificant online acts such as password‑sharing and violations of websites’ Terms of Service.
It has proved very useful in civil and criminal cases of trade secret misappropriation where the trade secret information was obtained by accessing a computer “without authorization or exceed authorized access.” It is this language that provides the statute with so much flexibility to be used in trade secret cases and which the Supreme Court has decided to take a closer look at in its next term. The CFAA also provides a private right of action allowing compensation and injunctive relief for anyone harmed by a violation of the law. But Congress has amended it numerous times over the years, drastically expanding it to cover unauthorized access of any computer “used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication,” as well as a variety of other illicit computer activities such as committing fraud using a computer, trafficking in passwords, and damaging computer systems such as through a virus. The law as originally drafted was aimed at hackers who use computers to gain unauthorized access to government computers.
#WILLS PRODIGY HACKS MOVIE#
It is rumored that the Act was influenced by the 1983 movie WarGames, in which a teenager unintentionally starts a countdown to World War III when he hacks into a military supercomputer. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) is the embodiment of Congress’s first attempt to draft laws criminalizing computer hacking.