Computer Misuse Act (1990)
Computer Science: OCR A Level, topic 5.1.2
Computer Misuse Act (1990)
The Computer Misuse Act (1990) was introduced to protect against hacking and cybercrime. It consists of three offences:
Unauthorised access
- It is illegal to attempt to access a computer or its contents without authorisation.
Unauthorised access with intent
- It is illegal to attempt to access a network or device with the intent of committing further criminal activity.
Unauthorised modification
- It is illegal to intend to modify or destroy a computer system, software or data without authorisation.
- For example, this makes creating, obtaining or deploying malware a criminal offence.
Test yourself on Computer Misuse Act (1990)
An employee guesses their manager's password and logs into their account to read private files. Which offence under the Computer Misuse Act has been committed?
A cleaner has found that a computer in an office has been left unlocked. The cleaner uses the computer to check their emails. Is this a breach of the computer misuse act?