Computer Misuse Act 1990
The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is an Act of the UK Parliament. The act's introduction followed to the decision in the Regina v .Gold case, with the bill's critics charging it was introduced hastily and was poorly thought out. The bill nonetheless became a model upon which several other countries drew inspiration when subsequently drafting their own information security laws.
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The Computer Misuse Act
Based on the ELC's recommendations, a Private Member's Bill was introduced by Conservative M.P. Michael Colvin. The bill, supported by the government, came into effect in 1990. The Act introduces two criminal offences:
- By §1 it is an offence to make "unauthorised access to computer material"
- By §2 this may be aggravated if a person obtains unauthorised access to computer material with the intent to commit another criminal offence (the ulterior motive offence).
- By §3 it is an offence to make "unauthorised modification of computer material".
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Further ramifications of the act
The CMA was studied by lawmakers from a number of jurisdictions, and several (including Canada and the Republic of Ireland) introduced legislation with similar provisions to the CMA's.
A number of legal analysts claimed the bill was hastily drafted and overreaching in its scope. Intent, they said, was difficult to prove, and that the bill inadequately differentiated "joyriding" crackers like Gold and Schifreen from serious computer criminals.
In 2004 the All Party Internet Group published its review of the law and highlighted areas for development. Their recommendations led to the drafting of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (Amendment) Bill. This strove to amend the 1990 act to comply with the European Convention on Cyber Crime. Under its terms, the maximum sentence of imprisonment for breaching the act changed from six months to two years. It also sought to explicitly criminalise denial-of-service attacks and other crimes facilitated by denial-of-service. The Bill did not receive Royal Assent because Parliament was prorogued.
Schifreen now works as a university computer technician, and also gives speeches on his experiences (often appearing with the detective who originally arrested him). Gold works as an independent computer security consultant.
Legal citations
- R v. Gold and another, House of Lords (UK), [1988] 1 AC 1063, [1988] 2 All ER 186, [1988] 2 WLR 984, 87 Cr App Rep 257, 152 JP 445, [1988] Crim LR 437. (The case is also known as Regina v. Gold and Schifreen).