Author Archives: Shawn E. Tuma

comScore Lawsuit and that Pesky Loss Requirement of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

A jurisdictional threshold to bringing a civil Computer Fraud and Abuse Act claim is that the plaintiffs satisfy the $5,000 loss requirement–generally only costs constitute a loss–not economic damages or violated privacy rights. If you were at the Continuing Legal Education seminar I presented this past Monday, you’ve already heard this, right? You also heard …

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Presenting a CLE to the Dallas Bar Association on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

Title: “The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: A Lunch Sampler With Something For Everyone” Presenter: Shawn E. Tuma When: 12:00 Noon on Monday, August 22, 2011 Where: The Belo Mansion (Dallas Bar Association) More information? CLE Events: Computer, Securities | Dallas Bar Association The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of the Computer Fraud …

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“What Does CFAA Mean and Why Should I Care?”–A Primer on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for Civil Litigators

The following is an abstract of my latest law review article that is being published by the University of South Carolina Law Review.The title of the article is “What Does CFAA Mean and Why Should I Care?”–A Primer on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for Civil Litigators. It should be out in the late …

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Deputy Constable Indicted Under Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for Accessing Plate Info

A deputy constable was indicted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for wrongfully accessing the state computer system to perform license plate checks after he had been bribed to provide protection for a drug carrying vehicle.   This occurred in Laredo, Texas which will fall within the 5th Circuit’s United States v. John precedent and, therefore, …

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Discussion of Problems with Proposed Cybercrime Legislation

There are many proposals floating around Capitol Hill that will purport to beef up our nation’s current cybercrime laws, first and foremost the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. I have recently read two very good articles that do a nice job of explaining many of the inadequacies of the proposed legislation and is well worth …

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My Experience With Lawyer Coaching

You may be asking yourself why any lawyer would need a coach? I once asked myself this same question. To get to the answer you have to first understand the simple fact that a law practice–any law practice–cannot succeed without clients. In a private law firm practice your clients usually come from two sources: other …

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Improperly Sharing Website Login Info Could Be Federal Crime

Sharing or borrowing login credentials to a paid website or online account in a way that is prohibited by the site’s Terms of Service could get you into trouble for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. This is what is alleged in the case KWG Partners, LLC v. Jeremy Sigel, JNS Reality, John Does …

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Senate Committee Hearing on Updating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary will hold a full committee hearing on updating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act at 10:00 AM on August 3, 2011. The hearing can be viewed by webcast through this LINK. The title of the hearing is “Cybercrime: Updating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to Protect Cyberspace and …

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Using a fake login to access a website may violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

BEWARE: if you create a fake login to access and obtain information from a website you could be violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. This is what was alleged in a lawsuit against AtHomeNet, Inc. in the lawsuit Associateionvoice, Inc. v. AtHomeNet, Inc. Ultimately the parties reached a settlement that led to the entry …

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Data Breach – Who’s Gonna Get It?

The message–that’s what I’m talking about–who’s gonna get the message first? Data breaches, hacking, and privacy are one of the biggest news stories for 2011 and we are just just barely through the first half of the year. By now even the most zoned-out among us should have heard of the hacking that led to …

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