Category Archives: Computer Fraud

Are you planning to go to SecureWorld-Dallas?

Are you planning to go to SecureWorld-Dallas on 10/28? If so, plan on dropping in on my session discussing “Cybersecurity Legal Trends: The Evolving Standard of Care for Companies and Management” http://t.co/Ubj6wmOGch

In a first, Chinese hackers are arrested at the behest of the U.S. government – The Washington Post

This is shocking. Let’s see where it goes. The Chinese government has quietly arrested a handful of hackers at the urging of the U.S. government — an unprecedented step to defuse tensions with Washington at a time when the Obama administration has threatened economic sanctions. Source: In a first, Chinese hackers are arrested at the …

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Texas Broadens Unauthorized Access of Computer Law to Specifically Address Insider Misuse

Not that it was really needed, but Texas just amended its unauthorized access of computers law to specifically address misuse by insiders. I have always read the prior version (one of the broadest) as already prohibiting misuse by insiders. But, that is ok. As someone who regularly explains how these laws work to judges and juries, …

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Fifth Circuit: Accessing Computer Per Later-Overturned Order Does Not Violate CFAA

In Land and Bay Gauging L.L.C. v. Shor, –Fed.Appx — (5th Cir. Aug. 21, 2015), the Fifth Circuit recently held that accessing a computer under the authority of a court order that authorizes the access is sufficient to render the access as being authorized, even if the order is later overturned. An essential element under …

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Those 3rd party IT audit provisions you

Those 3rd party IT audit provisions you’re seeing in Privacy & Data Security Addenda to contracts – this is why: Hillary Clinton’s email firm was run from a loft apartment with its servers in the bathroom

The CFAA Requires Access of a Computer — Not Just Access to Information

To have a valid CFAA claim, there must be an access to a computer. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is often referred to as an “access crime” because the act that is prohibited is accessing a computer. Misusing information that someone else obtained from a computer is not accessing a computer. Doing so may …

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Using Single Individual Password to Access News Site to Share Info With Others is Not CFAA Interruption of Service

A person’s use of his single individual use password to access a news site to access content that he then shared with over 100 other people did not cause any impairment to the integrity or availability of data or loss due to interruption of service as required to bring a civil claim under the Computer Fraud …

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Employers Receive Friendly Computer-Fraud-And-Abuse-Act Ruling From Louisiana Court

The U.S. Eastern District of Louisiana recently sided with employers in the on-going judicial debate over interpreting the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act “CFAA”. See Associated Pump & Supply Co., LLC v. Dupre, et al., No. 14-0009 E.D. La.. Associated Pump sued its former employee Kevin Dupre for violating CFAA during his alleged scheme to steal Associated Pump’s trade …

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US v. Nosal Court Orders Restitution of $827,983.25

On April 24, 2013, a jury convicted Defendant David Nosal of three counts of computer fraud in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act “CFAA”, 18 U.S.C. § 1030a4, two counts of unauthorized downloading, copying, and duplicating of trade secrets without authorization, in violation of the Economic Espionage Act “EEA”, 18 U.S.C. § 1832a2, …

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Lack of $5k Loss Leads to Dismissal of CFAA Claim Against Ex-Spouse for Surreptitious Computer Monitoring

In Morgan v. Preston, 2013 WL 5963563 (M.D. Tenn. Nov. 7 2013), the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee dismissed a Computer Fraud and Abuse Act claim brought by one ex-spouse against the other. The basis for the CFAA claim was, following their separation and filing for divorce, the one spouse had installed Spector Pro …

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