Computer Misuse Act 1990

This lesson covers the Computer Misuse Act 1990 for the OCR A-Level Computer Science (H446) specification, section 1.5. This is the primary UK law that criminalises unauthorised access to computer systems and data.

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Background

The Computer Misuse Act 1990 was introduced to criminalise hacking and other forms of unauthorised computer access. Before this Act, there was no specific UK law against hacking -- a gap highlighted by the case of Robert Schifreen and Steve Gold, who accessed BT's Prestel system in 1984 but could not be convicted under existing laws.

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The Three Main Offences

Section 1: Unauthorised Access to Computer Material

Aspect	Detail
Offence	Intentionally accessing a computer system without authorisation.
Intent required	The person must know that the access is unauthorised.
Example	Guessing or stealing someone's password to read their emails.
Penalty	Up to 2 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

This is the "basic hacking" offence. It does not require any intent to commit further crimes -- merely accessing the system without permission is enough.