You are viewing a free preview of this lesson.
Subscribe to unlock all 10 lessons in this course and every other course on LearningBro.
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.
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.
| 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.
Subscribe to continue reading
Get full access to this lesson and all 10 lessons in this course.