Legislation relevant to Computer Science: Computer Misuse Act 1990

The Computer Misuse Act 1990 makes it illegal to access or modify computer data without authorisation. It covers several offences of increasing severity, from simple unauthorised access to causing serious damage.

Key points

• logging into someones account without permission
• accessing a system in order to commit another crime, such as stealing money
• deliberately damaging, disrupting, or infecting computer systems
• causing serious harm through attacks on important systems, such as hospitals
• making or sharing tools designed for hacking or computer misuse
• Exam Tip:You need to describe the offence AND give an EXAMPLE. Exam questions often present a scenario and ask which offence applies.
• Common Mistake:Listing offences without examples. Always include a specific scenario/example for each one.
• Exam Example:Computer Misuse Act applies when — a student guesses a teacher's password and accesses their account, a secretary accesses a lawyer's personal email without permission, or someone installs a keylogger on another's computer.
• Exam Tip:Note — if someone leaves their computer logged in and another person leaves a message on their desktop, this IS Computer Misuse Act (unauthorised use of someone else's account).