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Forgive Me My Trespasses
Mark Rasch, 2003-09-08

How a recent federal appeals court decision makes virtually everyone a computer criminal.

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Forgive Me My Trespasses 2003-09-08
jcj.2.jjames@spamgourmet.com
Forgive Me My Trespasses 2003-09-08
Paul Lawrence (3 replies)
Forgive Me My Trespasses 2003-09-09
Anonymous (1 replies)
The Slope DOES Slip 2003-09-09
Mark Rasch (1 replies)
Forgive Me My Trespasses 2003-09-09
Mark Rasch (1 replies)
A "trespass" is, by definition, an unauthorized "access." The federal statute and caselaw define "access" as "to use the recources of" a computer or network. It is not the ACCESS to the information without authorization that triggers the computer crime statute -- it is the access to the computer that is the crime.

Trespass to chattels is a different but analogous concept to actual or virtual trespass -- and isnt the same as unauthorized access, so the case, by its terms, does not apply to such trespasses -- but represents another extension of "computer crime" to things that are independent of computers. The court created a new crime of "improperly obtaining information stored at some point in time on a computer."

MDR

T

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Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/183/22119#22119
Forgive Me My Trespasses 2003-09-10
Anonymous
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Forgive Me My Trespasses 2003-09-11
koolradkev
This sounds great to me 2003-09-11
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Forgive Me My Trespasses 2003-09-11
Jay Johnson







 

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