| theopenworld.com must, under the law of
the United Kingdom, clearly state to all of its users (whether
or not residents or users in the United Kingdom) the Computer
Misuse Act 1990. For your own reference we have summarised the
larger document into a clear and comprehensible summary. We
would like to remind all of our users that we do not pass-on any
of your details to anyone else.
Under Section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act
1990:
A person is guilty of an offence if:-
- he causes a computer to perform any function with intent
to secure access to any program or data held in any computer
- the access he intends to secure is unauthorised; and
- he knows at the time when he causes the computer to
perform the function that this is the case
The intent a person has to have to commit an offence under
this section need not be directed at:-
- any particular program or data
- a program or data of any particular kind; or
- a program or data in any particular computer
The Act defines that a person found guilty of this offence
shall be liable on conviction to a maximum prison sentence of
six months or a maximum fine of £2000 or both.
This Section can be summarised by stating that it is an
offence to gain unauthorised access to a computer system. This
includes causing a computer to perform a function with intent to
secure access to any program or data, knowing that the access is
unauthorised. Note that this is an offence regardless of whether
the motives for access were well-meaning or malicious. Access to
any program or data held in a computer system is a wide
definition and includes altering/erasing the program or data,
copying it, moving it, using it and having it output from the
computer in which it is held.
Examples of such offences could include unauthorised use of
another persons username and password, persistently trying to
guess a username and password, and laying a trap to obtain a
password or password file.
Section 3 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 states that it is
an offence to cause unauthorised modification of computer
material.
The Act defines that a person found guilty of this offence
shall be liable on conviction to a maximum prison sentence of
five years or an unlimited fine or both. Examples of offences
under this section would be deleting another users files,
modifying system files, introduction of viruses, or deliberately
generating information to cause a complete system malfunction.
The Act also states that on a charge of attempting to commit an
offence as outlined above, it is immaterial to the accused's
guilt where the attempt to gain unauthorised access was made.
Note: We hope that the sentences
outlined above emphasise the gravity of unauthorised use of
computer systems. We would also like to make the point that this
sort of activity is a nuisance. |
