Computer Misuse Act 1990 Essay

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Summary The age of the internet has thrown some real challenges to Computer Misuse Act 1990. As per the Government changes to this part of legislation, to address the main two challenges a) the increased number of “Denial of Service” attacks b) the creation and dissemination of number of hackers and the tools used by them. The Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA) underwent minor changes a) The crime of un-authorized access to the material on the computer is now an offence that is liable to a judicial trial b) the offence of unauthorized material modification on the computer is now replaced by offence of unauthorized acts with intent to harm the operation of the device. Hacking has been a huge problem almost for the time Internet has been in existence. Most people just love to try and break into any computer system. Before 1990, there was no law to address the problems that are caused by hacking. Though everyone knew that it is against the law, nothing that anyone could do about it. As the issue grew, it has become evident that specific legislation was needed to prosecute the hackers under the law. Hacking seen morally as the breach of privacy. The act came into force on 29th August 1990 …show more content…

The relatively very little number of prosecutions under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 convey testament to this. However, the Government has chosen to make changes to this legislation, to address some of its conscious weaknesses and to meet international commitments on the cybercrime. A combination of few short-sighted, or the simply stubborn and some forceful government change to the legal law during the Bill's passage through the Parliament has produced certain provisions which encourage the controversy, and could sometimes prove the difficult to interpret or to enforce, and may lead to the claims of legislative

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