Computer and internet

The Computer Misuse Act 1990 introduced the power to prosecute individuals whom deliberately, and without authority, misuse computer systems. The Act establishes three offences: 

1. Unauthorised Access (Hacking): A person is guilty of an offence when they cause a computer to perform any function with intent to knowingly secure unauthorised access to any program or data held in any computer. An authorised user who exceeds their authority and gains unauthorised access to parts of a system, data or software is guilty of an offence as well as an individual from outside the organisation who has "hacked" into the system. 

2. Ulterior Intent ('Aggravated Hacking'): This offence is committed when unauthorised access is made to a computer system with the intention of carrying out or facilitating a further serious crime, which carries a maximum sentence of five years or more. 

3. Unauthorised Modification: This offence is committed by any individual who alters any program or data with the intention of corrupting the data or anyone who changes an access control system to either include a new password or delete another password when they are not authorised to do so. It also covers an individual who introduces a virus or other intentionally destructive item into the software. The offence is committed regardless of whether the modification is permanent or temporary, whether it happens straight away or at some time in the future. 

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 makes it clear that the copyright holder is given certain exclusive rights which include the right to make and distribute copies. Section 16 states that the owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to copy the work. This means that it is illegal to copy software without the copyright owner's permission.

Information Commissioner's Office website

A brief summary of offences is provided below. For further information, please visit the Information Commissioner's Office website. 

• Holding personal data without being registered, or without having applied for registration. 
• Knowingly or recklessly holding data, using data, obtaining or disclosing data, transferring data other than as described in the register entry. 
• Knowingly or recklessly supplying the Registrar with false or misleading information on application for registration or change of particulars. 
• Knowingly or recklessly disclosing personal data without the Data User's authority. 

The Sussex Police Hi Tech Crime Unit deals with and assists other departments within Sussex Police with investigating fraud. The Unit deals with such crimes as hacking offences and denial of service attacks, and especially where the computer itself is the victim of unauthorised access.