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- ANTI-HACKING
-
-
- A BILL
-
-
- To create offences of unauthorised access to
- electronically stored data and its transmission;
- to confer powers of monitoring, search, seizure
- and destruction of such data; and for related
- purposes
-
-
- Presented by Emma Nicholson
-
-
-
-
-
- Offences
-
- 1.(1) (a) A person who effects unauthorised access to a computer or
- computer system either
- (i) to his own or another's advantage; or
- (ii)to another's prejudice;
- or
- (b) being reckless as to whether his action would result in
- (i) his own or another's advantage; or
- (ii) another's perjudice;
- shall be guilty of an offence.
-
- (2) A person who without lawful authority or reasonable excuse has
- in his custody or under his control anything with the intention
- of effecting unauthorised access to a computer or computer
- system to enable some act or acts to his own or another's
- advantage or to another's prejudice, shall be guilty of an
- offence.
-
- (3) A person who, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse,
- transmits, receives, or causes to be transmitted or received
- by means of wire, radio or television communications including
- electro-magnetic waves, any writing, signals, signs, pictures
- or sound
- (a) with the intention of committing an act
-
- (i) to his own or another's advantage; or
- (ii)to another's prejudice;
- or
- (b) being reckless as to whether his action would result in
-
- (i) his own or another's advantage; or
- (ii) another's perjudice;
- shall be guilty of an offence.
-
- (4) A person commits and offence if he effects unauthorised access
- to the computer of another for an unauthorised purpose.
-
- Penalties
-
- 2.(1) A person guilty under section 1(1) above shall be liable-
-
- (a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine, or to imprisonment
- for a term not exceeding ten years or to both; or
-
- (b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on
- the standard scale.
-
- (2) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) or (3) of
- section 1 above shall be liable -
-
- (a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine, or to imprisonment
- for a term not exceeding five years or to both; or
-
- (b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on
- the standard scale.
-
- (3) A person guilty of an offence under section 1(4) above shall
- be liable on summsry conviction to a fine not exceeding level
- 5 on the standard scale.
-
- Powers of search
- and seizure
-
- 3.(1) If it appears to a Justice of Peace, from information given
- on oath, that there is reasonable cause to believe that a
- person has in his custody or under his control -
-
- (a) anything which he or another has used, whether before or
- after the coming into force of this act, or intends to
- use, for the making of anything in contravention of
- section 1(2) above or
-
- (b) any unauthorised documentation obtained by the unauthorised
- accessing of a computer of another, whether before or after
- the coming into force of this act or
-
- (c) anything, custody or control of which, an offence under
- section 1(2) above; he may issue a warrant authorising a
- constable to enter and search the premises.
-
- (2) If it appears to a Judge of the Crown Court from information
- given to him on oath that there is reasonable cause to believe
- an electronic device is being used to unlawfully access the
- computer of another, he may authorise the monitoring of such
- a device, by the police, by electronic means, in order to
- intercept the transmitted data and to produce evidence of
- unauthorised access
-
- (3) A constable may at any time after the seizure of anything
- suspected of falling within paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection
- (1) of this section (whether the seizure was effected by virtue
- of a warrant under that section or otherwise) apply to a
- magistrates court for an order under this subsection with
- respect to the object; and the court, if it is satisfied both
- that the object falls within any of those paragraphs and that
- it is conducive to the public interest to do so, may make
- such an order as it thinks fit for the forfeiture of the object
- and its subsequent destruction or disposal.
-
- (4) Subject to subsection (5) below the court by, or before, which
- a person is convicted of an offence under this Act may order
- anything shown to the satisfaction of the court to relate to
- the offence to be forfeited and either destroyed or dealt with
- in such other manner as the court may order.
-
- (5) The court shall not order anything to be forfeited under
- subsection (4) above where a person claiming to be the owner
- of, or otherwise interested in it, applies to be heard by the
- court unless an opportunity has been given to him to show cause
- why the order should not be made.
-
- Interpretation
-
- 4.(1) In this Act -
-
- "computer" includes any device for storing and processing
- information or communications facility directly relating to,
- or operating in conjunction with, such device.
-
- "wire" includes any wire, cable, printed circuit, or any means
- by which communications can be transmitted.
-
- "unauthorised access" includes access by a person who is
- authorised to have access to a computer, but who exceeds the
- terms of such authorisation.
-
- "another" includes any person, body corporate, institution,
- firm, association, trust, or any other body of persons.
-
- "prejudice" is caused if, and only if, an action leads to -
-
- (i) The temporary or permanent loss of property or
- information; or
- (ii) The deprivation of an opportunity to earn remuneration
- or greater remuneration; or
- (iii) The deprivation of an opportunity to gain financial
- advantage otherwise than by way of remuneration.
-
- (2) In this section "loss" includes not getting what one might get
- as well as parting with what one has.
-
- Jurisdiction
-
- 5. A court within England and Wales shall have jurisdiction for
- an offence under this Act if at the time the offence was
- committed -
-
- (a) the accused was within England and Wales; or
-
- (b) the computer or computer system in relation to the offence
- was within England and Wales; or
-
- (c) the communiction links through which such an offence was
- committed are within England and Wales; or
-
- (d) the proceeds of the said offences are, or deposited,
- processed or transferred from within England and Wales.
-
- 6.(1) This Act may be cited as the Anti-Hacking Act 1989.
-
- (2) This act does not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland.
-
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