/* BBS LEGAL GUIDE COMMENTARY: Here's the federal computer crimes

law, 18 U.S.C. 1030,adopted 1984, amended 1986) */

SECTION 1030

(a) Whoever-

(1) knowingly access a computer without authorization or

exceeds authorized access, and by means of such conduct obtains

information that has been determined by the United States

Government pursuant to an Executive Order or statute to require

protection against unauthorized disclosure for reasons of

national defense or foreign relations, or any restricted data, as

defined in paragraph r. of section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of

1954 [Cited as 42 U.S.C. Section 2014(r)] with the intent or

reason to believe that such information so obtained is to be used

to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any

foreign nation;

(2) intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or

exceeds authorized access, and thereby obtains information

contained in a financial records of a financial institution, or

of a card issuer as defined in section 1602(n) of title 15, or

contained in a file of a consumer reporting agency on a consumer,

as such times are defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, (15

U.S.C. 1681 et seq);

(3) intentionally, without authorization to access any computer

of a department or agency of the United States, accesses such a

computer of that department or agency that is exclusively for the

use of the Government of the United States, or, in the case of a

computer not exclusively for such use,is used by or for the

Government of the United States and such conduct affects the use

of the Government's operation of such computer;

(4) knowingly and with the intent to defraud. accesses a Federal

interest computer without authorization, or exceeds authorized

access, and by means of such conduct furthers the intended fraud

and obtains anything of value, unless the object of the fraud and

the thing obtained consists only of the use of the computer;

(5) intentionally access a Federal interest computer without

authorization, and by means of one or more instances of such

conduct alters, damages, or destroys information in any such

Federal interest computer, or prevents authorized use of any such

computer or information, and thereby--

(A) causes loss to one or more others of a value aggregating $

1,000 or more during any one year period; or

(B) modifies or impairs, or potentially modifies or impairs, the

medical examination, medical diagnosis, medical treatment, or

medical care of one or more individuals; or

(6) knowingly and with the intent to defraud traffics (as defined

in section 1029) in any password or similar information through

which a computer may be accessed without authorization, if

(A) such trafficking affects interstate or foreign commerce; or

(B) such computer is used by or for the Government of the United

States;

shall be punished as provided in subsection (c) of this section.

(b) Whoever attempts to commit an offense under subsection (a) of

this section shall be punished as provided in subsection (c) of

this section.

(c) The punishment for an offense under subsection (a) or (b) of

this section is --

(1)(A) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than

ten years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection

(a)(1) of this section which does not occur after a conviction

for another offense under such subsection, or an attempt to

commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph; and

(B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than

twenty years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection

(a)(1) of this section which occurs after a conviction for

another offense under such subsection, or an attempt to commit an

offense punishable under this subparagraph; and

(2)(A) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than

one year, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection

(a)(2), (a)(3) or (a)(6) of this section which does not occur

after a conviction for another offense under such subsection, or

an attempt to commit an offense punishable under this

subparagraph; and

B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten

years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection

(a)(2), (a)(3) or (a)(6) of this section which occurs after a

conviction for another offense under such subsection, or an

attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph;

and

(3)(A) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than

five years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection

(a)(4) or (a)(5) of this section which does not occur after a

conviction for another offense under such subsection, or an

attempt to commit an offense punishable under this subparagraph;

and

(B) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten

years, or both, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(4)

or (a)(5) of this section which occurs after a conviction for

another offense under such subsection, or an attempt to commit an

offense punishable under this subparagraph.

(d) The United States Secret Service shall, in addition to any

other agency having such authority, have the authority to

investigate offenses under this section. Such authority of the

United States Secret Service shall be exercised in accordance

with an agreement which shall be entered into by the Secretary of

the Treasury and the Attorney General.

(e) As used in this section--

(1) the term "computer" means an electronic, magnetic, optical,

electrochemical, or other high speed data processing device

performing logical, arithmetic, or storage functions, and

includes any data storage facility or communications facility

directly related to or operation in conjunction with such device,

but such term does not include an automated typewriter or

typesetter, a portable hand held calculator, or other similar

device;

(2) the term "Federal interest computer" means a computer--

(A) exclusively for the use of a financial institution or the

United States Government, or, in the case of a computer not

exclusively for such use, used by or for a financial institution

or the United States government and the conduct constituting the

offense affects the use of the financial institution's operation

or the Government's operation of such computer; or

(B) which is one of two or more computers used in committing the

offense, not all of which are located in the same State;

(3) the term "State" includes the District of Columbia, the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and other other possession or

territory of the United States;

(4) the term "financial institution means--

(A) a bank with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation;

(B) the Federal Reserve or a member of the Federal Reserve

including any Federal Reserve Bank;

(C) an institution with accounts insured by the Federal Savings

and Loan Insurance Corporation;

(D) a credit union with accounts insured by the Federal National

Credit Union administration;

(E) a member of the Federal Home Loan bank system and any home

loan bank;

(F) any institution of the Farm Credit System under the Farm

Credit Act of 1971;

(G) a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange

Commission pursuant to section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act

of 1934; and

(H) the Securities Investor Protection Corporation;

(5) the term "financial record" means information derived from

any record held by a financial institution pertaining to a

customer's relationship with the financial institution;

(6) the term "exceeds authorized access" means to access a

computer with authorization and to use such access to obtain or

alter information in the computer that the accesser is not

entitled so to obtain or alter; and

(7) the term "department of the United States" means the

legislative or judicial branch of the Government or one of the

executive department[s] enumerated in section 101 of title 5.

(f) This section does not prohibit any lawfully authorized

investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law

enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a political

subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the

United States.