⇒ The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is designed to protect information kept on computers.

⇒The term 'computer' is not defined in the Act. No doubt any attempted definition would rapidly become out of date.

⇒ This offence is designed to punish people who try to gain access to unauthorised data.

1. A person is guilty of an offence if—

1. he causes a computer to perform any function with intent to secure access to any program or data held in any computer, or to enable any such access to be secured;
2. the access he intends to secure, or to enable to be secured, is unauthorised; and
3. he knows at the time when he causes the computer to perform the function that that is the case.

2. The intent a person has to have to commit an offence under this section need not be directed at—

1. any particular program or data;
2. a program or data of any particular kind; or
3. a program or data held in any particular computer.

⇒ The actus reus of the offence is simply causing the computer to 'perform any function'.

• This could include switching the computer on.
• It should be emphasised that there is no need to show that the defendant actually reached unathorised material, only that he or she intended to do so.

⇒ The mens rea of the offence can be broken down into three elements:

1. An intention to secure or enable access to any program or data on the computer.
2. The intended access to the data must be unauthorised.
3. The defendant knows that he or she is not authorised to access the program or data.

⇒ The offence in section 2 is more serious than in section 1.

⇒ It requires proof that the defendant commited an offence udner section and in addition that he or she intended to commit or facilitate the commission of a serious arrestale offence (e.g. theft).

⇒ The actus reus of this offence, under section 3(1), is 'any unathorised act in relation to a computer'; the mens rea is an intent to do the act and by so doing:

• to impair the operation of any computer;
• to prevent or hinder access to any program or data held in any computer;
• to impair the operation of any such program or the reliability of any such data; or
• to enable any of the things mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c) above to be done.

⇒ It is also necessary to show that the defendant knew that the act was unauthorised.

⇒ Thus, a defendant has a defence if he or she was authorised to modify a program to some extent, but by mistake modified much more than he or she intended.