Federal Computer Crime Laws

The Internet has been a boon to business, science, education and just about any field you can think of, including crime. Just like every human invention, Internet has two sides to it, on the one hand it allows businesses to be more productive and scientists to share research data almost instantaneously, on the other hand it grants criminals an additional tool to commit crimes and get away with it. Because of its unique nature that transcends national borders and the anonymity that it allows for its users, Internet is perfect for those who wish to evade the law. Computer related crime is an unavoidable risk that all IT professionals have to face and protect their networks against, as such it is important to know what laws are there that deal with computer related crime. In this paper I will describe the major US federal legislation that has been enacted to deal specifically with the problem of computer crime.