the need for computer tampering laws became apparent in the 1990s.
the need for computer tampering laws became apparent in the 1990s.
when did the need for computer tampering laws become apparent?
1990s
the major fraud act of 1988, the child sexual abuse and pornography act, the antiterrorism act, the computer fraud and abuse act, the federal anti-tampering act which authorized the federal government to investigate incidents involving tampering with drugs or consumer products and imposed criminal penalties for such acts, the justice assistance act (h.r. 2175) which provided federal matching grants to state and local governments to carry out innovative and effective anti-crime programs, the contract services for drug dependent federal offenders authorization act of 1983 (h.r. 2173) which authorized funds to monitor and test federal drug offenders to keep them from going back to drugs, the anti-arson act of 1982 (h.r. 6454) which expanded federal jurisdiction to include all major interstate arson cases, the convention on the physical protection of nuclear material implementation act of 1982 (h.r. 5228) which imposed fines and prison terms for the illegal diversion or use of nuclear materials and authorized improved nuclear safeguards, the pretrial services act (h.r. 3481) which implemented a nationwide system to provide judges with better information about defendants before setting bail, and for monitoring defendants awaiting trial, the dangerous drug diversion control act of 1984 (h.r. 5656) which strengthened federal authority to prevent the diversion of legal prescription drugs into the illicit market, the computer trespass act of 1984 (h.r. 5616) which provided criminal penalties for counterfeiting access devices and for the illegal entry into federal interest computers, and the trademark counterfeiting act (h.r. 6071) which strengthened federal laws against the counterfeiting of trademarked products.
william j. hughes
on january 24, 1990, abene and other mod members had their homes searched and property seized by the u.s. secret service largely based on government suspicions of having caused at&t corporation's network crash just over a week earlier on january 15 (abene was personally accused by the secret service of having done as much, during the search and seizure). some weeks later, at&t themselves admitted that the crash was the result of a flawed software update to the switching systems on their long distance network, thus, human error on their part. in february 1991, abene was arrested and charged with computer tampering and computer trespass in the first degree, new york state offenses. laws at the time were considered a “gray area” concerning information security. abene, who was a minor at the time, pleaded "not guilty" to the first two offenses and ultimately accepted a plea agreement to a lesser misdemeanor charge, and was sentenced to 35 hours of community service.
mark abene