Cyber Security, 2nd Edition

APPENDIX CCYBER SECURITY LAW

There are a number of pieces of UK legislation that are specifically concerned with cyber security, and also regulations and directives from the EU that have been or may be placed within the UK’s legislative framework.

UK LAW

Computer Misuse Act 1990

This was introduced in response to a High Court decision to overturn the conviction of Robert Schifreen and Stephen Gold, who in 1985 gained unauthorised access to British Telecom’s (BT’s) Prestel electronic mail system and eventually accessed the mailbox of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Act is generally considered as the primary means of prosecuting cyber-attackers in the UK, provided that there is a warning notice on the computer system concerned requiring a user ...