Digital Forensics and Incident Response - Second Edition

Laws and regulations

In the mid-1980s, as computer crime started to become more prevalent, jurisdictions began crafting laws to address ever-increasing instances of cybercrime. In the United States, for example, federal criminal law has specific statutes that deal directly with criminal activity when utilizing a computer, as follows:

• 18 USC § 1029—Fraud and related activity in connection with access devices: This statute addresses the use of a computer to commit fraud. This is most often utilized by prosecutors in connection with cases where cybercriminals use a computer, or computers, to commit identity theft or other fraud-related activities.
• 18 USC § 1030—Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA): Among the number of provisions within this ...