How was the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 formed?
What is the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) 1990?
Take from UK’s Legislation Website “An Act to make provision for securing computer material against unauthorised access or modification; and for connected purposes.”
Before the CMA (Computer Misuse Act) 1990, the UK was unable to properly sentence anyone if necessary. One of the best cases to look at for this is the case of R v Gold and Schifreen.
In late 1984 and early 1985, Robert Schifreen and Stephen Gold were able to gain unauthorised access to a British Telecom, Prestel. They were using conventional home computers and modems for that period. While Schifreen was at a trade show, he did a social engineering tactic known as shoulder surfing, which is well known in today’s age. He was able to see and capture the username, simply 22222222 (security taken very seriously back then), and the password, 1234 (again, great cybersecurity back then), of a Prestel engineer. At the time, Prestel did not take security very seriously. But with the account information, the duo was able to take advantage of the login details and explore the system. They had access to the message box of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which is a big deal.
Schifreen and Gold did not know at the time, but Prestel was intended to be used by the UK in case of a war. If the…
