New Tools for Companies Against Cybercrime
On January 2015, the Obama administration announced a series of proposals to strengthen the country’s response to cyberattacks including, most notably, specific amendments to the federal computer crime statute, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). These changes are not only significant to the cyber crime-fighting efforts of federal prosecutors, but also to private companies. This is because the CFAA allows companies victimized by violations of the statute to bring civil actions against the perpetrators. 18 U.S.C. 1030(g). The CFAA, among other things, makes it a crime when an individual “accesses” a computer “without authorization or exceeds authorized access” to steal data.