West Virginia State Law

Contact	-U1E63@WVNVM      "Bruce M. MacIsaac"  2-MAY-1989 13:27
 
The following is the first part of a newly elected state law in West
Vriginia. 
 
Computer Fraud
 
Any person who, knowingly and willfully, directly or indirectly
accesses or causes to be accessed any computer, computer services
or computer network for the purpose of (1) executing any scheme or artifice
to defraud or (2) obtaining money, property or services by means of
fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises shall be guilty of a
felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than ten
thousand dollars or imprisioned in the penitentiary for not more than
ten years or both.
 
Unauthorized access to computer services
 
Any person who knowlingly, willfully and without authorization directly
or indirectly accesses or causes to be accessed a computer or computer
network with the intent to obtain computer services shall be guilty of
a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than
two hundred dollars and not more that one thousand dollars or confined in
the county jail for not more than one year or both.
 
Unauthorized possesion of computer data or programs
 
(a) Any person who knowingly, willfully and without authorization posseses
any computer data or computer program belonging to another and having a
value of five thousand dollars or more shall be guilty of a felony, and upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or
imprisoned in the penitentiary for not more than ten years or both.
(b) Any person who knowingly, willfully and without authorization posseses
any computer data or computer program belonging to another and having a
value less than of five thousand dollars shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand
dollars or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one year or both.
 
 
Alteration, destruction, etc. of computer equipment
 
Any person who knowingly, willfully and without authorization, directly or
indirectly tampers with, deletes, alters, damages or destroye or attempts
to tamper with, delete, alter, damage, or destroy any computer, computer
network, computer software, computer resources, computer program or computer
data shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined
not more than ten thousand dollars or confined in the penitentiary not more
than ten years or both, or, in the discretion of the court, be fined not less
than two hundred nor more than one thousand dollars and confined in the
county jail not more than one year.
 
Disruption of computer services.
 
Any person who knowingly, willfully and without authorization directly or
indirectly disrupts or degrades or causes the disruption or degradation of
computer services or denies or causes the denial of computer services to an
authorized recipient or user of such computer services, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than two
hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or confined in the county jail
not more than one year, or both.
 
 
Unauthorized possession of computer information, etc.
 
Any person who knowingly, willfully and without authorization, possesses any
computer data, computer software, computer supplies, or a computer program
which he knows or reasonablly should know was obtained in violation of any
section of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than two hundred nor more than one thousand
dollars or confined in the county jail not more than one year, or both.
 
Disclosure of computer security information.
 
Any person who knowingly, willfully and without authorization, discloses a
password, identifying code, personal identification number or other
confidential information about a computer security system to another person
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not more than five hundred dollars or confined in the county jail for
not more than six months, or both.
 
Obtaining confidential public information.
 
Any person who knowingly, willfully and without authorization, access or
causes to be accessed any computer or computer network and thereby obtains
information filed by any person with the state or county or municipality
which is required by law to be kept confidential shall be guilty of a mis-
demeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five
hundred dollars or confined in the county jail not more than six months,
or both.
 
Computer invasion of privacy.
 
Any person who knowingly, willfully and without authorization, accesses a
computer or computer network and examines any employment, salary, credit
or any other financial or personal information relating to any other person,
after the time at which the offender knows or reasonably should know that
he is without authorization to view the information displayed, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
more than five hundred dollars, or confined in the county jail for not more
than six months, or both.
 
Fraud and related activity in connection with access devices.
 
(a) As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following
meanings:
(1) "Access device" means any card, plate, code, account number, or other
means of account access that can be used, alone or in conjunction with another
access device, to obtain money, goods, services, or any other thing of value,
or that can be used to initiate a transfer of funds (other than a transfer
originated solely be paper instrument);
(2) "Counterfeit access device" means any access device that is counterfeit,
fictitious, altered, or forged, or an identifiable component of an access
device or a counterfeit access device;
(3) "Unauthorized access device" means any access device that is lost, stolen,
expired, revoked, cancelled, or obtained without authority;
(4) "Produce" includes design, alter, authenticate, duplicate, or assemble;
(5) "Traffic" means to transfer, or otherwise dispose of, to another, or to
obtain control of with intent to transfer or dispose of.
 
(b) Any person who knowingly and willfully possesses any counterfeit or
unauthorized access device shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon con-
viction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or confined
in the county jail for not more than six months, or both.
 
(c) Any person who knowlingly, willfully and with intent to defraud possesses
a counterfeit or unauthorized access device or who knowingly, willfully and
with intent to defraud, uses, produces or traffics in any counterfeit or un-
authorized access device shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned in
the penitentiary not more than ten years, or both.
 
(d) This section shall not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative or
protective activity of any state, county or municipal law-enforcement agency.
 
Endangering public safety.
 
Any person who accesses a computer or computer network and knowingly, willfully
and without authorization (a) interrupts or impairs the providing of services
by any private or public utility; (b) interrupts or impairs the providing of
any medical services; (c) interrupts or impairs the providing of services by
any state, county or local government agency, public carrier, or public com-
munication service; or otherwise endangers public safety shall be guilty of a
felony and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than fifty thou-
sand dollars or imprisoned not more that twenty years, or both.
 
Computer as an instrument of forgery.
 
The creation, alteration, or deletion of any computer data contained in any
computer or computer network, which if done on a tangible document or instru-
ment would constitute forgery will also be deemed to be forgery. The absence
of a tangible writing directly created or altered by the offender shall not
be a defense to any crime set forth if a creation, alteration or deletion of
computer data was involved in lieu of a tangible document or instrument.
 
Civil relief includes Compensatory damages, Punitive damages, and such other
relief as the court may deem appropriate.
 
*** Comment ***
The civil relief is much abridged, and I left out the defense legislation,
but you get the just of it.