Serious Crime Act 2015

126. Sections 1 to 3A of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (“the 1990 Act”) provide for a number of criminal offences to tackle cyber crime, as follows:

• Section 1 - unauthorised access to computer material or data (commonly known as “hacking”);

• Section 2 - unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences;

• Section 3 - unauthorised acts with intent to impair the operation of a computer (this offence includes circulating viruses, deleting files and inserting a “Trojan Horse” to steal data as well as effectively criminalising all forms of denial of service attacks in which the attacker denies the victim(s) access to a particular resource, typically by preventing legitimate users of a service accessing that service, for example by overloading an Internet Service Provider of a website with actions, such as emails);

• Section 3A - making, adapting, supplying or offering to supply an article (“hacker tools”) intending it to be used to commit, or to assist in the commission of, an offence under sections 1 or 3; supplying or offering to supply an article believing that it is likely to be used in this way; and obtaining an article with a view to its being supplied for use in this way.

Other provisions of the 1990 Act make limited provision for extra-territorial jurisdiction and a saving for certain law enforcement powers so that relevant conduct by law enforcement agencies does not fall within the section 1 offence.