Good Health & Life Insurance Corporation suffers a security breach in its computer network. Before the company discovers the breach, the perpetrator obtains corporate financial records and other confidential data, including marketing plans. Is this a crime? If so, what are its elements? What steps might Good Health & Life take to ensure that going forward only authorized users access the data on its computers? Whose efforts¾those of the federal government or Good Health & Life¾are most important in securing the company's computer infrastructure and why?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The breach of Good Health & Life's computers and the subsequent theft of data constitute a crime under the federal Access Device and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984, or the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The crime has two elements: (1) accessing the computers without authority and (2) taking the confidential data. Precautions that Good Health & Life might take to safeguard its computer system in the future could start with employing a cyberspace security firm. These experts could help the firm devise an elaborate, ever-changing password system. They could install protective programs, such as firewalls and antivirus software, to limit outside access. They could further assist the firm by constantly updating this technology to thwart the criminal attempts of outsiders who are updating theirs. The most successful protective measure is to encrypt the data. Through encryption, plaintext can be transformed into ciphertext, which cannot be read unless the encryption coded is broken. Of course, an encryption system must be updated as regularly as the systems of those who would break it. The voluntary efforts of Good Health & Life and other private companies are the most important factor in securing those firms' computer infrastructure. The federal government has little choice but to rely on those efforts because the government has limited regulatory authority over the Internet.