8. The law and the computer virus

The law did eventually catch up with the problem of computer viruses and other bad practices to do with computers. The new law is called The Computer Misuse Act (1990). It covers various computer crimes such as Hacking, computer fraud and the deliberate spread of viruses.

This law specifies a virus as: 'unauthorised modification of the contents of a computer, impairing the operation of any program or reliability of data'.

Anyone caught distributing viruses knowingly faces an unlimited fine and up to a five year prison sentence.

In the search box on the right, type the terms "Computer Law"and see what you can find out for yourself