Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)

Weeks 3 & 4

Weeks 3 & 4 (Oct. 11 & 18, 2023): Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)

The primary federal anti-hacking law in the United States is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), originally enacted in 1986. This will be a two-part unit, so we'll spend two weeks with the CFAA. The first week will focus on understanding the basics about the statute and what it means. In the second week, we'll study courts' interpretations of the CFAA, ranging from the first CFAA criminal prosecution back in the 1980s, up to the Supreme Court's first-ever CFAA case, 2021's Van Buren v. United States.

For the first lecture on the CFAA (Oct. 11), it will be helpful if you have seen the movie Die Hard before you arrive in class.

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