SCOTUS Limits Scope Of Cybersecurity Law

Last November, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Van Buren v. United States to interpret the scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a 1986 federal statute that imposes civil and criminal liability for unauthorized computer access. Yesterday it issued its decision.

In short, the Supreme Court decided that, so long as an individual has authorization to access a computer and data, they do not violate the “exceeds authorized access” clause of the CFAA. This means that an individual's intended use for a computer and/or data is not relevant to whether the individual violated the CFAA. This may require employers to reconsider their employee handbooks, policies and procedures.