New legislation is passed every now and then to tend to the latest types of computer crimes and privacy issues. Even with new legislation being passed periodically, it is very hard for our legal system to keep up with “the rate that technology changes (Morley 651).” “Determining how existing laws apply to computer – related activities and then amending them if needed (Morley 651)” is very important. One such law that has been amended more than once and is a huge asset to computer security is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act which was passed in 1984.

When the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, also known as the CFAA, was first passed its primary purpose was to protect classified information on federal government computers. In addition, another purpose of the CFAA was to protect financial and credit information on computers owned and operated by the government and financial institutions. Two years later in 1986, however, there was an amendment to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act which broadened the act to cover “federal interest computers.” The CFAA was amended one more time in 1996 as technology and the internet evolved. This amendment to the act was a gigantic leap for computer security as the amendment replaced the previous concept of “federal interest computer” with the phrase “protected computer.” Changing these phrases now allowed the act to protect all computers that are “involved in interstate or foreign commerce, whether or not any federal government proprietary interest is implicated (Burke).”

Another very important act which was passed in 1987 was the Computer Security Act. The Computer Security Act of 1987 was established to assign responsibility to The National Bureau of Standards for developing guidelines for federal computer systems. This included assuring the security and privacy of sensitive information in federal computer systems. The act also provided training for anyone who uses a federal computer that contains sensitive information.

There are many law and acts put in place by our government to protect home, business, and federal computer systems but the final one I will discuss is one of the latest. Passed in 2001, The USA Patriot Act “expanded surveillance and intelligence – gathering powers (Morley 651).” This act “broadens the ability to obtain the real identity of internet users and intercept internet communications (Morley 651).” This act will expire in 2005 and will most likely be redefined or possibly expanded (Morley 651). From 1970 to 2003 there have been at least 27 federal legislation acts passed related to computer security and privacy.