4 ms·

But the disgruntled employee may have had legitimate access to the system, even if this specific act was illegitimate

• paranoidrobot 6y ago
  I'm no lawyer either, but I imagine that the definition of authorisation is key here. If you're a sysadmin on a company email system, then you do technically have access to everyone's data on that system. However, you're generally limited by company policy that you are not permitted to access/modify that data without direct authorisation, say from the employee themselves or from HR. So, therefore, if you go and read the email of your boss, you're still in breach because you didn't have the authorisation.
  • toyg 6y ago
    But that's gross misconduct or some other fireable offense - a civil matter at best. The only item I can see here is fraud (impersonating the people whose accounts have been taken over), of which the mole would be complicit.
    • richardwhiuk 6y ago
      No, using a computer system in a manner other than explicitly authorized is a federal offence under the CFAA. That's been exceptionally controversial, as it can turn contract breach into a federal criminal offence in the US.
      • MaxBarraclough 6y ago
        > That's been exceptionally controversial, as it can turn contract breach into a federal criminal offence in the US. Doesn't something similar happen with employer-provided accommodation and burglary laws?
    • mc32 6y ago
      Terry Childs...