4 ms·

Unfortunately, it's never that simple. So much of it is about intent. If I could simply use the excuse "well, the computer gave me the information", then there

Unfortunately, it's never that simple. So much of it is about intent. If I could simply use the excuse "well, the computer gave me the information", then there would be no such thing as hacking. It's always a case of the computer sending the information to you.

jjk166 5y ago
It's not about intent, it's about authority. If I have the authority to access something, it's legal for me to access it, regardless of my intent. I may be breaking other laws depending on what my intent is, but it's not hacking. Compare to a restaurant: simply walking into a restaurant is not illegal, but an owner can restrict access and ban someone from their restaurant. It takes no technical skill to break into the restaurant, the door is wide open, but without authority it is trespassing. However, it is on the owner of the restaurant to actually ban someone. For a public space, be it a restaurant or a webpage, by default you are permitted access. Attempting to enter a restaurant you've never been to before is not breaking and entering, nor is accessing a URL hacking. If a website has some user agreement saying you will not access certain portions, or even if there is just a notice on a website saying this site is not public, then they have done all they need to do to revoke someone's authority, even though they would be incredibly easy to "hack." But as laid out under Van Buren v US, you don't lose authority to access things simply because you possess some intent undesirable to the owner. If you invite me into your home and I sleep with your wife, I haven't trespassed; if you tell me to get out and I don't leave then I have. Further, there's a distinction between accessing something by normal, legal means and accessing something by other methods. For example if you invite me into your home only after I give you a false identity, I'm trespassing because I was never legitimately given authority to enter. Likewise if you hack a system with say a stolen password, you don't have authority to access the system no matter how easy it was. But if you grant authority to someone without them having to do anything nefarious, then they have authority regardless of whether you should have done it or not. If you have something sensitive, don't put it in a place (in the real world or online) where authority to access is granted automatically and without oversight.

jjk166 5y ago

It's not about intent, it's about authority. If I have the authority to access something, it's legal for me to access it, regardless of my intent. I may be breaking other laws depending on what my intent is, but it's not hacking. Compare to a restaurant: simply walking into a restaurant is not illegal, but an owner can restrict access and ban someone from their restaurant. It takes no technical skill to break into the restaurant, the door is wide open, but without authority it is trespassing. However, it is on the owner of the restaurant to actually ban someone. For a public space, be it a restaurant or a webpage, by default you are permitted access. Attempting to enter a restaurant you've never been to before is not breaking and entering, nor is accessing a URL hacking. If a website has some user agreement saying you will not access certain portions, or even if there is just a notice on a website saying this site is not public, then they have done all they need to do to revoke someone's authority, even though they would be incredibly easy to "hack." But as laid out under Van Buren v US, you don't lose authority to access things simply because you possess some intent undesirable to the owner. If you invite me into your home and I sleep with your wife, I haven't trespassed; if you tell me to get out and I don't leave then I have. Further, there's a distinction between accessing something by normal, legal means and accessing something by other methods. For example if you invite me into your home only after I give you a false identity, I'm trespassing because I was never legitimately given authority to enter. Likewise if you hack a system with say a stolen password, you don't have authority to access the system no matter how easy it was. But if you grant authority to someone without them having to do anything nefarious, then they have authority regardless of whether you should have done it or not. If you have something sensitive, don't put it in a place (in the real world or online) where authority to access is granted automatically and without oversight.