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Are there examples of prosecutions of this nature?

ttul 2y ago
Yes, there have been notable CFAA prosecutions involving spamming activities. One significant case involved Power Ventures, which faced prosecution for both CFAA and CAN-SPAM violations. The company was sued by Facebook for sending promotional emails and messages through Facebook's platform without authorization[5][6]. The Department of Justice has recently revised its CFAA prosecution policies, particularly following significant court decisions that have narrowed the statute's interpretation. The DOJ now focuses on more clear-cut violations rather than mere terms of service violations[2][4]. For CFAA prosecution to proceed today, prosecutors must typically demonstrate that: - The defendant was aware of specific access restrictions - There were clear technological measures attempting to prevent unauthorized access - The defendant knowingly circumvented these measures[4] The cold email handbook clearly demonstrates how to circumvent Gmail’s limitations and the author is clearly aware that doing so violates their terms of service. So I would argue they are at risk of being prosecuted. And as someone who runs a large email filtering service, I can tell you with some authority and confidence that the industry really loves helping law enforcement go after these groups. Sources [1] CFAA Cases - NACDL https://www.nacdl.org/Content/CFAACases https://www.nacdl.org/Content/CFAACases [2] Hacking the CFAA - Infosecurity Magazine https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/magazine-features/hacking-the-cfaa/ https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/magazine-features/hack... [3] The Most Controversial Hacking Cases of the Past Decade - WIRED https://www.wired.com/2015/10/cfaa-computer-fraud-abuse-act-most-controversial-computer-hacking-cases/ https://www.wired.com/2015/10/cfaa-computer-fraud-abuse-act-... [4] DOJ Revises Policy for CFAA Prosecution to Reflect Developments ... https://newmedialaw.proskauer.com/2022/05/24/doj-revises-policy-for-cfaa-prosecution-to-reflect-developments-in-web-scraping-and-other-matters/ https://newmedialaw.proskauer.com/2022/05/24/doj-revises-pol... [5] Lessons from the Power Ventures Case Include “Terms of Use Can ... https://www.hoganlovells.com/en/publications/lessons-from-the-power-ventures-case-include-terms-of-use-can-create-computer-fraud-and-abuse-act-liability https://www.hoganlovells.com/en/publications/lessons-from-th... [6] 9th Circuit Weighs in on CFAA and CAN-SPAM - Cyber Report https://ilccyberreport.wordpress.com/2016/07/21/9th-cir-weighs-in-on-cfaa-and-can-spam/ https://ilccyberreport.wordpress.com/2016/07/21/9th-cir-weig...

ttul 2y ago

Yes, there have been notable CFAA prosecutions involving spamming activities. One significant case involved Power Ventures, which faced prosecution for both CFAA and CAN-SPAM violations. The company was sued by Facebook for sending promotional emails and messages through Facebook's platform without authorization[5][6]. The Department of Justice has recently revised its CFAA prosecution policies, particularly following significant court decisions that have narrowed the statute's interpretation. The DOJ now focuses on more clear-cut violations rather than mere terms of service violations[2][4]. For CFAA prosecution to proceed today, prosecutors must typically demonstrate that: - The defendant was aware of specific access restrictions - There were clear technological measures attempting to prevent unauthorized access - The defendant knowingly circumvented these measures[4] The cold email handbook clearly demonstrates how to circumvent Gmail’s limitations and the author is clearly aware that doing so violates their terms of service. So I would argue they are at risk of being prosecuted. And as someone who runs a large email filtering service, I can tell you with some authority and confidence that the industry really loves helping law enforcement go after these groups. Sources [1] CFAA Cases - NACDL https://www.nacdl.org/Content/CFAACases https://www.nacdl.org/Content/CFAACases [2] Hacking the CFAA - Infosecurity Magazine https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/magazine-features/hacking-the-cfaa/ https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/magazine-features/hack... [3] The Most Controversial Hacking Cases of the Past Decade - WIRED https://www.wired.com/2015/10/cfaa-computer-fraud-abuse-act-most-controversial-computer-hacking-cases/ https://www.wired.com/2015/10/cfaa-computer-fraud-abuse-act-... [4] DOJ Revises Policy for CFAA Prosecution to Reflect Developments ... https://newmedialaw.proskauer.com/2022/05/24/doj-revises-policy-for-cfaa-prosecution-to-reflect-developments-in-web-scraping-and-other-matters/ https://newmedialaw.proskauer.com/2022/05/24/doj-revises-pol... [5] Lessons from the Power Ventures Case Include “Terms of Use Can ... https://www.hoganlovells.com/en/publications/lessons-from-the-power-ventures-case-include-terms-of-use-can-create-computer-fraud-and-abuse-act-liability https://www.hoganlovells.com/en/publications/lessons-from-th... [6] 9th Circuit Weighs in on CFAA and CAN-SPAM - Cyber Report https://ilccyberreport.wordpress.com/2016/07/21/9th-cir-weighs-in-on-cfaa-and-can-spam/ https://ilccyberreport.wordpress.com/2016/07/21/9th-cir-weig...