I think of it more like calling someone and asking them to send you a book. They do. Then the police come knocking on the door saying you accessed the informati

I think of it more like calling someone and asking them to send you a book. They do. Then the police come knocking on the door saying you accessed the information illegally... If you don't want someone to have something, don't have your system dispense it when they ask for it. But yes, intent does come into it - and that's often the problem - people investigating systems for curiosity or academic interest or because the system owners won't take them seriously when they have reported problems that put people's data at risk and want to demonstrate it are treated like criminals (often charged with felony offences with potential jail time worse than assault or theft)