Also known as: hacks · hacking · hacked · hacker · computer hacking · unauthorized access
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
To surreptitiously break into the computer, network, servers, or database of another person or organization.
Amy transmitted client bidding spreadsheets through an unsecured link that required no password. A third party located the active link through a search engine and accessed the files. The firm faced a grievance because the transmission method left client data exposed to unauthorized entry.
An alien who entered the country unlawfully obtained identification documents by breaking into an employer database. Prosecutors had to prove the defendant knew the documents belonged to real persons rather than fabricated identities. The court required evidence of that knowledge before convicting under the identity-theft statute.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Detectives arrested Betty after logs showed she had broken into a data center. They conducted a lineup the next morning before any indictment was filed. The court held that the right to counsel had not yet attached at the identification procedure.
A taxi company incorporated in one state sued a competitor after the rival broke into its dispatch database. The plaintiff reincorporated solely to create diversity jurisdiction. The Supreme Court permitted the suit to proceed in federal court despite the tactical reincorporation.
CompuServe obtained an injunction after Cyber Promotions repeatedly broke into its mail servers to send unsolicited messages. The court treated the repeated unauthorized entries as trespass to chattels. The injunction required the sender to stop accessing the servers.
eBay sought relief when Bidder's Edge used automated software to scrape its listings by repeatedly entering the site without permission. The court found the repeated entries constituted trespass to chattels. It issued an injunction limiting the scraping activity.
Yes. The rule requires reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access to client information. Transmitting spreadsheets without passwords or expiration dates left the files open to public indexing and access, falling short of the required standard.
The government must prove the defendant knew the identification information belonged to an actual person. Mere proof that documents were obtained through hacking is insufficient without evidence of that knowledge.
The right attaches only after formal adversary proceedings such as indictment or information. An arrest warrant alone does not trigger the guarantee even when the charge arises from a data-center breach.
Yes. The Supreme Court permitted a suit to proceed in federal court despite reincorporation undertaken solely to establish diversity, even though the underlying claim involved unauthorized access to dispatch records.
Yes. Courts have enjoined bulk email senders whose automated access impaired server performance, treating the repeated entries as actionable interference with the possessor's chattels.
…S. Karlan and William B. Rubenstein; for the Human Rights Campaign et al. by Walter Dellinger, Pamela Harris, and Jonathan D. Hacker; for the Log Cabin Republicans et al. by C. Martin Meekins; for the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund by David C. Codell, Laura W. Brill, and Wendy R. Weiser; for Professors of History…