State Statutes Compared To Each Other
| State Statute | Attributes Compared to California | Attributes Contrasted to California | Report on Effectiveness of Illinois Compared to California. |
| Illinois | Illinois computer crime laws mostly deal with hacking and tampering, while California laws cover almost all the crimes that are involved in computer crime. | Computer crimes in Illinois may be treated as felonies or class misdemeanors, while in California, any computer crime can be considered very severe. There are significant fines in California state courts. | In Illinois, Tanya lied about being a representative of a credit card company, although she was not legally holding any shares in the credit company. When people sent their information, she sent the information to a fraudster company in Russia. In California, she may be charged with phishing acts. |
| State Statute Illinois | Attributes Compared to NY Hacking has been a general term in computer crime, and it is generally punished as a computer crime. The penalty can be jail terms or fines. In New York, the punishment is harsh compared to Illinois since one is jailed for around 25 to 30 years. | Attributes Contrasted to NY Illinois laws differentiate between misdemeanour crimes and computer crimes, while New York laws do not distinguish between computer crimes and misdemeanors. | Report on Effectiveness of Illinois Compared to NY. Seleznez was charged with 27 years of imprisonment due to hacking acts where she hacked her former boss’s website, copied a number of files, and later deleted them. She has been serving the longest sentence in New York of 27 years’ imprisonment. |
| California | Compared to NY In New York, the computer tampering crime has been divided into four degrees of a felony, while in California, the offense of computer tampering is a penalty that is dealt with uniformly. | Contrasted to NY In California, the computer crime penalty may range from $1,000 to $10,000, while in New York, the charges are from $50 to $100. | In 2013, Vargas was arraigned in court for a hacking crime and was released on a $50,000 bond for hacking his ex-girlfriend’s account to spy on whom she was chatting with and the person she was dating. Hacking her conversation made him pay a huge fine. |
Statute Comparison
Statute Comparison to CFAA
| State Statute | Attributes Compared to CFAA | Attributes Contrasted to CFAA | Report on Effectiveness in Its State |
| California | Phishing is one of the internet crimes. California state and the CFAA prosecute an individual who practices phishing. | The penalties for phishing in California will depend on the particular behavior of the case, while under the CFAA, the situation is different since they cannot prosecute a case if they lack clarity on it. Therefore, for CFAA to prosecute a phishing crime, there must be clarification of the case. | Pete is a known hacker. He created a website lying to individuals about how he would give them credit, and he would ask for credit card details and sell them to a crime group in Russia. Pete may be prosecuted in California for fraud, and the credit card holder may sue him for the phishing act. |
| New York | If an individual conspires to commit an offense for financial gain, to commit a crime, or to access data worth over $5,000, the misdemeanor results in a felony punishable by up to 10 years if the person was previously convicted of a computer crime. According to the CFAA, when an individual intentionally accesses others’ websites and causes damage, it may lead to 20 years in jail. | Hacking can lead to the loss of human life, which can lead to life imprisonment. CFAA has tightened cybercrime laws, especially for hacking and malicious acts such as creating a virus to destroy other software or information (State Computer Crime Laws – FindLaw, 2018). | Hammond has helped in stealing sixty thousand credit card numbers as well as making thousands of dollars through the act. He destroyed a company’s information on its clients. New York may prosecute Hammond for tampering with others’ information. According to CFAA laws, this act is against their rules, and it manipulates the country’s finances. |
| Illinois | Illinois state is battling computer crimes by making unauthorized access, trespassing, tampering, and computer use for fraud criminal offenses. Through the enhancement of computer crime sentencing, CFAA has been able to enhance its penalties for cybercrimes. | The CFAA has a complicated process during the prosecution of the defendant, while Illinois has a simple process. CFAA has a strict approach to crimes as well as severe consequences. | In the state of Illinois, Barbra was charged with tampering under state criminal law. What she entered was detained due to her contention of accessing the victim’s email without his consent. |
| Name of Case | Statute Reference | Judicial Opinion | Statute Success |
| Conviction of journalist Matthew Keys of 2015. | CFAA section 1030 (a) (5): | Mathews Keys was found guilty as a result of accessing information without the authorization of the boss. | The statute in this regard was effective. |
| Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Criminal Charges Against Senior Corporate Officers of Backpage.com for Profiting from Prostitution and Arrest of Carl Ferrer, CEO. | Cal. Penal Code section 502 | Improper use of the Internet should be subjected to legal establishments. | Acted as a lesson and a reference for those misusing the internet. |
| People v Puesan 2013 NY Slip Op 06530 Decided on October 8, 2013, Appellate Division, First Department Saxe. | N.Y. Penal Law section 156.00 to 156.50 | Sharing of electronic information is not allowed whatsoever in the case without the permission of the owner. | Served as a reference and a case of precedent, thus showing success. |
References
State Computer Crime Laws – FindLaw. (2018). Findlaw. Retrieved 13 January 2018, from https://statelaws.findlaw.com/criminal-laws/computer-crimes.html
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