On June 3, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that significantly limits the “exceeds authorized access” clause of the Federal anti-hacking statute called the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFAA). Here is a copy of the opinion (Van Buren v U.S.)
Without proper planning, this ruling
While it is far from settled, the trend under the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act continues towards narrowing the application of the CFAA in the context of the employer/employee relationship.
Specifically, a federal district court in Colorado concluded that the federal computer fraud statute was not violated by departing employees and contractors who, during
One of the more noteworthy employer/employee trade-secret misappropriation and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) cases came to an end earlier this week. Specifically, Mr. David Nosal wa sentenced on January 8, 2014 to one year and one day in prison. He was convicted for misappropriating his former employer’s trade secrets and improperly accessing the
A well written article by Connie Bertram, asks the question “Is Self-Help Discovery by Employees Protected Activity?”
The title of the article refers to situations where an employee attempts to gather factual support or to otherwise pursue an employment discrimination claim or a related employment-based lawsuit against the employer by accessing employer files
The California based law firm Littler Mendelson’s Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets Practice Group discussed a recent dismissal of a Computer Fraud and Abuse Act claim brought by a company against its former employee.
The case, Ajuba International, L.L.C. v. Saharia (PDF), involved the U.S. federal court for the Eastern District of Michigan rejecting
Previously this blog outlined the various approaches Courts have taken to applying the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), 18 U.S.C. 1030, to workplace misuse of employer provided computer resources.
A recent opinion from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, seriously limits the applicability of the CFAA to the employer/employee relationship and challenges other
Michigan Companies were recently given a new tool for fighting back against trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition.
Specifically, in Actuator Specialties, Inc. v. Chinavare the Michigan Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court’s determination that Actuator Specialties established a threat of misappropriation against its former employee and his new employer. This threat entitled
I previously discussed an employer’s obligation for reporting child pornography found on company IT resources. See What Should an Employer Do if Child Pornography is Discovered in the Workplace. One of the recommendations made in that post was to report child pornography to law enforcement, “no exceptions.”
The importance for following this recommendation was recently
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, As Criminal Laws Proliferate, More Ensnared (Gary Fields and John Emshwiller), details the increasing number of federal criminal statutes and federal prosecutions – a threefold increase over the last 30 years. The article attributes – in part – this upward spiral to the criminalization of issues generally
A 2011 Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion, underscores the importance of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act plays in combating disgruntled employees who steal company data. This case also highlights important steps employers should take in protecting company IT infrastructure and digital information from internal threats.
In that case, the former employer worked in