A source of computer fraud is the rogue employee or authorized user whose abuses access into a network system for unlawful purposes.  Readers of The Coverage Inkwell will know that the Inkwell has addressed the meaning of unauthorized access in the context of cyber insurance for a few years.

In the context of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. §1030, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in U.S. v. Nosal, 676 F.3d 854 (9^th Cir. 2012), in essence limited the meaning “exceeds authorized access” to hackers, not inside corporate personnel accessing a computer network for unauthorized (i.e., illegal) purposes.  Yesterday, the New York Court of Appeals, in Universal American Corp. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA, 2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 05516, 2015 WL 3885816 (N.Y. June 25, 2015) held that the phrase “fraudulent entry” into a computer system was limited to instances of outside hackers, not fraudulent content submitted by authorized users. Read More