NYLJ “Supreme Court Clarifies ‘Exceeding Authorized Access’ Under CFAA: So Much Depends on ‘So’”
By Steve Kramarsky & Jack Millson
In their most recent NYLJ analysis, Stephen Kramarsky and John Millson review 'Van Buren v. United States', in which the Supreme Court resolved a Circuit split by narrowly construing the “exceeding authorized access” clause of the CFAA.
Cybercrime and hacking are much in the news recently, and the recent wave of ransomware attacks reminds us of how our dependence on heavily networked and interconnected systems can leave even our most critical infrastructure vulnerable to attack. Numerous federal and state statutes seek to provide protection against this kind of activity, but even leaving aside enforcement issues (which can be substantial, particularly for conduct that originates outside the United States) courts have struggled to interpret the precise scope of these laws. While most people have some idea of what “computer hacking” is, defining it with the specificity necessary to impose criminal liability has sometimes turned out to be a challenge.
This article first appeared in the New York Law Journal on July 26, 2021. Stephen M. Kramarsky, a member of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky, focuses on complex commercial and intellectual property litigation. Jack Millson is an associate at the firm.
