What is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)?
The U.S. Federal Government passed the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C.§1030) (CFAA) in 1986 as an amendment to the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, which included the first federal computer crime statute. Since enacting the CFAA, congress and the federal government have amended the act multiple times to extend its reach and impose criminal and civil liability on additional malicious computer activities.