ECE 4883: Internetwork Security
Lab #1
Ryan Wilson
August 26, 2003
With the increasing threats of computer hackers and the damages they are able to (and
have) caused, it is no wonder that there is now a great deal of laws to define what is legal and
what is not legal behavior on a computer or computer network. Analyzing these laws provides a
general idea of what is right and wrong in cyberspace. The intention of most state and federal
laws is to prohibit unauthorized use of computers and computer networks and to prohibit
intercepting data sent from one computer to another while most Internet Service Providers (in
our case, the Georgia Institute of Technology is our provider) go a little bit farther to define what
is acceptable use of the computers and the networks that they service.
There are several federal laws that define unauthorized computer use and the penalties
associated with such use. Under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Sections 1030, 2511, and 2701 all
apply to computer and computer network use. In particular, Section 1030 prohibits unauthorized
use of government and financial computer systems and other uses that might harm national
security. It also prohibits the transmission of any kind of program or code that is intended to
damage a computer. It also specifically makes password stealing and sharing illegal. Section
2511 prohibits the interception of electronic communications (such as data on networks) and
Section 2701 prohibits viewing, altering, or removing data stored on some type of electronic
storage. These sections carry various punishments that include some type of fine (the actual
amount appears to be undefined) and from 1 to 20 years of imprisonment depending on the
nature of the offense (fraud, under Section 1030, appears to carry heavier sentences). These
federal laws do not appear to make port scanning a crime.
