The emergence of the problem of computer misuse

Everything that can be invented has already been invented. Charles H. Duell, director of the US Patent Office (1899)

This chapter will examine the emergence of the problem of computer misuse, covering the period up to 1990 when the primary piece of legislation controlling criminal computer misuse – the Computer Misuse Act 1990 – was enacted. It will consider two parallel strands. First, the evolution of computer technology itself, and, second, the evolution of the scope of their legitimate use and consequently their misuse. Having looked at the emergence of computer misuse up until 1990, the chapter will turn to consider the attempted means of legal regulation of computer misuse at the time and examine whether or not computer misuse proved to be challenging for the criminal law. It will conclude with a discussion of the legislative history, genesis and intent of the 1990 Act and a detailed examination of the offences that it created.