Supreme Court narrows scope of computer fraud law with ruling in cybercrime case
CBSN
Washington — The Supreme Court on Thursday narrowed the reach of a federal computer fraud law that seeks to address hacking and other cybercrimes, siding with a former Georgia police officer who was convicted of violating the measure after using his patrol-car computer to access a law enforcement database for license plate information in exchange for money.
The high court ruled 6-3 in favor of the former Cumming, Georgia, police sergeant, Nathan Van Buren, and limited the conduct that can be prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFAA). The law makes it illegal to access a computer without authorization or to use authorized access to obtain or alter information a person is not entitled to. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the court's newest member, wrote the majority opinion and was joined by fellow Trump appointees Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, as well as liberal Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito ruled against the former police officer.Authorities made two gruesome discoveries Tuesday after a Missouri woman walked into a police station and told officers that she fatally shot one of her children and drowned the other, officials said. Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak said at a news conference that authorities believe both children were killed Tuesday morning.
Strong storms with damaging winds and baseball-sized hail pummeled Texas on Tuesday, leaving more than one million businesses and homes without power as much of the U.S. recovered from severe weather, including tornadoes, that killed at least 24 people in seven states during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.