Page 4859 - Week 16 - Thursday, 29 November 1990
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CRIMES (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. 3) 1990
MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General) (4.33): Mr Deputy Speaker, I present the Crimes (Amendment) Bill (No. 3) 1990. I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
Mr Deputy Speaker, the Crimes (Amendment) Bill 1990 amends the New South Wales Crimes Act 1900 in its application in the Territory to insert two new offences directed specifically at controlling unauthorised access to data on computers.
Mr Deputy Speaker, you and the members of this Assembly, are, of course, well aware of the central role computers play in today's society. Not only do they store massive banks of information in one conveniently acceptable source, but they also undertake operational functions. Some of these operational functions include administering bank transactions, automatically calculating and issuing salary cheques, and controlling airline bookings and issuing tickets.
Paper records may be kept secure under lock and key. By contrast, computer records are vulnerable to intrusion by someone exercising his or her ingenuity in overcoming technical barriers. There is no breaking and entering in the conventional sense. This vulnerability is not limited to unauthorised access. Computer information can be exposed to the risk of damage from a variety of sources within and outside the user organisation.
Mr Deputy Speaker, there are many motives for this conduct. A hacker may simply want to test his or her technical skill or impress friends. An intruder may have a malicious wish to cause disruption or damage, or it might be a prelude to a fraud. Whatever the motive, this conduct is socially undesirable and is causing widespread concern in the community. The consequences of unauthorised access can range from inconvenience to great economic loss. One need only look at reports on the damage so-called computer viruses or worms can cause. Even if a hacker gains access without doing anything, a prudent owner would still have to have the computer system checked by experts to be 100 per cent certain no damage has been done. That is an unnecessary expense. There is simply no justification for interfering with a computer belonging to someone else, and this Government is determined to discourage that behaviour by subjecting it to criminal sanctions.
The Bill adds two new offences to the Crimes Act. The proposed section 153 will prohibit a person from intentionally gaining, without lawful authority or excuse, access to data or a program stored in a computer. The maximum penalty will be two years' imprisonment or, at the discretion of the court, a fine of up to $5,000 in
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