Worksheet

F12.3 Computer misuse and the law

Technology and society · GCSE · OCR J277 1.6.1, AQA 8525 3.8, Edexcel 1CP2 5.2.3 · about 15 min

What this lesson is about

The Computer Misuse Act 1990, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

• The Computer Misuse Act 1990
• The Data Protection Act 2018
• The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
• Which law applies?

Questions 5 marks in all

1. [1 mark]Guessing someone's password to read their email breaks which law?

   1. AThe Computer Misuse Act 1990
   2. BThe Data Protection Act 2018
   3. CThe Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
   4. DNo law

2. [1 mark]Which word is central to the Computer Misuse Act?

   1. AUnauthorised
   2. BAccidental
   3. CCommercial
   4. DEncrypted

3. [1 mark]Copying and selling someone else's program breaks which law?

   1. AThe Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
   2. BThe Computer Misuse Act 1990
   3. CThe Data Protection Act 2018
   4. DNo law

4. [1 mark]How do you get copyright on a program you wrote?

   1. AIt is automatic as soon as you write it
   2. BYou must apply and pay a fee
   3. CYou must publish it first
   4. DYou must register a trademark

5. [1 mark]A penetration tester attacks a company's systems with written permission. Is that an offence?

   1. ANo, because the access is authorised
   2. BYes, all hacking is illegal
   3. COnly if they find a weakness
   4. DOnly if they are paid

The task: which law?

Write which_law(action) using the rules in the lesson: an action mentioning password, hack or malware is the Computer Misuse Act 1990; one mentioning personal or customer details is the Data Protection Act 2018; one mentioning copy or pirate is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; anything else is no law matched. Check each action in actions, ignoring capital letters, and print <action>: <law>. At the end print unmatched: <n>.

# the two lines every program starts with: the commands, then the robot
from bugbot import *
connect()

actions = [
    "Guessing a teacher's password",
    "Selling customer details to an advertiser",
    "Sharing a pirate copy of a game",
    "Writing your own program",
    "Installing malware on a school PC",
]

Plan your program here, then type it in and press Run.

Do it on the robot
www.bugbotlab.com/learn/f12-3-computer-misuse-and-the-law/
The simulator checks it and tells you when it passes. Nothing to install, no account.

Challenges

1. Some actions break two laws. Change the function to return every law that matches, joined by and .
2. Is penetration testing illegal? Explain your answer using the word *unauthorised*.
3. Why does copyright not need to be applied for, when a patent does?