The Computer Misuse Act 1990 was enacted to provide for securing computer material against unauthorised access or modification and for connected purposes The Act lays down three categories of offences relating to computer misuse, namely, unauthorised access to computer material, unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences and unauthorised modification of computer material. A person is held to be guilty of unauthorised access to computer material if he causes a computer to perform any function with intent to secure access to any program or data held in any computer, if the access he intends to secure is unauthorised and if he knows at the time when he causes the computer to perform the function that that is the case. In case of unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences, a person is held guilty if he commits an offence of unauthorised access to computer material with intent to commit or to facilitate the commission of such an offence whether by himself or by any other person. A person is guilty of unauthorised modification of computer material if he does any act which causes an unauthorised modification of the contents of any computer and at the time when he does the act he has the requisite intent and the requisite knowledge.
