Running head: TECHFITE CASE STUDY LEGAL ANALYSIS 1
TechFite Case Study Legal Analysis
Cameron F. Finley
Student #000761328
Western Governor’s University
C841: Legal Issues in Information SecurityThis study source was downloaded by 100000829696844 from CourseHero.com on 08-03-2021 03:44:53 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/59312340/C841-Task-1docx/This study resource was
shared via CourseHero.com TechFite Case Study Legal Analysis
Upon suspicion of unethical and illegal activity, board of directors’ chairperson for TechFite John Jackson commissioned independent investigators to conduct a security audit of the
IT and business practices of the Applications Division. At the conclusion of the investigation, several pieces of evidence pointing to wrongdoing on the part of some of the key personnel in the Applications Division were found. Specifically, damages of intellectual property rights against two potential clients of TechFite were found to have taken place as a result of malfeasance on the part of the Applications Division. This is a legal analysis of those findings and guidance for TechFite to use for corrective and perhaps legal action moving forward.
A – Application of Law
The principle laws relevant to this section of the analysis are Federal Statutes the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). A1 – CFAA & ECPA
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was passed and signed into law in 1986. The CFAA criminalizes certain types of damage against a “protected computer”. Under the statute, a protected computer qualifies as a computer used by the federal government, a computer used by a financial institution, and a computer used in interstate or foreign commerce. (Bailie, n.d.)
Under the definition of a computer used in interstate or foreign commerce, the CFAA expands the definition of a protected computer to include the Internet because it is used to facilitate commerce between different states. The CFAA also prohibits the unauthorized trafficking of computer access information that allows people to access other computers without authorization as well as users that exceed the scope of their authorization level without granted permissions or maliciously so.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act protects the privacy of communications transfers via electronic means such as wire and radio but does not protect oral communications, paged communications, and more. It also protects communications held in electronic storage from unauthorized access. Like provisions in the CFAA, this extends to unauthorized privilege escalation with the intent to view, steal, or otherwise coopt documents and resources intended for
another party. (“What is the Electronic Communications Privacy Act?,” n.d.) In the course of the TechFite investigation, it was discovered that the company conducts business via Internet and wire transfer with three possible “shell” companies and banks in This study source was downloaded by 100000829696844 from CourseHero.com on 08-03-2021 03:44:53 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/59312340/C841-Task-1docx/This study resource was
shared via CourseHero.com
TechFite Case Study Legal Analysis
Cameron F. Finley
Student #000761328
Western Governor’s University
C841: Legal Issues in Information SecurityThis study source was downloaded by 100000829696844 from CourseHero.com on 08-03-2021 03:44:53 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/59312340/C841-Task-1docx/This study resource was
shared via CourseHero.com TechFite Case Study Legal Analysis
Upon suspicion of unethical and illegal activity, board of directors’ chairperson for TechFite John Jackson commissioned independent investigators to conduct a security audit of the
IT and business practices of the Applications Division. At the conclusion of the investigation, several pieces of evidence pointing to wrongdoing on the part of some of the key personnel in the Applications Division were found. Specifically, damages of intellectual property rights against two potential clients of TechFite were found to have taken place as a result of malfeasance on the part of the Applications Division. This is a legal analysis of those findings and guidance for TechFite to use for corrective and perhaps legal action moving forward.
A – Application of Law
The principle laws relevant to this section of the analysis are Federal Statutes the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). A1 – CFAA & ECPA
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was passed and signed into law in 1986. The CFAA criminalizes certain types of damage against a “protected computer”. Under the statute, a protected computer qualifies as a computer used by the federal government, a computer used by a financial institution, and a computer used in interstate or foreign commerce. (Bailie, n.d.)
Under the definition of a computer used in interstate or foreign commerce, the CFAA expands the definition of a protected computer to include the Internet because it is used to facilitate commerce between different states. The CFAA also prohibits the unauthorized trafficking of computer access information that allows people to access other computers without authorization as well as users that exceed the scope of their authorization level without granted permissions or maliciously so.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act protects the privacy of communications transfers via electronic means such as wire and radio but does not protect oral communications, paged communications, and more. It also protects communications held in electronic storage from unauthorized access. Like provisions in the CFAA, this extends to unauthorized privilege escalation with the intent to view, steal, or otherwise coopt documents and resources intended for
another party. (“What is the Electronic Communications Privacy Act?,” n.d.) In the course of the TechFite investigation, it was discovered that the company conducts business via Internet and wire transfer with three possible “shell” companies and banks in This study source was downloaded by 100000829696844 from CourseHero.com on 08-03-2021 03:44:53 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/59312340/C841-Task-1docx/This study resource was
shared via CourseHero.com
