Computer crimes are some of the most enticing to commit because you don’t have to show your face to potential witnesses to commit these crimes. Almost every single type of computer crime occurs behind the scenes with the use of a computer or other electronic device. For those who have been caught or accused of committing a computer crime they likely don’t know what to expect regarding the potential penalties they face. Today, our Los Angeles computer crimes defense attorney would like to discuss the best defenses to such crimes.
Before we look into how to defend against computer crime charges we need to discuss what is actually needed by the prosecution to prove the charge levied against you in court. The prosecution will need to prove in court that the person charged with the crime willingly, knowingly, and without any prior authorization destroyed, accessed, or manipulated software or electronic devices involved in the case.
Now that we know what is required for a prosecutor to prove that your charges should lead to a conviction we can take a look at the common defenses to computer crimes. There are at least three defenses that are used when someone is charged with a computer crime in California. They can be seen below in this post.
A lack of knowledge is one of the most common defenses claimed by a defendant charged with a computer crime in Los Angeles. The best way that these defense works is if the defendant’s computer was infected with a virus and the defendant had no knowledge of the presence of the virus, which then led to it spreading to other computers on the network.
Another defense used in computer crime cases is the argument that authorization was granted to the defendant. If the defendant was actually given the authorization to access the computer or network but the person who granted the access didn’t tell anyone else, this could easily be used as a defense against the charges.
Another way to use this defense is if the defendant was a contractor working for a company on their computer system or servers. The contractor was given access to the entire system and then an issue occurred because the contractor believed he had permission to take the actions that he took. This could be viewed as an honest mistake.
As in any type of criminal case, a lack of evidence is often used in computer crime cases. Since computer crimes are typically anonymous, which was discussed earlier in this post, it can be very difficult for the prosecution to gather enough evidence pinning the crime on one specific individual. The evidence must be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were responsible for the computer crime in order to convict.
Have you been charged with a computer crime in Los Angeles? It’s in your best interest to contact Okabe & Haushalter today to schedule a consultation at 310-430-7799.
