Computers Law, unlawful penetration of computer material
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force since 25 October 1995.
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not connect with, communicate with, or operate a computer or its material without authorization; doing so to commit a further offence under another law raises the maximum term to five years.
- Whether reading a public, unauthenticated page without defeating any access control falls inside this section has not been confirmed by a reported decision.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
Three years' imprisonment for unlawful penetration of computer material under s. 4; five years where the penetration is done to commit a further offence under s. 5. Both offences carry imprisonment only, with no fine.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Section 4 makes it an offence, punishable by three years' imprisonment, to unlawfully penetrate computer material located in a computer, defining penetration as connecting or communicating with a computer, or operating it, except a penetration that constitutes wiretapping under the Secret Monitoring Law, 5739-1979. Section 5 raises the maximum to five years' imprisonment where the section 4 act is done to commit a further offence under any other law.
Unlike a computer-misuse statute conditioned expressly on defeating a security measure, section 4's own text does not state that requirement, and no reported Israeli decision confirming or excluding a public, unauthenticated web page from the offence has been located.
When LexLint raises it
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