Law / United States / Pennsylvania
Unlawful use of computer and other computer crimes (hacking and similar offenses)
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 14 February 2003.
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not intentionally access or exceed authorization to access a computer, computer network, database, or World Wide Web site without authorization, or in doing so alter, interfere with the operation of, damage, or destroy it; bare unauthorized access is itself an offense here.
- A reasonable belief that the owner authorized, or would have authorized, the conduct is a defense; authorization includes implied consent by trade usage, course of dealing, course of performance, or commercial programming practices.
- This statute does not override or displace an ordinary contract or license governing your access to a Pennsylvania-connected computer, network, or database; terms-of-service enforcement is a separate, civil track.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Each offense under sections 7611, 7612, 7613, 7615, and 7616 is graded as a felony of the third degree; unlawful duplication under section 7614 is a felony of the third degree, one grade higher when the economic value of the duplicated material exceeds $2,500.
What it reaches
Obligation class
Access restriction
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
A person commits unlawful use of a computer if, intentionally and without authorization, the person accesses or exceeds authorization to access, alters, interferes with the operation of, damages, or destroys a computer, computer system, computer network, computer software, computer database, or World Wide Web site (18 Pa.C.S. § 7611(a)(2)); bare unauthorized access to such a resource is itself the offense, with no separate showing of malice, deception, or resulting harm required.
Neighboring sections separately criminalize disruption of service including denial-of-service attacks (§ 7612), computer theft of data taken with intent to deprive the owner of it (§ 7613), unlawful duplication of computer data or software (§ 7614), computer trespass carried out with intent to remove or alter data, cause a malfunction, or effect an unauthorized funds transfer (§ 7615), and distribution of a computer virus (§ 7616).
Section 7605 provides a defense where the actor reasonably believed the owner had authorized or would have authorized the conduct, and defines authorization to include express or implied consent, including by trade usage, course of dealing, course of performance, or commercial programming practices.
Section 7606 states that nothing in this subchapter interferes with or prohibits the terms or conditions of a contract or license governing a computer, computer network, or database, preserving ordinary contract-based terms-of-service enforcement as a separate track from this statute. The chapter was added December 16, 2002, effective 60 days later.
When LexLint raises it
crawls_web
Read the law
official text, Pennsylvania General Assembly consolidated statutes (palegis.us)