1. The Crime of Unauthorized Access to an Information System

Abstract

The transition of individuals’ lives to the digital world and the reliance of institutions and government departments on it through the digital infrastructure in terms of storing, processing and extracting information and data has become a given in our modern era, as countries through government departments and institutions regulate the progress of the public utility regularly and consistently through the digital world allocated to them. The aim of this research is to examine and scrutinize the legal provisions that criminalize the act of accessing an information system without authorization or legal permission, through the crime of unlawful access to an information system. This crime is directly related to unauthorized access by third parties to state-owned information systems, whether for the purpose of viewing the information contained therein, damaging or manipulating it, interfering with the system, or committing other acts that infringe upon the integrity of the information system. Mere access to an information system without authorization constitutes a criminal offense punishable by law. In this research, the study adopted the descriptive-analytical approach, establishing the legal texts addressing this crime as the cornerstone of the analysis, relying on Jordanian and Kuwaiti legislation within the framework of specialized penal laws concerning cybercrimes. The study initially shed light on the concept of crime by identifying the object of criminal protection and clarifying its meaning. Subsequently, the first section addressed the determination of the subject matter of the crime, while the second section examined the elements of the crime, its legal nature, and its constituent components. In conclusion, the researcher reached a number of findings, most notably that the crime of unlawful access to an information system is a formal offense for which the perpetrator is prosecuted upon its mere commission, regardless of the occurrence of harm. The study also presented several recommendations, the most important of which is the necessity of explicitly defining the object of infringement and criminal protection in this crime through clear legal provisions and definitions, in order to avoid ambiguity in the legal text and reduce reliance on interpretation and judicial construction.

Keywords: Official Information System, Unlawful Access, Authorization, Permission, Hacking