Any person who violates any provision of this article and, in doing so, accesses, permits access to, causes access to or attempts to access a computer, computer network, computer data, computer resources, computer software or computer program which is located, in whole or in part, within this state, or passes through this state in transit, shall be subject to criminal prosecution and punishment in this state and to the civil jurisdiction of the courts of this state.

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Terms Used In West Virginia Code 61-3C-20

  • Access: means to instruct, communicate with, store data in, retrieve data from, intercept data from, or otherwise make use of any computer, computer network, computer program, computer software, computer data, or other computer resources. See West Virginia Code 61-3C-3
  • computer: includes any connected or directly related device, equipment, or facility which enables the computer to store, retrieve, or communicate computer programs, computer data, or the results of computer operations to or from a person, another computer, or another device, file servers, mainframe systems, desktop personal computers, laptop personal computers, tablet personal computers, cellular telephones, game consoles, and any other electronic data storage device or equipment, but such term does not include an automated typewriter or typesetter, a portable hand-held calculator, or other similar device. See West Virginia Code 61-3C-3
  • Computer data: means any representation of knowledge, facts, concepts, instruction, or other information computed, classified, processed, transmitted, received, retrieved, originated, stored, manifested, measured, detected, recorded, reproduced, handled, or utilized by a computer, computer network, computer program, or computer software, and may be in any medium, including, but not limited to, computer printouts, microfilm, microfiche, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, punch paper tape, or punch cards, or it may be stored internally in read-only memory or random access memory of a computer or any other peripheral device. See West Virginia Code 61-3C-3
  • Computer network: means a set of connected devices and communication facilities, including more than one computer, with the capability to transmit computer data among them through such communication facilities. See West Virginia Code 61-3C-3
  • Computer program: means an ordered set of computer data representing instructions or statements, in a form readable by a computer, which controls, directs, or otherwise influences the functioning of a computer or computer network. See West Virginia Code 61-3C-3
  • Computer resources: includes , but is not limited to, information retrieval. See West Virginia Code 61-3C-3
  • Computer software: means a set of computer programs, procedures, and associated documentation concerned with computer data or with the operation of a computer, computer program, or computer network. See West Virginia Code 61-3C-3
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: means any natural person, general partnership, limited partnership, trust, association, corporation, joint venture, or any state, county, or municipal government and any subdivision, branch, department, or agency thereof. See West Virginia Code 61-3C-3
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10