West Virginia Code 61-3C-4 – Computer fraud; access to Legislature computer; criminal penalties
(a) Any person who, knowingly and willfully, directly or indirectly, accesses or causes to be accessed any computer, computer services, or computer network for the purpose of: (1) Executing any scheme or artifice to defraud; or (2) obtaining money, property, or services by means of fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility for a determinate sentence of not more than 10 years, or both fined and imprisoned.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 61-3C-4
- 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
- Authorization: means the express or implied consent given by a person to another to access or use said person's computer, computer network, computer program, computer software, computer system, password, identifying code, or personal identification number. 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 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 services: means computer access time, computer data processing, or computer data storage, and the computer data processed or stored in connection therewith. See West Virginia Code 61-3C-3
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
- 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
- Property: includes :
(A) Real property. See West Virginia Code 61-3C-3
- Ransomware: means a computer contaminant, or lock placed or introduced without authorization into a computer, computer system, or computer network that restricts access by an authorized user to the computer, computer system, computer network, or any data therein under circumstances in which the person responsible for the placement or introduction of the ransomware demands payment of money or other consideration to remove the computer contaminant, restore access to the computer, computer system, computer network, or data, or otherwise remediate the impact of the computer contaminant or lock. 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
(b) Any person who, with intent to extort money or other consideration from another, introduces ransomware into any computer, computer system, or computer network is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $100,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility for a determinate sentence of not more than 10 years, or both fined and imprisoned.
(c) A person is criminally responsible for placing or introducing ransomware into a computer, computer system, or computer network if the person directly places or introduces the ransomware or directs or induces another person to do so, with the intent of demanding payment or other consideration for removing, restoring access, or other remediation of the impact of the ransomware.
(d) (1) Any person who, knowingly and willfully, directly or indirectly, accesses, attempts to access, or causes to be accessed any data stored in a computer owned by the Legislature without authorization is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility for a determinate sentence of not more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 61-3C-17 of this code to the contrary, in any criminal prosecution under this subsection against an employee or member of the Legislature, it shall not be a defense: (A) That the defendant had reasonable grounds to believe that he or she had authorization to access the data merely because of his or her employment or membership; or (B) that the defendant could not have reasonably known he or she did not have authorization to access the data: Provided, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance shall promulgate rules for the respective houses of the Legislature regarding appropriate access of members and staff and others to the legislative computer system.