VERNON'S TEXAS STATUTES AND CODES ANNOTATED
COPR. (c) WEST 1990 No Claim to Orig. Govt. Works
PENAL CODE
TITLE 7. OFFENSES AGAINST PROPERTY
CHAPTER 33. COMPUTER CRIMES
s 33.01. Definitions
In this chapter:
(1) "Communications common carrier" means a person who owns or operates a
telephone system in this state that includes equipment or facilities for the
conveyance, transmission, or reception of communications and who receives
compensation from persons who use that system.
(2) "COMPUTER" means an electronic, magnetic, optical, electrochemical, or
other high-speed data processing device that performs logical, arithmetic, or
memory functions by the manipulations of electronic or magnetic impulses and
includes all input, output, processing, storage, or communication facilities
that are connected or related to the device.
(3) "COMPUTER network" means the interconnection of two or more COMPUTER
systems by satellite, microwave, line, or other communication medium with the
capability to transmit information among the COMPUTERS.
(4) "COMPUTER program" means an ordered set of data representing coded
instructions or statements that when executed by a COMPUTER cause the COMPUTER
to process data or perform specific functions.
(5) "COMPUTER security system" means the design, procedures, or other
measures that the person responsible for the operation and use of a COMPUTER
employs to restrict the use of the COMPUTER to particular persons or uses or
that the owner or licensee of data stored or maintained by a COMPUTER in which
the owner or licensee is entitled to store or maintain the data employs to
restrict access to the data.
(6) "COMPUTER services" means the product of the use of a COMPUTER, the
information stored in the COMPUTER, or the personnel supporting the COMPUTER,
including COMPUTER time, data processing, and storage functions.
(7) "COMPUTER system" means any combination of a COMPUTER or COMPUTERS with
the documentation, COMPUTER software, or physical facilities supporting the
COMPUTER.
(8) "COMPUTER software" means a set of COMPUTER programs, procedures, and
associated documentation related to the operation of a COMPUTER, COMPUTER
system, or COMPUTER network.
(9) "COMPUTER virus" means an unwanted COMPUTER program or other set of
instructions inserted into a COMPUTER'S memory, operating system, or program
that is specifically constructed with the ability to replicate itself and to
affect the other programs or files in the COMPUTER by attaching a copy of the
unwanted program or other set of instructions to one or more COMPUTER programs
or files.
(10) "Damage" includes partial or total alteration, damage, or erasure of
stored data, or interruption of COMPUTER services.
(11) "Data" means a representation of information, knowledge, facts,
concepts, or instructions that is being prepared or has been prepared in a
formalized manner and is intended to be stored or processed, is being stored
or processed, or has been stored or processed in a COMPUTER. Data may be
embodied in any form, including but not limited to COMPUTER printouts,
magnetic storage media, and punchcards, or may be stored internally in the
memory of the COMPUTER.
(12) "Electric utility" has the meaning assigned by Subsection (c), Section
3, Public Utility Regulatory Act (Article 1446c, Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes).
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 306, s 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
HISTORICAL NOTES
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
1990 Pocket Part Historical and Statutory Notes
1989 Legislation
The 1989 amendment, in subsec. (2), inserted "magnetic, optical,
electrochemical, or other high-speed data processing", and deleted the second
sentence which read " 'COMPUTER' includes a network of two or more COMPUTERS
that are interconnected to function or communicate together"; subsecs. (3),
(4), (5) and (6) were renumbered as (4), (5), (11) and (12) respectively; and
subsecs. (3) and (6) to (10) were added.
Section 6 of the 1989 amendatory act provides:
"(a) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed
on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an
offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
the offense occurs before the effective date.
"(b) An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by
the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for this purpose."
s 33.02. Breach of COMPUTER Security
(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) uses a COMPUTER without the effective consent of the owner of the
COMPUTER or a person authorized to license access to the COMPUTER and the
actor knows that there exists a COMPUTER security system intended to prevent
him from making that use of the COMPUTER; or
(2) gains access to data stored or maintained by a COMPUTER without the
effective consent of the owner or licensee of the data and the actor knows
that there exists a COMPUTER security system intended to prevent him from
gaining access to that data.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly gives
a password, identifying code, personal identification number, debit card
number, bank account number, or other confidential information about a COMPUTER
security system to another person without the effective consent of the person
employing the COMPUTER security system to restrict the use of a COMPUTER or to
restrict access to data stored or maintained by a COMPUTER.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 306, s 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
HISTORICAL NOTES
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
1990 Pocket Part Historical and Statutory Notes
1989 Legislation
The 1989 amendment, in subsec. (b), inserted "debit card number, bank account
number".
s 33.03. Harmful Access
(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly and
without authorization from the owner of the COMPUTER or a person authorized to
license access to the COMPUTER:
(1) damages, alters, or destroys a COMPUTER, COMPUTER program or software,
COMPUTER system, data, or COMPUTER network;
(2) causes a COMPUTER to interrupt or impair a government operation, public
communication, public transportation, or public service providing water or
gas;
(3) uses a COMPUTER to:
(A) tamper with government, medical, or educational records; or
(B) receive or use records that were not intended for public dissemination
to gain an advantage over business competitors;
(4) obtains information from or introduces false information into a COMPUTER
system to damage or enhance the data or credit records of a person;
(5) causes a COMPUTER to remove, alter, erase, or copy a negotiable
instrument; or
(6) inserts or introduces a COMPUTER virus into a COMPUTER program, COMPUTER
network, or COMPUTER system.
(b) An offense under this section is a:
(1) felony of the second degree if the value of the loss or damage caused by
the conduct is $20,000 or more;
(2) felony of the third degree if the value of the loss or damage caused by
the conduct is $750 or more but less than $20,000; or
(3) Class A misdemeanor if the value of the loss or damage caused by the
conduct is $200 or more but less than $750.
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 306, s 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
HISTORICAL NOTES
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
1990 Pocket Part Historical and Statutory Notes
1989 Legislation
The 1989 amendment rewrote the section.
Section 6 of the 1989 amendatory act provides:
"(a) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed
on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an
offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
the offense occurs before the effective date.
"(b) An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by
the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for this purpose."
s 33.04. Defenses
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under Sections 33.02 and 33.03 of
this code that the actor was an officer, employee, or agent of a communications
common carrier or electric utility and committed the proscribed act or acts in
the course of employment while engaged in an activity that is a necessary
incident to the rendition of service or to the protection of the rights or
property of the communications common carrier or electric utility.
The attorney general, if requested to do so by a prosecuting attorney, may
assist the prosecuting attorney in the investigation or prosecution of an
offense under this chapter or of any other offense involving the use of a
COMPUTER.
< Text of article as added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 306, s 4 >
(a) In this section "COMPUTER," "COMPUTER network," "COMPUTER program," and
"COMPUTER system" have the meanings assigned to those terms in Section 33.01,
Penal Code.
(b) An offense under Chapter 33, Penal Code, may be prosecuted in:
(1) the county of the principal place of business of the owner or lessee of a
COMPUTER, COMPUTER system, or COMPUTER network involved in the violation;
(2) any county in which a defendant had control or possession of any proceeds
from the violation or any books, records, documents, property, negotiable
instruments, COMPUTER programs, or other material that were used in
furtherance of the violation; or
(3) any county from which, to which, or through which any access to a
COMPUTER or COMPUTER network was made, whether by wires, electromagnetic
waves, microwaves, or any other means of communication.
1990 Pocket Part Credit(s)
Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 306, s 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
< For text of article as added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 125, s 2, see
art. 13.24, ante >
HISTORICAL NOTES
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
1990 Pocket Part Historical and Statutory Notes
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 306, s 6 provides:
"(a) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed
on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an
offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
the offense occurs before the effective date.
"(b) An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by
the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for this purpose."
