PENAL CODE
CHAPTER 33. COMPUTER CRIMES
§ 33.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Access" means to approach, instruct, communicate
with, store data in, retrieve or intercept data from, alter data or
computer software in, or otherwise make use of any resource of a
computer, computer network, computer program, or computer system.
(2) "Aggregate amount" means the amount of:
(A) any direct or indirect loss incurred by a
victim, including the value of money, property, or service stolen
or rendered unrecoverable by the offense; or
(B) any expenditure required by the victim to
verify that a computer, computer network, computer program, or
computer system was not altered, acquired, damaged, deleted, or
disrupted by the offense.
(3) "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.
(4) "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.
(5) "Computer network" means the interconnection of
two or more computers or computer systems by satellite, microwave,
line, or other communication medium with the capability to transmit
information among the computers.
(6) "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.
(7) "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.
(8) "Computer system" means any combination of a
computer or computer network with the documentation, computer
software, or physical facilities supporting the computer or
computer network.
(9) "Computer software" means a set of computer
programs, procedures, and associated documentation related to the
operation of a computer, computer system, or computer network.
(10) "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 or 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.
(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, laser storage media, and punchcards, or may be
stored internally in the memory of the computer.
(12) "Effective consent" includes consent by a person
legally authorized to act for the owner. Consent is not effective
if:
(A) induced by deception, as defined by Section
31.01, or induced by coercion;
(B) given by a person the actor knows is not
legally authorized to act for the owner;
(C) given by a person who by reason of youth,
mental disease or defect, or intoxication is known by the actor to
be unable to make reasonable property dispositions;
(D) given solely to detect the commission of an
offense; or
(E) used for a purpose other than that for which
the consent was given.
(13) "Electric utility" has the meaning assigned by
Section 31.002, Utilities Code.
(14) "Harm" includes partial or total alteration,
damage, or erasure of stored data, interruption of computer
services, introduction of a computer virus, or any other loss,
disadvantage, or injury that might reasonably be suffered as a
result of the actor's conduct.
(15) "Owner" means a person who:
(A) has title to the property, possession of the
property, whether lawful or not, or a greater right to possession of
the property than the actor;
(B) has the right to restrict access to the
property; or
(C) is the licensee of data or computer software.
(16) "Property" means:
(A) tangible or intangible personal property
including a computer, computer system, computer network, computer
software, or data; or
(B) the use of a computer, computer system,
computer network, computer software, or data.
Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 600, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 306, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1989; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994;
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 306, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts
1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, § 18.44, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 33.02. BREACH OF COMPUTER SECURITY. (a) A person
commits an offense if the person knowingly accesses a computer,
computer network, or computer system without the effective consent
of the owner.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor
unless in committing the offense the actor knowingly obtains a
benefit, defrauds or harms another, or alters, damages, or deletes
property, in which event the offense is:
(1) a Class A misdemeanor if the aggregate amount
involved is less than $1,500;
(2) a state jail felony if:
(A) the aggregate amount involved is $1,500 or
more but less than $20,000; or
(B) the aggregate amount involved is less than
$1,500 and the defendant has been previously convicted two or more
times of an offense under this chapter;
(3) a felony of the third degree if the aggregate
amount involved is $20,000 or more but less than $100,000;
(4) a felony of the second degree if the aggregate
amount involved is $100,000 or more but less than $200,000; or
(5) a felony of the first degree if the aggregate
amount involved is $200,000 or more.
(c) When benefits are obtained, a victim is defrauded or
harmed, or property is altered, damaged, or deleted in violation of
this section, whether or not in a single incident, the conduct may
be considered as one offense and the value of the benefits obtained
and of the losses incurred because of the fraud, harm, or
alteration, damage, or deletion of property may be aggregated in
determining the grade of the offense.
(d) A person who his subject to prosecution under this
section and any other section of this code may be prosecuted under
either or both sections.
Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 600, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 306, § 2, eff. Sept. 1,
1989; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994;
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 306, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts
2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1411, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
§ 33.03. DEFENSES. It is an affirmative defense to
prosecution under Section 33.02 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.
Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 600, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Renumbered from V.T.C.A., Penal Code § 33.04 and amended by Acts
1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.
§ 33.04. ASSISTANCE BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. 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.
Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 600, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Renumbered from V.T.C.A., Penal Code § 33.05 by Acts 1993, 73rd
Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.
