Nationwide Computer Fraud & Abuse Act Lawyers
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is the primary federal tool for prosecuting computer crime, and for litigating high-stakes civil computer law disputes. An allegation of “unauthorized access” is never merely technical. It's a direct threat to your liberty, your assets, and your reputation.
Whether you're a security researcher facing a retaliatory indictment, or a business executive accused of hacking a competitor, the government routinely stretches this poorly written 1984 statute to extremes.
Why This Firm
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is a powerful criminal statute built on undefined terms: “unauthorized access” and “unauthorized damage.” Those terms can determine whether ordinary conduct becomes a federal offense. We focus on the statutory text, the limits of the government’s theory, and the constitutional protections that constrain its use.
CFAA defense is not only about responding to a charge. It is about challenging expansive interpretations before they turn routine computer use into criminal conduct. We litigate the statute’s boundaries, including constitutional questions, in federal appellate courts, including the Third and Ninth Circuits, and bring a technology-literate, trial-ready perspective to high-stakes digital investigations and prosecutions.
Call (888) 721-7680 or complete our online contact form to book a virtual consultation with a nationwide Computer Fraud & Abuse Act attorney.
Our Federal Criminal Defense: Countering Prosecutorial Overreach
Federal computer crime investigations can carry serious consequences long before charges are filed. The government may characterize conduct involving systems, data, credentials, or online platforms as a federal offense even when the facts and statutory text leave substantial room for dispute. We represent individuals and organizations confronting those investigations with a rigorous command of the technology, the governing statutes, and the constitutional limits on federal criminal enforcement.
Challenging Expansive Access Theories
The meaning of “unauthorized access” often decides a computer-crime case. We test the government’s theory against statutory text, technical reality, and controlling precedent. Our appellate work in the Third and Ninth Circuits informs a defense approach focused on preventing ordinary online activity, security research, or contested use of a system from being mislabeled as a hack.
Forensic Deconstruction
Digital evidence deserves careful scrutiny. We work with qualified technical experts to evaluate the collection, preservation, interpretation, and attribution of logs, devices, network records, and other electronic evidence. We identify where an investigation rests on assumptions rather than reliable proof and prepare to examine the government’s forensic evidence and expert testimony accordingly.
Early Intervention
Effective defense work can begin before an indictment. When appropriate, we engage with prosecutors during an investigation to identify legal and evidentiary weaknesses, clarify the technical record, and present a disciplined defense position before charging decisions are made. Early advocacy helps preserve options and shape the case at the point when they matter most.
High-Stakes Civil Litigation: For Plaintiffs and Defendants
The CFAA creates both civil and criminal exposure. We bring the perspective developed in computer crime defense to civil disputes involving cyber intrusions, proprietary data, online access, and digital-platform conduct. We represent plaintiffs seeking to protect systems and information, as well as defendants facing efforts to recast ordinary digital activity as a federal computer claim.
- Trade Secret and Proprietary Data Disputes
We represent employees, founders, and businesses in disputes over alleged misuse, retention, or transfer of confidential information and proprietary data. These cases often turn on what the data was, how it was accessed, what agreements governed its use, and whether the evidence supports the claimed commercial harm.
- Anti-Scraping Defense
We defend founders, startups, smaller firms, researchers, and independent developers against attempts to use the CFAA and related claims to restrict access to public-facing information. Our approach distinguishes genuine intrusion from the collection or use of information that a business has made publicly available, while accounting for the technical facts and governing terms of access.
- Customized Litigation Strategy
Every civil case receives a strategy tailored to its legal theory, evidence, technology, and business stakes. We develop the record with dispositive motion practice and trial in view, presenting complex technical facts in a form that courts and juries can evaluate clearly.
Why Your Choice of Counsel Matters
The CFAA sits at the intersection of evolving technology and judicial doctrine. Its application often turns on technical detail, statutory text, and the latest appellate decisions, not assumptions about how the law operated decades ago. Effective counsel must understand how systems work, how courts are interpreting the statute now, and where the government’s theory extends beyond either.
We translate complex technical facts into clear legal arguments for juries, judges, and prosecutors. That combination of current doctrine, technical fluency, and courtroom experience matters when the difference between authorized use and a federal crime is contested.
Call Tor Ekeland Law at (888) 721-7680 or reach us online to discuss your case with a nationwide Computer Fraud & Abuse Act attorney today.
