Computer Crime Laws in Georgia

Georgia’s Computer Systems Protection Act defines five computer crimes in O.C.G.A. § 16-9-93: computer theft, computer trespass, computer invasion of privacy, computer forgery, and computer password disclosure. The first four carry up to 15 years, a fine up to $50,000, or both. Password disclosure carries up to one year, a fine up to $5,000, or both. Victims also get a civil claim, with a four-year deadline.

The knowledge element runs through four of the five

Computer theft, computer trespass, and computer invasion of privacy each require that the person knew the use or examination was “without authority”. Computer password disclosure requires knowing the disclosure was without authority. For someone who believed they were permitted to use a system, such as an employee or former employee, that knowledge element is the one the facts have to meet. Computer forgery is built differently; it borrows the elements of ordinary forgery.

The five offenses

Offense	Subsection	What the State proves
Computer theft	(a)	use of a computer or network, knowing it is without authority, intending to take or appropriate another's property, to obtain property by deceitful means or artful practice, or to convert property in violation of an agreement or legal obligation
Computer trespass	(b)	use, knowing it is without authority, intending to delete or remove a program or data, to obstruct or interfere with a program or data, or to alter, damage, or cause a malfunction, "regardless of how long the alteration, damage, or malfunction persists"
Computer invasion of privacy	(c)	use intending to examine another person's employment, medical, salary, credit, or other financial or personal data, knowing the examination is without authority
Computer forgery	(d)	creating, altering, or deleting data in a way that would be forgery under Article 1 if done to a tangible document
Computer password disclosure	(e)	disclosing a number, code, password, or other means of access, knowing the disclosure is without authority, causing the owner damages over $500

Two details in the table matter. Invasion of privacy turns on using a computer with the intention of examining the data, knowing the examination is without authority; the subsection does not require that anything be copied or removed. And password disclosure has a damages floor: the damages to the owner, including the fair market value of services used and the victim’s expenditures, must exceed $500, so at $500 or less the offense is not complete.

For computer forgery, the absence of a tangible writing is not a defense if data was created, altered, or deleted in place of one. The forgery degrees that subsection (d) borrows are explained in forgery charges in Georgia.

Penalties

Subsection (h)(1): computer theft, trespass, invasion of privacy, or forgery is punished by a fine of not more than $50,000, imprisonment of not more than 15 years, or both. Subsection (h)(2): password disclosure is punished by a fine of not more than $5,000, incarceration not exceeding one year, or both. The gap between the two is large enough that the classification of the conduct, disclosure versus unauthorized use, changes the case.

The civil claim and its deadline

Subsection (g) gives any person whose property or person is injured by a violation a right to sue for damages, including lost profits and victim expenditures, and the costs of suit. Three features shape that claim:

• It rests on a violation of the article; the subsection does not make a criminal conviction a condition of the claim.
• It “must be brought within four years after the violation is discovered or by exercise of reasonable diligence should have been discovered.”
• A continuing violation of one subsection by one person counts as a single violation.

At either party’s request, the court must conduct the case in a way that protects the secrecy and security of the computer, data, or programs involved and any trade secrets.

Other laws still apply

Subsection (f) says the article does not preclude any other law that applies to the same conduct. Using stolen identifying information obtained through a computer can also be identity fraud under § 16-9-121, and federal law has its own computer fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1030, which a federal prosecutor may charge independently.

Sources

• O.C.G.A. § 16-9-93(a)-(h) (2024 Georgia Code; the 2022 through 2026 Legislative Counsel summaries list no later amendment).
• 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (federal computer fraud statute).

General information about Georgia criminal law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.