High court to hear case about reach of computer hacking law

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide a case from Georgia about the reach of a federal computer hacking law.

The case involves Nathan Van Buren, who was a police sergeant in Cumming, Georgia. The FBI set up a sting operation to find out if Van Buren would provide law enforcement information in exchange for cash, and he was offered money in exchange for searching a Georgia license plate database.

Van Buren was ultimately convicted of fraud and violating the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Van Buren argued the law didn’t apply because he accessed a database that he was authorized to access.

The case won’t be argued before the fall.