The Government Finally Figured Out What Hackers Are the Good Guys

Last week, the Justice Department announced a newly revised policy for when prosecutors should charge people under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the decades-old, controversial anti-hacking law. Many of the fights around the CFAA have hinged on what is--and is not--illegal hacking: If a mother violates a website's terms of service by creating a social media profile with a photo of someone else and a fake name, for instance, does that qualify? Or if a police officer searches a government license plate database for personal reasons, instead of work reasons, is that hacking? What about if a Major League Baseball team guesses a former employee's password and uses it to download information about his new team? Or a college student tries to find bugs in a voting app as part of an election security course?