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The Computer Misuse Act (1990) was a law created by the UK Parliament, after a committee decided the current laws did not adequately cover the advances in technology.

The law is fairly wide ranging about what is covered, but to summarise, the following are the main offences -

Unauthorised access to computer material (that is, a program or data).
Unauthorised access to a computer system with intent to commit or facilitate the commission of a serious crime.
Unauthorised modification of computer material.

The act basically covers acts of hacking and deliberate tampering with data.