The CyberUp Campaign, which advocates for urgent changes to the 1990 Computer Misuse Act (CMA), has launched a new consultation, inviting security professionals and researchers to participate in a comprehensive survey to share their views on the law’s impact on their work.
CyberUp argues that the CMA is severely outdated, having been enacted just months after Tim Berners-Lee proposed the concept of the worldwide web.
The group highlights that the wording of key clauses regarding unauthorised access to computer systems risks criminalising legitimate security professionals and ethical hackers who work to protect organisations, potentially exposing them to prosecution.
The campaign began in early 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic, with an appeal to then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson to address their concerns. By May 2021, the campaign had secured a commitment from then-Home Secretary Priti Patel to initiate a consultation on the matter. However, this process stalled amid political turmoil, and by 2023, with Johnson and his successor Liz Truss no longer in office, the campaign’s progress had stagnated. Although another consultation in 2023 was well-received, it ultimately led to no significant changes.
By launching this new study, the campaigners hope the new Labour government will consider clear, current, and compelling evidence to amend the law. They aim to provide up-to-date insights to drive the necessary legislative changes to better support cybersecurity professionals and enhance the UK’s cyber resilience.
“This is a pivotal moment for the cyber security industry. The new government has just introduced a very welcome Cyber Security and Resilience Bill in the King’s Speech – the first time ever that ‘cyber’ has been mentioned in any primary legislation – which presents an opportune moment for a legislative update to the CMA in the near future,” a CyberUp spokesperson said. “Launching the survey now enables the campaign to demonstrate the potentially restrictive impact of outdated cyber crime legislation on the growth and investment of the UK’s cyber security sector, as well as its effect on cyber defensive activities conducted domestically.”
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Gill Laing is a qualified Legal Researcher & Analyst with niche specialisms in Law, Tax, Human Resources, Immigration & Employment Law.
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