ATLANTA, GA - Attorney General Chris Carr today commended the Georgia General Assembly for passing a measure to prevent unauthorized computer or computer network access. Senate Bill 315 was introduced by Senator Bruce Thompson on the first day of the 2018 Legislative Session, and Representative Christian Coomer carried the bill through the House of Representatives. It passed with respective votes of 42 - 7and 107 - 63. His statement is below:

“Before the General Assembly passed this measure, we were one of only three states in the nation where it was not illegal to access a computer or computer network so long as nothing was disrupted, altered or stolen,” said Attorney General Carr. “In a world where hackers –whether they are state-sponsored actors, organized criminal enterprises, loose confederations or lone wolves – attempt every single second of every single day to gain unauthorized access to our computers and computer networks, this common sense solution will close a window of opportunity for those who wish us harm.

“We want to thank Senator Bruce Thompson and Representative Christian Coomer for their support and leadership. As the top state in the nation in which to do businesses, we have a strong interest in making sure Georgia’s legal and regulatory environment supports our thriving cybersecurity industry, so we also want to thank the many subject-matter experts who worked with us and the General Assembly to help craft this legislation.”

The Office of the Attorney General commends co-sponsors of Senate Bill 315 Senators John Albers, Bill Cowsert, Butch Miller, Renee Unterman and Jeff Mullis as well as Representatives Rich Golick, Ed Setzler and Bert Reeves for their support.