IndexBackgroundMain IssueRecommendationsIn March, the Georgia state legislature passed SB 315 only for Governor Deal to veto the bill. Supporters of SB 315 believed the legislation was needed to protect private data, deter malicious hackers, and allow companies to "hack," while opponents feared it would chill cybersecurity research, harm the growing security industry Georgia's computer system, witnessed abuse by malicious hackers and overzealous prosecutors alike. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Context In August 2017, cybersecurity researcher Logan Lamb discovered that the Kennesaw State University Center for Election Systems voter database had been created using a misconfigured server and unpatched Drupal Content Management Framework PHP. If an attacker took advantage of these vulnerabilities, they would not only gain access to the registration records of Georgia's 6.7 million voters, but they could alter voter rolls and compromise the tabulation of election results. Shortly after this revelation, Georgia State Senator Bruce Thompson introduced SB 315 and encouraged the General Assembly to pass legislation criminalizing illegitimate computer access. Additionally, starting on March 22, 2018, a week before the Georgia state legislature voted on SB 315, the city of Atlanta suffered a debilitating ransomware attack, prompting lawmakers to expand enforcement of hacking-related incidents . Major Issue On March 29, 2018, the Georgia State Legislature passed SB 315. SB 315 would have amended the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to establish the new crime of “unauthorized computer access. The bill defines “unauthorized computer access” as “any person who accesses a computer or computer network with knowledge that such access is without authorization.” Violators of this new law would be charged with a crime of a serious and aggravated nature and, if found relevant to the violation, would have their personal computers and property declared contraband subject to civil asset forfeiture. SB 315 also provided four exceptions to the crime of “unauthorized computer access,” in that the law would not apply to a) anyone in the same household, or b) accessing a computer or computer network for commercial purposes. legitimate c) active cybersecurity defense measures and d) individuals based on violations of terms of service or user agreements. Almost immediately, news of the bill's legislative success prompted heated public debate among the bill's supporters, civil liberties groups, hacktivists, and industry investors. Supporters of SB 315, including Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, argued that as one of only three states that had not criminalized "unauthorized computer access," Georgia was long overdue. Carr argued that even if no information was stolen or altered, the unauthorized access to the computer still violated the confidentiality of personal information (PI). Furthermore, refraining from criminalizing unauthorized access to computers unless the IP is used maliciously would prevent prosecutors from intervening before bad actors exploit compromised IP. Opponents, including.