A cybercrime in Nevada can be a misdemeanor or felony depending on the target and damages caused. More comprehensive information with this presentation!

1. E X P L A I N I N G
C Y B E R C R I M E I N
N E VA D A

2. Similar to what you see in popular media,
cybercrime consists primarily of hacking, which is
the act of intruding to a private computer or
network with the goal to take information, interrupt
processes, and ultimately harm other people.
Although hacking is a federal crime, not all
computers are covered by hacking laws. Usually,
it is when you hack government-owned networks
that you are committing a crime and is subject to
hacking criminal charges.
It is the time to be alarmed about hacking and
cybercrime as a whole as their prevalence might
affect you badly in the future.
Read below to learn more.

3. What constitutes as hacking?
With extensive knowledge and the right equipment, any person can hack. Hacking is primarily entering a
system uninvited with the purpose of taking, copying, hiding, altering, and transferring files or
information. You are on your way to being incriminated if the computer or the network that you are
hacking is privately-owned, without your affiliation, or something that you do not have any permission to
touch at all. Hacking is the precursor of cybercrimes such as theft, fraud, funds transfer, and general
exploitation of private information.
You might be wondering: are there penalties for playfully hacking your friend’s email?
Well, not every hacking act is with malicious intent—there are hackers who hack to test the security of
the system or find and eradicate unwanted bugs in the network. This is called ethical hacking and it can
be a profession that companies can hire to identify their vulnerabilities. However, to be an ethical hacker,
you need to follow certain regulations such as taking certification from The International Council of E-
commerce Consultants (ICEC).

4. What are some other computer crimes?
Aside from what we have already listed above, computer crimes can also be intentionally shutting servers
down to interrupt operations, electronic money laundering, and spam. Unfortunately, there are a lot of crimes
you can do with your computer and not everything is wide-scale. Depending on your situation, you are already
doing crime if you are intentionally putting a virus on a computer. This might seem minor compared to the
other crimes but because it affects important systems or costs damages, you can be arrested.

5. What are the penalties for cybercrime in Nevada?
For a cybercrime with misdemeanor, a defendant can be charged with:
 1 year prison time
 Fines of up to $1,000
When the cybercrime becomes too extensive (like when there is an evident intent to scheme) and when
there are more than $500 in damages, as well as when government operations have been disrupted, you
can be charged as a Category C felony in the state. This usually includes penalties of:
 1 to 5 years in prison
 Fines of at least $100,000
 Reinstitution to the victims of cybercrime

6. What are the penalties for cybercrime in Nevada?
If you use government computers or if your cybercrime has the interest of the government then you will
most likely be charged with the penalties of the federal law:
• 1 to 20 years in prison
• Fines
• Reinstitution to the government or the victims
Talk with a criminal defense attorney to learn more about the penalties that can await you with cybercrime.

7. What defenses can you use against
cybercrime?
Cybercrime is a tricky case to be involved in.
Fortunately, a person cannot be charged without
evidence, and cybercrime evidences can be rare or
fleeting since most of them are digital or online.
If you are falsely accused of cybercrime, you can utilize
defenses such as:
• You are authorized to do the logging or hacking to
the system
• There are witnesses who can place you out of the
time of the crime or there are login evidence to show
that you did not hack or login
• You are under duress or coercion (your life is
threatened)
• Hacking was done by mistake and you have no
sufficient knowledge to carry out the deed
• You were mistaken for someone else
• There are no evidences of fraud or violations that
were being pressed unto you

8. Hackers might not directly attack you but when they
target government networks, your personal data will
also be in trouble. And due to the struggle to identify
perpetrators, a link to you might lead to unlawful arrest.
It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the
Nevada Revised Statutes or NRS on cybercrime
matters.
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