Belen Pisaniello

(Lee Campbell / Unsplash) By Belen Pisaniello, Sunoo Park and Daniel R. Thomas • Jul 22, 2026 “I sent some emails warning people of a security incident and [law enforcement] c[a]me up at me with machine guns—that kind of doesn’t seem to balance.” — Anonymous Anti-hacking laws, such as the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Actand the U.K. Computer Misuse Act, exist to combat malicious hacking and protect digital infrastructure.

“I sent some emails warning people of a security incident and [law enforcement] c[a]me up at me with machine guns—that kind of doesn’t seem to balance.” — Anonymous Anti-hacking laws, such as the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Actand the U.K. Computer Misuse Act, exist to combat malicious hacking and protect digital infrastructure. But paradoxically, their broad and ambiguous scope can work against that very goal.