hacking cfaa
How does Aaron Swartz&#39;s mass download from JSTOR constitute hacking?
<p>I might be a bit late on this but I just got to know the story of Aaron Swartz, a phenomenal guy to say the least.
The internet is filled with news posts, blogs, and even documentaries stating that "he hacked JSTOR" and downloaded gigabytes of academic journal content from the service. Can someone explain to me how what he did constitutes hacking? What I understood is that he mass downloaded academic journals to which he had authorized access to through his university account.</p>

<p>The only thing I saw that was off the books is that he kept changing his IP address when it was blocked. If this is hacking (the masking of one's IP address) then doesn't that make using any VPN hacking? Constantly changing an IP address is something a pesky bot would do and doesn't seem to me a crime warranting 35 years of jail time even under the CFAA.</p>

<p>I am fully aware of the controversy surrounding his case but that's not what this post is about. I just want to know if what he did constitutes hacking whether under the American CFAA or the definition of the term in computer science or both.</p>

<p>On the face of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Fraud_and_Abuse_Act" rel="nofollow">CFAA</a>:</p>

<p><strong>How does Aaron Swartz's mass download from JSTOR constitute hacking?</strong></p>

<p>He exceeded his authorised access on a protected computer.</p>

<p><strong>If this is hacking (the masking of one's IP address) then doesn't that make using VPN hacking?</strong></p>

<p>Hacking is not a term used in CFAA.</p>

<p>In Aaron's case changing the IP address was a necessity for him to exceed his authorised access; if he stopped when blocked then the unauthorised access would have stopped.</p>

<p>If you are authorised to use a VPN for access then you have not exceeded your authorisation, have you?</p>
