A. It is unlawful for any person, with malicious intent, or through intentionally deceptive means and without authority, to:
1. Temporarily or permanently remove, halt, or otherwise disable any computer data, computer programs or computer software from a computer or computer network;
2. Cause a computer to malfunction, regardless of how long the malfunction persists;
3. Alter, disable, or erase any computer data, computer programs or computer software;
4. Effect the creation or alteration of a financial instrument or of an electronic transfer of funds;
5. Use a computer or computer network to cause physical injury to the property of another;
6. Use a computer or computer network to make or cause to be made an unauthorized copy, in any form, including, but not limited to, any printed or electronic form of computer data, computer programs or computer software residing in, communicated by, or produced by a computer or computer network;
7. [Repealed.]
8. Install or cause to be installed, or collect information through, computer software that records all or a majority of the keystrokes made on the computer of another; or
9. Install or cause to be installed on the computer of another, computer software for the purpose of (i) taking control of that computer so that it can cause damage to another computer or (ii) disabling or disrupting the ability of the computer to share or transmit instructions or data to other computers or to any related computer equipment or devices, including but not limited to printers, scanners, or fax machines.
B. Any person who violates this section is guilty of computer trespass, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Any person who violates this section for the purposes of affecting a computer that is exclusively for the use of, or exclusively used by or for, (i) the Commonwealth or any local government within the Commonwealth or any department or agency thereof or (ii) a provider of telephone, including wireless or voice over Internet protocol, oil, electric, gas, sewer, wastewater, or water service to the public is guilty of a Class 6 felony. If there is damage to the property of another valued at $1,000 or more caused by such person's act done with malicious intent in violation of this section, the offense is a Class 6 felony. If a person, with malicious intent, installs or causes to be installed computer software in violation of this section on more than five computers of another, the offense is a Class 6 felony. If a person violates subdivision A 8 with malicious intent, the offense is a Class 6 felony.
C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to interfere with or prohibit terms or conditions in a contract or license related to computers, computer data, computer networks, computer operations, computer programs, computer services, or computer software or to create any liability by reason of terms or conditions adopted by, or technical measures implemented by, a Virginia-based electronic mail service provider to prevent the transmission of unsolicited electronic mail in violation of this article. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the monitoring of the location of a minor or a person with a disability or mental impairment as those terms are defined in § 51.5-40.1 or to prohibit the monitoring of the computer usage of, the otherwise lawful copying of data of, or the denial of computer or Internet access to a minor by a parent or legal guardian of the minor. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require notice to a computer user of the activities of a computer hardware or software provider, an interactive computer service, or a telecommunications or cable operator that a reasonable computer user should expect may occur in the context of a computer user's transaction or relationship with that entity or that are required or specifically authorized by law.
1984, c. 751; 1985, c. 322; 1990, c. 663; 1998, c. 892; 1999, cc. 886, 904, 905; 2002, c. 195; 2003, cc. 987, 1016; 2005, cc. 761, 812, 827; 2007, c. 483; 2017, c. 562; 2020, c. 821.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
20
cases (
8 in the last 5 years), 1999–2026 · leading case:
Supinger v. Virginia, 167 F. Supp. 3d 795 (W.D. Va. 2016).
Supinger v. Virginia, 167 F. Supp. 3d 795 (W.D. Va. 2016).
· cites it 11× “Supinger claims that Holcomb and Hill’s conduct violated the Virginia Computer Crimes Act (“VCCA”), Va. Code §§ 18.2-152.4 and 18.2-152.5. Section 18.”
Dimaio v. Commonwealth, 621 S.E.2d 696 (Va. Ct. App. 2005).
· cites it 2× “While appellant contended in his brief that the evidence did not prove that property was damaged for the purpose of misdemeanor computer trespass, counsel conceded at oral argument that Code § 18.2-152.4 did not include such a requirement for a misdemeanor conviction.”
Maxient, LLC v. Symplicity Corp., 63 F. Supp. 3d 592 (E.D. Va. 2014).
· cites it 16× “3 (Count Il-computer fraud), Virginia Code § 18.2-152.4 (Count Ill-computer trespass) and Virginia Code § 18.”
OpenRisk, LLC v. MicroStrategy Servs. Corp., 876 F.3d 518 (4th Cir. 2017).
“Not until after taking down the cloud environment, OpenRisk claims, did MicroStrategy provide it with the 90-day notice of termination for non-payment mandated by the parties’ contract.”
DiMaio v. Com., 636 S.E.2d 456 (Va. 2006).
· cites it 2× “3; computer trespass in violation of Code § 18.2-152.4(A); embezzlement in violation of Code § 18.”
CigarCafe, L.C. v. Am. Online, Inc., 50 Va. Cir. 146 (Alexandria Cir. Ct. 1999).
· cites it 11× “Plaintiff alleges that Defendant committed computer trespass by evicting Plaintiff from the site and removing Plaintiffs “pop-up” images from the network, all in violation of Va. Code § 18.2-152.4. This statute provides that a person shall be guilty of the crime of computer…”
McGladrey & Pullen, L.L.P. v. Shrader, 62 Va. Cir. 401 (Rockingham Cir. Ct. 2003).
· cites it 6× “” Va. Code § 18.2-152.4. The term “without authority” refers to a person who uses a computer without permission or, if the person has some right to use the computer, “uses a computer.”
Stephenson v. Nassif, 160 F. Supp. 3d 884 (E.D. Va. 2015).
· cites it 3× “, and the Virginia Computer Crimes Act, Va. Code § 18.2-152.4 — Nassif, who is Alliance’s FSO, reported his suspicion to the Department of Defense in the form of a JPAS incident report and to the local police department, as well.”
Lisha Bryant-Shannon v. Tina L. Vick (Va. Ct. App. 2025).
· cites it 18× “Bryant-Shannon therefore successfully 10 We do not suggest that every instance of computer trespass under Code § 18.2-152.4 involves a crime of moral turpitude.”
Withrow (E.D. Va. 2026).
· cites it 12× “Code § 18.2-152.4. Computer trespass occurs when a “person, with malicious intent, or through intentionally deceptive means and without authority,” either (1) erases computer data or (2) uses a computer or computer network to make an unauthorized copy of computer data.”
Rogers Elec. of Virginia, Ltd. v. Sims, 93 Va. Cir. 484 (Chesapeake Cir. Ct. 2015).
· cites it 2× “Count V alleges that “the defendants committed a computer trespass by unlawfully using the computers of Rogers to make unauthorized copies of computer data, namely digitized information concerning the customers of Rogers and also erase computer data, all in violation of Virginia…”
Hains v. Adams (E.D. Va. 2019).
· cites it 4× “) Similarly, in response to Count IV, Defendant argues for dismissal of Plaintiff's claims as ‘to her Facebook and Wells Fargo accounts, because computer trespass within the meaning of Virginia Code § 18.2-152.4 requires more than merely accessing or attempting to access an…”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-152.4(6) — 1 case
Maxient, LLC v. Symplicity Corp., 63 F. Supp. 3d 592 (E.D. Va. 2014).
“3 (Count Il-computer fraud), Virginia Code § 18.2-152.4 (Count Ill-computer trespass) and Virginia Code § 18.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-152.4(A) — 3 cases
DiMaio v. Com., 636 S.E.2d 456 (Va. 2006).
“3; computer trespass in violation of Code § 18.2-152.4(A); embezzlement in violation of Code § 18.”
CigarCafe, L.C. v. Am. Online, Inc., 50 Va. Cir. 146 (Alexandria Cir. Ct. 1999).
“Plaintiff alleges that Defendant committed computer trespass by evicting Plaintiff from the site and removing Plaintiffs “pop-up” images from the network, all in violation of Va. Code § 18.2-152.4. This statute provides that a person shall be guilty of the crime of computer…”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-152.4(A)(1) — 1 case
Lisha Bryant-Shannon v. Tina L. Vick (Va. Ct. App. 2025).
“Bryant-Shannon therefore successfully 10 We do not suggest that every instance of computer trespass under Code § 18.2-152.4 involves a crime of moral turpitude.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-152.4(A)(2) — 1 case
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-152.4(A)(3) — 1 case
Withrow (E.D. Va. 2026).
“Code § 18.2-152.4. Computer trespass occurs when a “person, with malicious intent, or through intentionally deceptive means and without authority,” either (1) erases computer data or (2) uses a computer or computer network to make an unauthorized copy of computer data.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-152.4(A)(6) — 4 cases
Supinger v. Virginia, 167 F. Supp. 3d 795 (W.D. Va. 2016).
“Supinger claims that Holcomb and Hill’s conduct violated the Virginia Computer Crimes Act (“VCCA”), Va. Code §§ 18.2-152.4 and 18.2-152.5. Section 18.”
Withrow (E.D. Va. 2026).
“Code § 18.2-152.4. Computer trespass occurs when a “person, with malicious intent, or through intentionally deceptive means and without authority,” either (1) erases computer data or (2) uses a computer or computer network to make an unauthorized copy of computer data.”
Lisha Bryant-Shannon v. Tina L. Vick (Va. Ct. App. 2025).
“Bryant-Shannon therefore successfully 10 We do not suggest that every instance of computer trespass under Code § 18.2-152.4 involves a crime of moral turpitude.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-152.4(B) — 1 case
CigarCafe, L.C. v. Am. Online, Inc., 50 Va. Cir. 146 (Alexandria Cir. Ct. 1999).
“Plaintiff alleges that Defendant committed computer trespass by evicting Plaintiff from the site and removing Plaintiffs “pop-up” images from the network, all in violation of Va. Code § 18.2-152.4. This statute provides that a person shall be guilty of the crime of computer…”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-152.4(D) — 1 case
CigarCafe, L.C. v. Am. Online, Inc., 50 Va. Cir. 146 (Alexandria Cir. Ct. 1999).
“Plaintiff alleges that Defendant committed computer trespass by evicting Plaintiff from the site and removing Plaintiffs “pop-up” images from the network, all in violation of Va. Code § 18.2-152.4. This statute provides that a person shall be guilty of the crime of computer…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.