Computer Forgery: A necessary crime?

Abstract

The objective of this article is to discuss the need to regulate a specific case of computer forgery in the Chilean criminal law. Instead, an evolutionary interpretation of the crimes of documentary falsification established in the Penal Code is proposed, which would make it possible to dispense a legislative reform aimed at criminally punishing forgery with respect to data contained in electronic documents. Additionally, the text will examine the possibility of applying, in certain cases, other computer crimes to cases of forgery related to data, such as, computer espionage and, especially, computer sabotage.