18 U.S.C. Sec. 1030(A)(3) Accessing a Non-Public Government Computer is a federal crime. It is prohibited for any person to intentionally access a non-public computer owned and operated by the U.S. Government, or any agency or instrumentality of the U.S. Government, without authorization. There are two types of violations under this statute: 1. Unauthorized Access: This is when a person intentionally accesses a non-public government computer without permission. 2. Exceeding Authorization: This is when a person has been granted access to a government computer, but uses that access to obtain and/or alter information that they are not authorized to obtain or alter.