COMPUTER RESOURCES HAVE BEEN OF IMMEASURABLE BENEFIT TO BOTH GOVERNMENTAL AND BUSINESS SECTORS. COLLATERAL WITH THE GROWING USE OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS, HOWEVER, HAS BEEN THE EMERGENCE OF ABUSERS OF COMPUTER RESOURCES, SUCH AS THE SO-CALLED COMPUTER THIEF AND THE INVADER OF PRIVACY. ABUSES INCLUDE EMBEZZLEMENT OF MONEY, FALSIFICATION OF DATA, THEFT OF TRADE SECRETS, AND MISAPPROPRIATION OF GOODS AND SERVICES. STATUTES DESIGNED IN THE PAST HAVE PROVEN INEFFECTIVE WHEN THEY ARE APPLIED TO THE TECHNOLOGICALLY COMPETENT COMPUTER CRIMINAL. SEVEN CASES SELECTED TO ILLUSTRATE WEAKNESSES IN THE COMPUTER SECURITY SYSTEM ARE DESCRIBED BRIEFLY. THE PURPOSES AND PROVISIONS OF THE FEDERAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS PROTECTION ACT OF 1977 ARE EXPLAINED. THE OMNIBUS RIGHT TO PRIVACY ACT OF 1977 IS SIMILARLY DISCUSSED. SUGGESTED REMEDIES FOR COMPUTER ABUSE PROBLEMS ARE AS FOLLOWS: THE DECENTRALIZATION OF COMPUTER FACILITIES, THE ASSEMBLY AND TRAINING OF RISK MANAGEMENT TEAMS THAT PERIODICALLY ASSESS POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS, THE FORMATION OF A GROUP OF PROFESSIONAL SYSTEM CRASHERS WHO ATTEMPT TO FIND SYSTEM WEAKNESSES, AND SPOT CHECKING REVIEWS OF COMPUTER DECISIONS. OTHER SUGGESTED REMEDIES ARE THE AUTOMATED REVIEW OF COMPUTER DECISIONS BY TWO ISOLATED PROGRAMING GROUPS, PROCEDURES BY WHICH NONCOMPUTER PERSONNEL RECORD AUDIT TRAILS, THE ENCODING OF DATA VULNERABLE TO TAPPING, THE USE OF PASSWORDS FOR SYSTEMS WHICH HAVE MANY USERS, AND FREQUENT CHANGES IN PERSONNEL TO PREVENT THE FAMILIARITY OF EMPLOYEES WITH COMPUTER OPERATION. TWENTY-FIVE REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)