Destruction of Information, Art. 268 of the Penal Code, from the series „35 Cybercrimes in Polish Criminal Law”
Article 268 of the Criminal Code
§ 1. Whoever, without authorization, destroys, damages, deletes, or modifies the record of essential information, or otherwise prevents or significantly hinders an authorized person from accessing it, shall be subject to a fine, a restriction of liberty, or imprisonment for up to 2 years.
§ 2. If the act described in § 1 concerns information recorded on an IT data carrier, the perpetrator shall be subject to imprisonment for up to 3 years.
§ 3. Whoever, by committing the act defined in § 1 or 2, causes significant material damage, shall be subject to imprisonment from 3 months to 5 years.
§ 4. Prosecution of the offenses specified in § 1-3 shall occur upon the victim’s request.
Nature of the Crime of Information Destruction
The provision of Article 268 of the Criminal Code protects essential information, its integrity, access to it, and the interests of the person entitled to it. The crime of information destruction may be committed by anyone, provided they are not authorized to take the described actions.
This crime can be committed through the following actions mentioned as examples in the provision:
- Destruction of an essential information record
- Damage to an essential information record
- Deletion of an essential information record
- Modification of an essential information record
- Other actions that prevent or significantly hinder access to it
An essential piece of information can be recorded in various forms, such as:
- Notes
- Magnetic tapes
- Discs
- Photographs
- Video camera recordings
If such essential information is recorded on a data carrier, the legal qualification from § 2 of Article 268 of the Criminal Code applies. The record may be deleted or destroyed physically or electronically.
The crime is most often committed when the perpetrator uses software to delete or destroy records, including (A. Adamski, Computer Crimes, p. 71):
- Computer viruses
- Worms
- Logic bombs
- Time bombs (a type of logic bomb)
The offense defined in § 1 carries a penalty of a fine, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment for up to 2 years. A more severe penalty applies in cases involving the qualified offenses specified in § 2 and 3. The crime is prosecuted only at the victim’s request.
II. Examples of Crimes Involving Information Destruction
Example 1
The defendant was charged with committing a crime under Article 268 § 1 and 2 of the Criminal Code. On August 3, 2015, in G., at the headquarters of the company (…) s.c. J. Ż., K. Ż., G. Ż., the defendant, acting intentionally and without authorization, used the system trash mechanism between 11:39:56 and 11:42:02 to delete at least 231 files containing essential information from two hard drives (SO Gliwice, VI Ka 1076/17).
Example 2
The District Court (…) sentenced the defendants on June 23, 2016, under case file VI K 727/15. The defendants were found guilty of, on April 15, 2015, in S., acting jointly and in concert, destroying an A. brand laptop worth PLN 1,000, causing harm to M. B. (1) to remove data recorded on the IT data carrier, qualifying the act under Article 268 § 2 of the Criminal Code.
Legal Issues
- Authorized Person
An authorized person under this provision is often an individual working or performing tasks in state or local government bodies, legal entities, or organizational units without legal personality that process data in connection with their activities. - Significance of Information
The term „essential information” is subjective. Therefore, when analyzing a case, cultural and customary factors should be taken into account. The significance should be evaluated from the public’s perspective.
Legal status as of August 23, 2021
Cyberlaw by Judyta 