Computer Crimes under the Bulgarian Criminal Code

In today’s digital era, crimes no longer occur only on dark streets or behind thick walls. They are committed with a few clicks – in the silence of a keyboard, behind a computer screen, in a world where the IP address replaces the ID card. This is why computer crimes take an increasingly central place in criminal law and public security.

The Bulgarian Criminal Code responds to this new reality with a special chapter – Chapter Nine “a” – simply but meaningfully entitled: “Computer Crimes.” Here, the legislator describes acts that undermine trust in digital communication, affect data security, and endanger both personal and institutional integrity.

What is a “computer crime”? It is not just movie-style hacking with flashing green lines on a black screen. It may be an employee who copies client databases and sells them. Or a “friend” on Facebook who drains your bank account through a fake link. Or a program that silently locks your files and demands ransom.

Art. 319a CC deals with unlawful access – entering another’s computer system without authorization. The law is clear: any unauthorized access is a crime, even “just to look.”

Art. 319b CC focuses on computer data – its destruction, copying, or modification without authorization. For example, an employee leaving a company who deletes the entire database on the last working day.

Art. 319c CC addresses cases where entire systems are blocked – through viruses, DDoS attacks, or other digital sabotage. Such crimes can paralyze hospitals, banks, or public institutions.

Art. 319g CC criminalizes the creation and distribution of programs, passwords, or devices intended for committing computer crimes. Creating a keylogger (a program recording keystrokes) is a crime.

Art. 319d CC punishes those who overcome information security protections – whether of corporate networks or personal computers.

Court practice brings theory to life. A Supreme Court of Cassation decision in 2015 held that authorship of unlawful access can be proven through indirect electronic traces. Another case, under Art. 78a CC, shows that even minor first-time acts may result in exemption from criminal liability, replaced by an administrative sanction.

Computer crimes are invisible, but their consequences are real: data loss, financial damage, identity theft, system breakdowns.

If you or your relative are victims of a computer crime, it is best to contact a criminal law attorney. This article does not constitute legal advice or opinion from Atty. Mihail Tomov.