In: Computer Science
When is an ECPA relevant? Computer forensics
In Computer Forensics, an Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) is relevant when any defense-related electronic communications or message traffic (which are created, shared, transmitted with a good intention, for constructive purposes) are intercepted, attacked, hacked, cracked, sniffed, information gathered, and/or the communications are disclosed as a means of espionage.
The act is basically, a "restriction" on wiretapping, intercepting, sniffing data, or information of consumers, users, people, public, or simply citizens' which are occurring through electronic communications gathering stored or transmitting data from their private service providers or even directly from the consumers, customers, or people, without any prior authorization and rights to do that.
So, the question is when an ECPA is relevant, or when the "restriction of interception" is relevant. In general, all public, people, consumers, customers, or citizens' private, personal, confidential, critical or otherwise data, information, and communications are meant to be private and personal. Hence, these should not be intercepted by governments, any related entity, or any other body.
ECPA also applies to the government's unauthorized surveillance measures and activities on people, public, or citizens' daily private and personal life activities and behavior, thus providing people their privacy, freedom, and even anonymity.
In general, it prohibits, restricts, and makes it illegal of an individual, an organization, or a government to intentionally, actually, or even attempting interception, and usage, disclosure, or procurement of an individual, organization, or another government, in case, found out if he/she or it (the body or entity) of intercepting or endeavoring for intercepting any of their wire, oral, visual, or electronic communication and the content, information, or the actual data.