IANAL, but from reading for a little bit, it seems to vary and states have their own laws.
There's some discussion on Wikipedia here[2] of unauthorized piggybacking (which does not even require hacking the network), with a few examples of actual instances.
In St. Petersburg, 2005, Benjamin Smith III was arrested and charged with "unauthorized access to a computer network", a third-degree felony in the state of Florida, after using a resident's wireless network from a car parked outside.
A third-degree felony in Florida seems to be up to 5 years. In some states it is up to 10 years. Another person got "a fine of $250 and one year of court supervision".
If it's unauthorized access to the computer of a government or financial institution (or "which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication", which can be interpreted very broadly), then the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act would apply[2]. From reading about the sections regarding "trespassing", punishment can be a fine and 1-5 years imprisonment (first offense), or up to 10 years (repeated offense).
There's some discussion on Wikipedia here[2] of unauthorized piggybacking (which does not even require hacking the network), with a few examples of actual instances.
In St. Petersburg, 2005, Benjamin Smith III was arrested and charged with "unauthorized access to a computer network", a third-degree felony in the state of Florida, after using a resident's wireless network from a car parked outside.
A third-degree felony in Florida seems to be up to 5 years. In some states it is up to 10 years. Another person got "a fine of $250 and one year of court supervision".
If it's unauthorized access to the computer of a government or financial institution (or "which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication", which can be interpreted very broadly), then the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act would apply[2]. From reading about the sections regarding "trespassing", punishment can be a fine and 1-5 years imprisonment (first offense), or up to 10 years (repeated offense).
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_piggybacking#Unite...
2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Fraud_and_Abuse_Act