Labor & Employment Law, Criminal Law, Science, Computers & Technology

Fenwick Employment Brief - May 2013: Software Programmer Criminally Charged For Hacking Former Employer's Network

by Daniel J. McCoy, Dan Ko Obuhanych | Fenwick & West LLP on 5/16/2013

The federal Department of Justice recently filed criminal charges against a 41-year old software programmer and system manager who hacked into his former employer's computer network, causing $90,000 in damage. The complaint...more

Federal Jury Finds Executive Recruiter Guilty Stealing Trade Secrets From Former Employer In Order to Start Competing Business

by Gregg Fisch, Danielle Levine | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 5/3/2013

On April 24, 2013, a federal jury in the Northern District of California found former Korn/Ferry International corporate executive recruiter, David Nosal, guilty on six counts of conspiracy, stealing trade secrets, and...more

White Collar Watch - April 2013

by Bruce D. Armon, Andrea P. Brockway, Michael Finio, Christopher R. Hall, Keith Lorenze, Nicholas J. Nastasi, Courtney L. Schultz, Brian Simons | Saul Ewing LLP on 4/23/2013

In This Issue: - Third Circuit Panel Liberalizes “Protected Activity” Immunity for Employees Claiming Whistleblower Status - Doing Time: A Requirement for White Collar Crime? - Casting a Smaller Net:...more

Federal Law Provides Enhanced Trade Secret Protection for Employers

by David Johnson | Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens and Cannada,... on 4/12/2013

Most people know that an employee who misuses his employer’s confidential information may be subject to damages in a civil lawsuit. Many states have enacted a Uniform Trade Secrets Act that allows an employer to pursue a...more

Protecting Personal Data in China

by Woon-Wah Siu, Julian Zou | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 4/3/2013

This advisory is one of a series prepared by Pillsbury's China Practice on questions frequently asked by our clients doing business in China. In June 2012, we published an advisory on personal data protection in China in...more

Another Court Construes the CFAA Narrowly and More of My Thoughts on the Statute

by Kenneth Vanko | Clingen Callow & McLean, LLC on 3/28/2013

After last year's important Ninth Circuit decision from U.S. v. Nosal, I discussed my take on the ongoing debate within our federal courts over how to interpret the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act - and in particular, whether...more

District Court in California Provides Further Clarification as to the Scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on 3/21/2013

On March 12, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a ruling clarifying the reach of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) when employees access computer systems. The decision...more

U.S. v. Nosal: Back In the District Court, the Defendant Isn't as Fortunate

by Kenneth Vanko | Clingen Callow & McLean, LLC on 3/19/2013

One of 2012's most important competition law cases involved the Ninth Circuit's decision in United States v. Nosal, which narrowly construed the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Nosal determined that an employee did not violate...more

Sixth Circuit Reverses Sentence of Engineers' Convicted of Trade Secrets Theft

by Kenneth Vanko | Clingen Callow & McLean, LLC on 2/6/2013

In December of 2011, Clark Roberts and Sean Howley, two engineers at Wyko Tire Technology, were convicted by a jury for stealing trade secrets, a crime under the federal Economic Espionage Act (EEA). The trade secrets related...more

Expansion Of The Economic Espionage Act Broadens Protection For Trade Secrets

by Gillian Watson Egan, KristinTaylor Parsons | Burr & Forman on 1/30/2013

In the summer of 2009, in an office at Goldman Sachs, in the waning hours of his last day of employment, a computer programmer named Sergey Aleynikov encrypted more than 500,000 lines of source code from Goldman’s proprietary...more

Fourth Circuit Rules Emails Sent From Husband’s Work Address To His Wife Are Not Privileged

by James G. Ryan | Cullen and Dykman LLP on 1/16/2013

On December 13, 2012, the Fourth Circuit found that emails sent from a husband to a wife were not protected by the marital privilege because they were sent from his work computer....more

Proposed Cloud Computing Act of 2012 Would Aid Employers

by Beth P. Zoller | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 11/16/2012

Employers should be aware that the Cloud Computing Act of 2012 was recently introduced in the US Congress as an amendment to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). +2012 Bill Tracking S. 3569. It would aid employers by...more

Labour Notes - November 2012

by Dentons on 11/13/2012

In This Issue: - Workplace Confidential? Supreme Court Rules That Employees Have Right To Privacy Over Their Work Computer - Q & A . . .2 - Progress of Legislation ..Federal . . . 3 ..Ontario ....more

Supreme Court of Canada Decision Demonstrates the Importance of Workplace Computer Policies

by Field Law on 10/25/2012

In R. v. Cole, 2012 SCC 53, the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that it was unconstitutional for the police to search the workplace computer of a high school teacher without a warrant. The Supreme Court held...more

Circuit Split: How Does the CFAA Apply to Employment Cases?

by Cullen and Dykman LLP on 10/15/2012

Imagine a disgruntled employee rummaging through your company’s confidential files and covertly stealing trade secrets to use as he builds a competing business. What recourse would you have against the rogue employee?...more

High Court May Rule on Computer Law Question

by Nick Akerman on 10/3/2012

On July 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit became the first circuit to adopt the Ninth Circuit’s holding in U.S. v. Nosal, 676 F.3d 854 (9th Cir. 2012), that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act does not...more

A Widening Circuit Split in the Interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

by White & Case LLP on 10/3/2012

Introduction - The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) criminalizes unauthorized access to a private computer system and allows for individuals suffering harm from such conduct to bring private civil actions for relief....more

September 2012: Internet Litigation Update

by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP on 10/2/2012

In This Issue: - Internet Retransmission of Television Broadcasts Approved: Judge Alison Nathan of the Southern District of New York ruled on July 11, 2012, that the Internet retransmission of over-the-air...more

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act | Did the Ninth Circuit Blow It?

by Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC on 10/2/2012

Did the Ninth Circuit “blow it” when it snubbed other courts and held that “exceeding authorized access” under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) means nothing less than “hacking?”...more

Export Control Violations: Man on Trial for Taking His Laptop to China

by Miller Canfield on 10/1/2012

Back in September 2011, Sixing Liu, a Chinese national-U.S. permanent resident, was charged by the U.S. Government for U.S. export control law violations. Liu allegedly took export-controlled technical data on military...more

Hack Attack: US Financial Institutions in the Cross-Hairs

by Mintz Levin - Privacy & Security on 9/28/2012

Last week the FBI released a fraud alert warning financial institutions that cyber criminals have been using tactics such as spam and phishing emails to obtain employee log-in credentials. After obtaining the credentials the...more

De-CFAA-nating Federal Law: Appeals Courts Weaken Electronic Data Use Protections

by Foley & Lardner LLP on 8/3/2012

The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030, (CFAA) is — for most of corporate America — one of the most powerful weapons available to protect trade secrets. Like many state computer crimes laws, CFAA was...more

De-CFAA-nating Federal Law: Recent Appeals Courts Decisions Weaken Statutory Protections Against Unauthorized Use of Electronic...

by Foley & Lardner LLP on 8/3/2012

The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (CFAA), is — for most of corporate America — one of the most powerful weapons available to protect trade secrets. Like many state computer crimes laws, CFAA was...more

Fourth Circuit Decision Deepens Split of Authority on Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act's Prohibition on Conduct that "Exceeds...

by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 8/2/2012

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has issued a ruling in WEC Carolina Energy Solutions v. Miller, holding that the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) prohibition on exceeding “authorized access” to a...more

Cybercrimes and the Workplace

by Heather Pruger on 6/20/2012

This article discusses that, in addition to civil liability that employment lawyers tend to be alert for in departing employee scenarios, departing employees can also be criminally liable for theft, misappropriation, or other...more

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