Cyberside Chats: Everyone wants to be Batman. Hacking Back & Cybersecurity Law
Looking back at 2021 and ahead to 2022
Monthly Minute | Protecting Against Data Scrapers
Death of Activist Aaron Swartz Could Spur Changes to Computer Fraud & Abuse Act
Employer’s Takeover of Former CEO’s LinkedIn Account Lawful Under CFAA
Russian intelligence agencies have hacked dozens of civilian organizations in the U.S. and other Ukraine-allied nations since February. While this activity has garnered a great deal of attention due to the conflict in...more
On May 19, 2022, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced significant clarifications to its policy on charging Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) violations that give some comfort to cyber security consultants who...more
In an effort to “promote privacy and cybersecurity by upholding the legal right of individuals, network owners, operators, and other persons to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information stored in...more
On May 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) revised its policy regarding charging decisions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The new policy makes clear, "for the first time," that the DOJ "should...more
On May 19, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had revised its policy regarding prosecution under the federal anti-hacking statute, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Since the DOJ last made changes...more
In a significant development in anti-hacking criminal enforcement, the Department of Justice last week released new guidance for charging violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), the nation’s premier computer...more
Professor, Attorney and Expert in Cybersecurity Policy & Governance, Kevin Powers joins Jerich Beason & Whitney McCollum to discuss where the law stands on “Hacking Back”. Everyone at some point wants to be Batman. During...more
In today’s digital age, employers store immense amounts of information, including confidential and proprietary information, on their on-premises systems, cloud-servers and other data storage solutions. With this collection of...more
CYBERSECURITY - Another Win for Justice Department: Slilpp Marketplace Takedown - People always ask me if law enforcement is having any luck in combatting cyber criminals. Let me be clear: it is a very tough job to take...more
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. § 1030 et seq., does not prohibit improper use of computer information to which an individual has authorized...more
Amidst the ever-worsening onslaught of cyberattacks, companies are longing to go on the offensive, whether by “hacking-back” or by going after malicious actors in United States courts. While Congress has previously refused to...more
In our March Insurance Update, we discuss four state supreme court cases and four cybercrime cases. The state high courts address: •From whose perspective should a consent-to-settle provision be judged? •What standard...more
Loose language in a criminal statute conferring a private cause of action – such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) – presents an interpretative dilemma for courts. The CFAA furthers the legitimate public interest in...more
Now entering its ninth month in the United States with no sign of slowing down, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many employers to make permanent changes to business operations in order to survive. Among the most noticeable...more
A recent ruling in Parziale v. HP, Inc., arising out of the implementation by Hewlett-Packard (“HP”) of a remote firmware update on many models of the company’s printers, highlights the potentially broad application of the...more
Introduction - The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) is the embodiment of Congress’s first attempt to draft laws criminalizing computer hacking. It is rumored that the Act was influenced by the 1983 movie WarGames, in...more
On August 28, 2019, almost a month after Paige A. Thompson was arrested based on allegations that she hacked into servers rented by Capital One Financial Corporation, a criminal indictment was returned charging her with one...more
We have previously reported on the ongoing cybersecurity issues with St. Jude defibrillators [view related posts here, here, and here]. On June 29, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified the required firmware...more
In United States v. Gasperini, the Court (Cabranes, Lynch, Carney) resolved various challenges by Fabio Gasperini, an Italian citizen, to his conviction under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (“CFAA”). ...more
With new developments regarding Uber Technologies Inc.’s 2016 data breach coming out almost daily, lawsuits against the company continue to pile-up. We previously reported that within days of Uber disclosing the data theft...more
Most people think of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. § 1030, as the federal criminal statute addressing computer hacking and other cybercrime. But as more and more businesses vest their enterprise value in...more
California’s Computer Data Access And Fraud Act, Cal. Pen. Code, § 502 (“CDAFA”) is a state law analog to the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030 et seq. (“CFAA”). Both are aimed at fighting unauthorized...more
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, or CFAA, is the federal “anti-hacking” statute (or sometimes referred to as a “computer trespass” statute). In essence, the CFAA prohibits intentional unauthorized access into another...more
A company can recover damages from its former employee in connection with his hacking into its payroll system to inflate his pay, accessing its proprietary files without authorization and hijacking its website, a federal...more
On March 15, 2017, the United States announced the indictment of four defendants for their roles in the hacks of Yahoo’s network, systems, and user accounts. The indictment stems from an investigation conducted by the Federal...more