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
On February 3, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) unsealed an indictment against Andean Medjedovic, a 22-year-old Canadian national, for allegedly stealing approximately $65 million...more
While French skincare company L’Occitane (the “Company”) successfully thwarted a mass arbitration effort by plaintiffs’ firm Zimmerman Reed and approximately 3,000 customers (the “Claimants”), the Southern District of...more
World events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have accelerated the need for business operations to grow more digitally reliant and driven. As the global network grows and becomes more interconnected, privacy and...more
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
Takeaway: The DOJ’s recent revisions to their internal policy promote the Department’s goals that the CFAA is applied consistently by government attorneys and better understood by the public. These goals ensure that the law...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
On May 19, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued revisions to its existing policy for charging offenses under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) (2022 CFAA Policy). The revisions state that “good-faith” security...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
Connecticut Passes the Fifth US State Consumer Privacy Law - The Connecticut governor has formally signed and passed An Act Concerning Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring (CPDA), making this law the fifth US state...more
California federal Judge William Alsup dismissed various claims against Mint Mobile LLC based on a data breach that exposed personal information of Mint customers. Plaintiff Daniel Fraser alleged that Mint, a mobile virtual...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
The U.S. Department of State has announced a $10 million reward for “information leading to the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government,...more
The past year’s trends in privacy and cybersecurity are set to intensify in 2022, with heightened threats, increased regulations, and elevated expectations - as well as new opportunities. To navigate the year ahead, we lay...more
A search warrant is not required for law enforcement to use pen registers to record the IP addresses visited by a criminal suspect, a federal appeals court recently held. This follows a 1979 Supreme Court case, Smith v....more
Cybercrime has been on the rise in recent years. In response, the federal government has shown an increased interest in prosecuting cybercrime offenses. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, codified at 18 U.S.C. Section 1030, is...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
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), codified at 18 U.S.C. Section 1030, is one of the U.S. Department of Justice’s most potent weapons in its fight against cybercrimes. It outlines numerous offenses, and it imposes...more
In this month’s edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine the European Commission’s new Standard Contractual Clauses and the European Data Protection Board’s new recommendations on international data flows. We...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
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
Last week, the Italian data protection authority (the “GPDP”) opened an investigation after reports that a dataset allegedly containing data compiled from 500 million LinkedIn profiles and other websites was available for...more
Brexit Effects on Trademarks Beginning January 1 - Trademark owners with registrations in EU where the UK is designated should soon receive notification for treatment of registrations and applications following the Brexit...more