DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Obama’s proposed changes to the computer hacking statute: A deep dive

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Dissent

Orin Kerr writes:

As part of the State of the Union rollout, President Obama has announced several new legislative proposals involving cybersecurity. One of the proposals is a set of amendments to the controversial Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), the federal computer hacking statute. This post takes a close look at the main CFAA proposal. It starts with a summary of existing law; it then considers how the Administration’s proposal would change the law; and it concludes with my views on whether Congress should enact the changes.

My bottom line: My views are somewhat mixed, but on the whole I’m skeptical of the Administration’s proposal.

Read his analysis and comments on WaPo The Volokh Conspiracy. Not surprisingly, Orin refers to Weev’s case and uses that to illustrate some of the potential problems with the language in the proposed amendments. There is no mention of Aaron Swartz’s case, although Orin does raise concerns about crimes “in furtherance of” language.

I’d like to see even more discussion of the application of the proposed amendments to those who are security researchers and/or journalists. If we access a database to verify a breach or vulnerability or if we download data to prove a problem, are we committing a felony under the proposed language? If so, does there need to be more exemptions in the proposed language?  And what about whistleblower protections under the proposal?

And what I don’t see (so far, at least, but more coffee may help) is sufficient clarification of what happens when there is supposed to be a code-based barrier but isn’t one. If Company A meant to protect a database from public access but erred and the database is available on the Internet without having to “hack” or acquire login credentials, is there then no crime under CFAA? If so, that might be a good incentive for companies to check their security if they know they’ll have no recourse if they failed to adequately secure their assets, but I’m not sure that this is what Congress would want to happen, and this situation might be covered under “norms-based liability.”  As Orin notes:

More broadly, the expansion of “exceeding authorized access” would seem to allow lots of prosecutions under a “you knew the computer owner wouldn’t like that” theory. And that strikes me as a dangerous idea, as it focuses on the subjective wishes of the computer owner instead of the individual’s actual conduct. Granted, it would still be limited by the three conditions imposed on liability for breaching a written restriction. So it would need to be a government computer, or an effort to gather information worth more than $5,000, or an act in furtherance of another crime (with the double-counting problem or not). Still, it strikes me as troublesome.

It strikes this blogger as problematic, too.

We all need to read the proposed language carefully and then review Orin’s comments. I expect EFF, CDT, and other organizations will also offer their own comments on the proposal, and I will add links to this post as updates.

Category: Commentaries and AnalysesFederalHackInsiderOf Note

Post navigation

← Macedonia man pleads not guilty in US identity theft case
Obama introduces data breach notification bill →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Why Dumping Sensitive Data on Network Shares is a Liability
  • A militarily degraded Iran may turn to asymmetrical warfare – raising risk of proxy and cyber attacks
  • Pro-Russian hackers disrupt Dutch government websites ahead of NATO summit
  • Iran-Linked Threat Actors Leak Visitors and Athletes’ Data from Saudi Games
  • UK: Oxford City Council still investigating cyberattack from earlier this month
  • Steelmaker Nucor Says Hackers Stole Data in Recent Attack
  • People’s Republic of China cyber threat activity: Cyber Threat Bulletin
  • Ukrainian Web3 security auditing company Hacken suffered an attack that allowed a hacker to create 900 million HAI tokens
  • McLaren provides written notice to 743,131 patients after ransomware attack in July 2024 (2)
  • A state forensics lab was leaking its files. Getting it locked down involved a number of people.

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Sky Views Personal Data as a Potential Weapon in IPTV Piracy War
  • Florida Used a Nationwide Surveillance Camera Network 250 Times To Aid in Immigration Arrests
  • Federal Court Strikes Down HIPAA Reproductive Health Care Privacy Rule
  • The Markup caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech
  • Privacy in the Big Sky State: Montana’s Consumer Privacy Law Gets Amended
  • UK Passes Data Use and Access Regulation Bill
  • Officials defend Liberal bill that would force hospitals, banks, hotels to hand over data

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.