Kim Zetter reports: A federal judge has refused to dismiss a recorded confession and computer evidence collected in the case of a former Reuters employee accused of conspiring with members of Anonymous to hack his former employer. Matthew Keys, 26, sought to throw out his confession on the grounds that he was on an antidepressant…
Category: Federal
Prosecutors Admit They Don’t Understand What Weev Did, But They’re Sure It’s Like Blowing Up A Nuclear Plant
Perhaps one of the stupidest things a prosecutor trying to defend criminal prosecution under CFAA can say is to admit that they have no understanding of what the alleged “hacker” did that made his conduct a hack or violation of CFAA. But that’s pretty much what happened in a Philadelphia courtroom yesterday during Weev’s appeal…
Courts Reining In What it Means to be a “Hacker” Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)
Ralph C. Losey of Jackson Lewis writes: The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) is an anti-hacker statute that prohibits unauthorized access, or the exceeding of authorized access, of computers connected to interstate commerce. 18 U.S.C. § 1030. Violators are subject to both criminal and civil liability. Employers have long taken advantage of the CFAA’s civil remedies to “sue former employees…
Did the CIA Violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by Accessing Intelligence Committee Computers?
Orin Kerr writes: Senator Feinstein recently claimed that the CIA may have violated the federal computer hacking statute, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, by searching computers used by the Intelligence Committee to conduct CIA oversight. Based on the facts we know so far, I’m skeptical of the claim that the CIA violated the statute. This post…
No consensus on notifying victims of data breaches, but I have a few thoughts
Eric Tucker of Associated Press reports: The data breach at Target Corp. that exposed millions of credit card numbers has focused attention on the patchwork of state consumer notification laws and renewed a push for a single national standard. Most states have laws that require retailers to disclose data breaches, but the laws vary wildly….
Weds: House Financial Services subcommittee to hold hearing on data breaches
Julian Hattem reports: Data security will be back in the spotlight on Wednesday, when a House Financial Services subcommittee hears from top law enforcement, consumer advocacy and industry experts. The hearing will be the fifth Congress has held since Target revealed late last year that a hacker had stolen millions of users’ information during the…