Surveillance & Privacy

Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast: Decapitation by Paper Cut

Stewart Baker
Wednesday, May 25, 2016, 12:58 PM

Our guest, Patrick Gray, is the host of the excellent Risky Business security podcast. He introduces us to the cybersecurity equivalent of decapitation by paper cut and offers a technologist’s take on multiple policy and legal issues. In the news roundup, Michael explains the many plaintiff-friendly rulings obtained by the banks suing Home Depot over its data breach. We wonder whether the rulings are so plaintiff-friendly that the banks will eventually regret their successes.

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Our guest, Patrick Gray, is the host of the excellent Risky Business security podcast. He introduces us to the cybersecurity equivalent of decapitation by paper cut and offers a technologist’s take on multiple policy and legal issues. In the news roundup, Michael explains the many plaintiff-friendly rulings obtained by the banks suing Home Depot over its data breach. We wonder whether the rulings are so plaintiff-friendly that the banks will eventually regret their successes. Michael also explains just how deliberately meaningless is the Supreme Court decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins.

Alan Cohn lays out the new DOD rule requiring government contractors to adopt basic cybersecurity measures. Michael explains why the court rejected Mozilla's bid to intervene in the big FBI-child porn case. I cheer Google on in its appeal of the egregious CNIL ruling extending French “right to be forgotten” censorship to the world – and mock the handful of Senators who have gone on record as favoring legislation to overturn the Rule 41 changes and make the internet safe for child exploitation. Finally, Alan explains why the SEC thinks cybersecurity is the top threat to financial systems

As always, the Cyberlaw Podcast welcomes feedback. Send e-mail toCyberlawPodcast@steptoe.com or leave a message at +1 202 862 5785.

Download the 117th episode (mp3).

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Stewart A. Baker is a partner in the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP. He returned to the firm following 3½ years at the Department of Homeland Security as its first Assistant Secretary for Policy. He earlier served as general counsel of the National Security Agency.

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