Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast: What Cybersecurity Experts Tell their Moms about Computer Security

In this week’s episode, we ask two acknowledged NSA cybersecurity experts, Curtis Dukes and Tony Sager, both from the Center for Internet Security, what they tell their family members about how to keep their computers, phones, and doorbells safe from hackers.

Joining us for the news round-up is Carrie Cordero, a Washington lawyer who focuses on national security law, homeland security law, cybersecurity and data protection issues. She is also an adjunct professor of Law at Georgetown University.

Topping the news is the Wikileaks Vault7 release, including Assange’s mischievous offer to work with Silicon Valley to fix vulnerabilities before they’re disclosed. Carrie, Markham Erickson, and I comment.

Stephanie Roy reports that the FCC is investigating a 911 outage at AT&T; so far the agency has been tight-lipped about the details.

Home Depot is nearing the finish line in its data breach ordeal, Jennifer Quinn-Barabanov reports. The banks that had to reissue credit cards were among the last holdouts; they’re getting $25 million, which sounds like a lot until you do the math and realize it’s two bucks a card.

Jennifer tells us that another defense effort to moot a TCPA class action by picking off a named plaintiff has been thwarted—this time by the Second Circuit.

Tom Graves (R-GA) has introduced a hackback defense to CFAA liability. Markham and I trade barbs over the wisdom of allowing hackback defenses, but we reach agreement on the depth of Uber’s greyballing problems—and the risk that more companies will use big data to disfavor some customers without telling them.

Carrie reports on developments in the FBI-Geek Squad imbroglio, and I mock the reporters who have bought the deeply unappealing defendant’s claim to be a civil liberties victim.

Last, and well worth the wait, Jennifer and I update our listeners on the latest in CyberSexToy privacy. Turns out the records of interactions with your internet-enabled vibrator can be compromised for a surprisingly low settlement price. Maybe now we really ought to call the time of death for internet privacy.

As always, the Cyberlaw Podcast welcomes feedback. Send an email to CyberlawPodcast@steptoe.com or leave a message at +1 202 862 5785.

Download the 154th episode (mp3).

Subscribe to the Cyberlaw Podcast here. We are also on iTunes, Pocket Casts, and Google Play (available for Android and Google Chrome)!

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.