Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Episode #41: An Interview with John Lynch

Our guest is one of the most highly regarded cybercrime prosecutors in the country - John Lynch, the Chief of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) in DOJ's Criminal Division.  Among other things, John talks about how DOJ is organized to investigate and prosecute cybercrime and about its efforts to strengthen partnerships with and build capacity among foreign law enforcement partners in what is increasingly a global fight.  John also reflects on the impact of the Snowden leaks on domestic law enforcement and on the challenges the courts and prosecutors are facing dealing with electronic evidence issues in a time of rapidly changing technology.  And we talk about the role of the private sector in cyber defense. This Week in NSA: “Second leaker” identified by the FBI – does Snowden have a spare bedroom? GCHQ says it can access data provided by the NSA without a warrant.  That bothers privacy groups, who apparently are unfazed by the fact that GCHQ can also access data on its own citizens without a warrant, and can get a warrant without seeing a judge.  On a related front, former FBI Director Bob Mueller calls the Snowden leaks “devastating” to efforts to investigate and disrupt national security threats, in the process noting that the US is unique in terms of the level of judicial review required for electronic surveillance. The ITU continues to try to take control of the Internet. Law firms become a focus of hacking concern, as NYDFS letter puts spotlight on vendor management. A Private sector coalition engages in what you might call active defense against “Axiom” group of Chinese hackers.  The FCC becomes America’s latest de facto data protection authority. Move over China, as FireEye identifies a Russian cyberweapon.  Meanwhile, a DARPA official basically says that since we use the same popular software, we’re making it too easy for hackers. And we bring you another candidate for Dumbest Privacy Case of the Year, involving both privacy and cleavage. We remind everyone that the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast welcomes feedback, either by email (CyberlawPodcast@steptoe.com) or voicemail ( +1 202 862 5785).