Crossroads Blog | Institute National Security and Counterterrorism

Current Affairs, Cyberwar, White House

Cyber Round Up: PA Federal Court finds standing in class action, Cyberwar Ignites a New Arms Race, Obama Won’t Seek Access to Encrypted User Data

  • Pennsylvania Federal Court Finds Standing in Data Breach Class Action (Cyber Law Monitor): The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of PA has found standing in a data breach class action, marking the first time this court has done so, according to this article.  The article indicates that this is similar to other courts that have found standing in data breach suits where there was actual misuse of personally identifiable information (PII) and not merely speculation of misuse.  While the court in Enslin v. Coca-Cola Co., has found standing, it remains to be seen how this data breach class action will ultimately unfold, according to the article.  The full text may be found here.
  • Cyberwar Ignites a New Arms Race (The Wall Street Journal): An article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), states that countries are jumping on the cyberweapon band wagon given the low barriers to entry and the high risks involved in not having cyber weapons.  The article states that Pakistan and India routinely hack one another’s public and private sectors, while Belarus and Estonia are trying to develop defensive cyber weapons to counter the Russian Federation. The article indicates that 50 countries have purchased hacking software, while nearly 30 countries have created formal military or intelligence units whose primary directive is offensive hacking. This is a new paradigm that is forcing large countries to reconfigure and adapt their military forces, according to the WSJ article.  The full text of the article can be found here.
  • Obama Won’t Seek Access to Encrypted User Data (The NY Times): The Obama administration acknowledged that providing U.S. Law enforcement with access to encrypted user data would allow Russia, China, terrorists and cybercriminals to potentially exploit any back door or access policy, according to the NY Times article.  While large tech companies in Silicon Valley, and privacy rights advocates view this as a victory, U.S. Law enforcement is displeased with this decision, according to the article.  In the NYT article, James Comey, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation compared the inability to access encrypted data to a locked door that no law enforcement officer could ever breach, with or without a court order.  The article can be found here.

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