Tag Archives: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

Custom Hardware Engineering & Consulting, Inc. v. Dowell (E.D. Missouri Jan 23, 2013)

Custom Hardware Engineering & Consulting, Inc. v. Dowell, 918 F. Supp.2d 916 (E.D. Missouri Jan 23, 2013) (8th Cir) Custom Hardware Engineering (CHE) is a company that provides computer part where maintenance services on many types of computer systems using a remote monitoring technology that it developed which allows its personnel to monitor and troubleshootcomputer …

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Craigslist Inc. v. 3Taps Inc. (ND Ca. Aug. 16, 2013)

Craigslist Inc. v. 3Taps Inc., 2013 WL 447520 (ND Ca. Aug. 16, 2013) (9th Cir) 3Taps operates an online service that aggregates and republishes ads from Craigslist, which Craigslist describes as illegally scraping content. After learning about 3 Taps’ activities, Craigslist took two important steps: (1) it sent a cease-and-desist letter to3Taps informing it that “[t]his …

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Does the CFAA Apply to Lenovo’s SuperFish Malware Lawsuits?

For me personally, the timeline of events surrounding the discovery of Lenovo’s SuperFish malware is ironic. Just a couple of days before it was discovered, I had a telephone call with a friend named Jon Stanley. Jon is someone I consider to be an elder statesman of the CFAA as he has been digging deep …

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Will Changes to the CFAA Deter Hackers? | Norse DarkMatters

Read my latest post on Norse’s DarkMatters: Will Changes to the CFAA Deter Hackers?  

Felony CFAA Conviction for Accessing Former Employer’s Data via Backdoor Upheld on Appeal

An employee, after leaving a company, is no longer authorized to continue accessing its data–regardless of what steps the company took. This is, and always has been, a no-no. But, not everyone seems to realize it. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently affirmed a Computer Fraud and Abuse Act conviction for …

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Podcast: #DtR Episode on Lines in the Sand on “Security Research”

You really need to hear this podcast where we draw lines in the sand staking out what is — and what is not — security research.  The #DtR Gang [Rafal Los (@Wh1t3Rabbit), James Jardine (@JardineSoftware), and Michael Santarcangelo (@Catalyst)] invited me to tag along for another episode of the Down the Security Rabbit Hole podcast. Also joining us for this episode were …

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Podcast: DtR NewsCast of Hot Cyber Security Topics

I had the pleasure of joining the DtR Gang for another podcast on Down the Security Rabbit Hole and, as usual with this bunch, it was more fun than anything — but I learned a lot as well. Let me just tell you, these guys are the best around at what they do and they’re really …

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Podcast: CFAA, Shellshock and Cyber Security Research — What the Heck Do We Want?

Today I had a blast doing a podcast on the CFAA, Shellshock, and cyber security research with Rafal Los (@Wh1t3Rabbit), James Jardine (@JardineSoftware), and Michael Santarcangelo (@Catalyst) — in fact, we had so much fun that I suspect Raf had quite a time trying to edit it! The starting point for our discussion was a recent article …

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No, the CFAA Does Not Require Taking Actions to Prevent the Hacking of Others

For all of the things the CFAA may (or may not) require, it does not require taking actions to prevent the hacking of others. We are not (yet) the guardians of the hacking universe! In a factually interesting case that offers a great read on attorney professionalism, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh …

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Uncle Sam doesn’t have a clue on data privacy, cyber crime laws, and neither do we!

The point of the article that is the source of the quote below is exactly right: there is no consistency, cohesiveness, or harmony with the cyber crime and data privacy laws. I believe there are several reasons but these are the two that are most prominent: The cyber crime and data privacy laws are a patchwork collection …

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