The Cyberlaw Podcast

In our 257th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker is joined by Paul Hughes, Klon Kitchen (@klonkitchen), and Nick Weaver (@ncweaver) to discuss: The group that broke into the North Korean Embassy reportedly offered stolen materials to the FBI.; NSA packrat Hal Martin pleaded guilty and faces nine years in prison.; The EU has unveiled new regulations on foreign investment that will take effect this month.; ASUS was the victim of the “ShadowHammer” supply chain attack.; The FTC wants to examine the privacy practices of seven Internet service providers.; The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has ordered a Chinese company to sell the Grindr dating app, citing national security concerns.; Defying public outcry, the EU Parliament approved the controversial Copyright Directive.; The Department of Housing and Urban Development is suing Facebook for violating the Fair Housing Act. Did the Saudis access Jeff Bezos’s personal data? The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 256th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker interviews Dr. Amy Zegart from Stanford’s Hoover Institution. Stewart is also joined by Maury Shenk, Jennifer Quinn-Barabanov, and Matthew Heiman to discuss: The New Zealand massacre: Blaming social media for allowing the massacre video to go viral.; New Zealand’s chief censor has declared the video “objectionable,” leading to arrests for distribution.; Australian and New Zealand ISPs blocked websites for hosting and distributing the massacre video.; A critical flaw allows hackers to control medical implants.; There are renewed claims of social media bias against conservatives.; European authorities levied a $1.7 billion fine against Google for antitrust violations.; The Supreme Court remanded a cy pres case without decision, but Justice Thomas suggests that there are a lot of votes to curtail cy pres.; An allegedly anti-regime group raided a North Korean embassy.; US chip makers are worried about a China trade deal.; Egypt has tightened rules that allow the government to block websites on national security grounds.; Whenever the president blocks someone on Twitter, he may be violating the First Amendment. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 255th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker interviews Elsa Kania (@EBKania) of the Center for a New American Security and Sam Bendett (@SamBendett) of CNA. They are also joined by David Kris (@DavidKris), Nate Jones (@n8jones81), and Nick Weaver (@ncweaver) to discuss: The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court ruling involving the federal Stored Communications Act.; A judge dismissed a purported censorship lawsuit against Silicon Valley.; A report by the United Nations says North Korea has stolen $571 million.; Feds will be rolling out facial scanning technology to several airports.; Fear became reality as researchers found a critical backdoor in the Swiss voting system; Swiss Post and the system developer claim the error is fixed.; The US Navy claims it and its contractors are “under cyber siege” by Chinese hackers, while Google is “indirectly” helping China.; System failures allowed Boeing and the FAA to certify the 737 MAX flight control system. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 254th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Maury Shenk interviews James Griffiths, a Hong Kong-based journalist and author of the new book, The Great Firewall of China: How to Build and Control an Alternative Version of the Internet. For the News Roundup, Brian Egan is joined by Maury and David Kris (@DavidKris) to discuss: The supposed suspension of NSA’s Section 215 “call detail record” program.; Some Democratic presidential contenders have unveiled plans to “get tough” on Big Tech.; The FTC chairman has urged Congress to provide new authorities to impose civil enforcement penalties on companies that violate their data privacy commitments.; The French finance minister is mulling a 3% tax on the 30 largest Internet businesses in France, most of which happen to be US companies.; Facebook is taking several companies to court to stop them creating and selling fake accounts.; French President Macron has called for the creation of a “European Agency for the Protection of Democracies.”; The Cyber Deterrence and Response Act has been reintroduced in Congress. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 253rd episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker interviews Gordon Crovitz (@crovitz) and Steven Brill (@stevenbrill) of NewsGuard Technologies. Stewart is also joined by Nick Weaver (@ncweaver), Gus Hurwitz (@GusHurwitz), and Klon Kitchen (@KlonKitchen) to discuss: US Cyber Command took down a Russian troll farm during the 2018 midterms.; Russian military court found two Kaspersky Lab experts guilty of treason.; The FTC has formed a tech competition task force.; The FTC has launched its first case over fake paid Amazon reviews.; Amazon marketplace sellers will now have the ability to remove listings they deem counterfeit.; Facebook content moderation contractors experience severe psychological trauma in the course of their duties.; Not even our prosthetic arms are safe from IoT hacking.; The Kremlin cited constant US cyberattacks as reason for pursuing an “autonomous Internet.” The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 252nd episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker interviews Dmitri Alperovitch of CrowdStrike. Stewart and Dmitri discuss the 2019 Global Threat Report, which was just issued by CrowdStrike. Stewart and Dmitri are also joined by Maury Shenk and Nick Weaver (@ncweaver) to discuss: Police are using “reverse location search warrants” to compel Google to hand over data on anyone near a crime scene.; The United Kingdom’s House of Commons issued a blistering final report on disinformation and fake news.; DNSpionage: How worried should we be?; Switzerland’s new online voting system is a hot mess of design flaws.; The mysterious Facebook Title III case won’t be unsealed.; India proposes Internet censorship à la Chinois.; The Cyberlaw Podcast has developed AI podcasting so good, we don’t dare report on it.; YouTube’s recommendation engine landed the platform in hot water with advertisers.; Lauri Love, the alleged hacker, lost his bid to regain his confiscated computers. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 251st episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker is joined by Brian Egan, Nate Jones (@n8jones81), and newcomer Jessica “Zhanna” Malekos Smith to discuss: Big Tech is facing new regulatory backlash: European Union (EU) link tax and upload filters survived the EU legislative gantlet.; Massive fine reportedly in negotiation between Facebook and FTC.; EU targets Google and Amazon for unfair practices as sales platforms.; The president signed an Executive Order to prioritize and promote artificial intelligence.; The Department of Defense also released its strategy for artificial intelligence.; Russia is looking to take its own Internet offline in an experiment.; Israel is worrying about Chinese investment.; An updated cybersecurity law allows state agencies to “pentest” businesses operating in China.; Treasury unveiled new sanctions against Iranian organizations for supporting intelligence and cyber operations targeting US persons. The Iranians apparently had some help from an American.; The EU is looking to use “cyber sanctions” to fend off hackers during the May elections.; William H. Webster helped take down a scam artist. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 250th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker is joined by Matthew Heiman, David Kris (@DavidKris), and Nick Weaver (@ncweaver) to discuss: Department of Justice indicts two men for SIM swapping crypto extortion scheme.; SS7 vulnerabilities expose bank customers.; The legal questions in the Bezos v. Pecker affair.; Ireland’s data regulator has raised concerns over Facebook’s merger plans.; Ireland has also launched 16 GDPR data probes, nearly half targeting Facebook.; EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager warned of the dangers of data monopolization.; Germany’s competition regulator says Facebook must restrict data collection unless given explicit consent.; China’s Ministry of State Security is getting more attention from the US government.; $10 million in fines for failing to secure the electric grid?; Some people think the Department of Justice’s defense against North Korean botnets is controversial. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 249th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker interviews Christopher Bing (@bing_chris) and Joel Schectman (@joel_schectman), reporters for Reuters who recently broke major stories on the United Arab Emirates’ employment of US cyber mercenaries and the Karma spying tool. Stewart is joined for the News Roundup by Philip Khinda, Maury Shenk, Nate Jones (@n8jones81), and Dr. Megan Reiss (@MegReiss) to discuss: Is the Yahoo breach settlement a new front or a black swan in breach derivative litigation?; Citizen Lab faced down a smear campaign that had striking resemblance to BlackCube.; Russians attempted to use disinformation against Robert Mueller’s probe into disinformation.; Android security locking out law enforcement was an “unintended side effect.”; Major flaw in Apple’s FaceTime allowed for eavesdropping; New York is investigating.; Apple cut off Facebook and Google employees from internal corporate applications.; Ukraine says Russia is trying to disrupt its upcoming election.; Japan is pioneering an “intrusive” survey of bot-vulnerable IoT devices.; The Pentagon is reportedly failing to stay ahead of cyber threats.; EPIC et al. are calling on the FTC to impose severe penalties on Facebook. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 248th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker interviews John Carlin, former Assistant Attorney General in charge of the National Security Division at the Department of Justice and author of the new book, Dawn of the Code War. Stewart is also joined for the News Roundup by Gus Hurwitz (@GusHurwitz), Dr. Megan Reiss (@MegReiss), and Nick Weaver (@ncweaver) to discuss: Illinois’ biometric privacy law will not be salvaged by the courts.; Doxing people works both ways.; The Department of Homeland Security issued an emergency order to civilian agencies to protect themselves against DNS hijacking.; According to a Dutch court, patients have no right to know about a doctor’s medical negligence.; Google knows what’s best for YouTube users.; China has a new app that allows people to easily identify others worthy of shame. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 247th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker interviews Jeff Jonas (@JeffJonas), founder and CEO of Senzing – and acclaimed Wizard of Big Data. Stewart is joined for the News Roundup by David Kris (@DavidKris), Gus Hurwitz (@GusHurwitz), and Jamil Jaffer (@Jamil_N_Jaffer) to discuss: Seems like just yesterday, but we have another FISA sunset debate set for this year.; An incoherent ruling equates passcode and biometric phone access for 4th and 5th Amendment purposes.; If the SEC didn’t own EDGAR, the government might have imposed massive fines on the owner for its recent hacking mess.; The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel has issued a legal opinion that could further restrict online gambling. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 246th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker is joined for the News Roundup by Maury Shenk, Matthew Heiman, and Nick Weaver (@ncweaver) to discuss: Russian deterrence in the 21st century.; Google gets favorable lean from advisor to European Court of Justice on “right to be forgotten.”; This Week in Drone Law: The UK is ramping up police powers following the Gatwick Drone Incident.; Fourth Circuit rules politicians cannot block constituents on Facebook based on their political viewpoints.; The Hal Martin Saga gets weirder: Kaspersky Lab involved.; Phone locations for a fee.; Happy New Year from Big Brother: Vietnam threatens Facebook for allowing prohibited posts, failing to localize data.; The cybersecurity misadventures of “El Chapo.”; The Great Firewall returns? The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 245th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker is joined for the News Roundup by Nate Jones (@n8jones81) and David Kris (@DavidKris) to discuss: Silicon Valley says – what else? – that export controls will hurt AI development.; The Department of Justice indicted members of APT10. Jack Goldsmith and Robert Williams are critical of the name-and-shame strategy generally.; Hacks of the month: Newspapers were disrupted by a cyber incident.; A hacker dumped data on Angela Merkel and a number of other German politicians.; Hackers stole personal information of North Koreans in South Korea.; The US and China are in a quantum arms race that may transform warfare.; A judge issued a mixed bag of rulings on three motions to suppress in Hal Martin’s NSA theft case, which just gets weirder and weirder.; Today’s forecast: Windy with a probability of litigation. Los Angeles sues Weather Company for collecting and sharing location information in an app.; Standing claims another biometric data lawsuit in Illinois, but the Rosenbach v. Six Flags case lives on in the Illinois Supreme Court.; A clever AI hid data from its creators to cheat at its appointed task.; The president signed the SECURE Tech Act, setting vulnerability disclosure policy and calling for bug bounties at DHS.; A really fascinating and deeply ambivalating report on Amazon Marketplace. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 244th episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Alan Cohn takes over the podcast to talk about blockchain. Alan is joined by Gary Goldsholle, Will Turner, Evan Abrams, and Josh Oppenheimer to discuss: Projections for mergers and acquisitions activities in a crypto bear market.; The recent joint statement on technology and anti-money laundering compliance.; Sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.; Projections for BitLicense in New York.; International developments in cryptocurrency regulation.; Paying taxes with cryptocurrency.; And more! The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 243rd episode of The Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker interviews Rep. Jim Langevin of Rhode Island. Stewart is joined for the News Roundup by special guest Denise Howell (@dhowell) of This Week in Law, Nate Jones (@n8jones81), Gus Hurwitz (@gushurwitz), and Nick Weaver (@ncweaver) to discuss: Australia’s Parliament passed its controversial encryption bill.; The Marriott hack may have been a Chinese intelligence operation.; The Khashoggi killing backfires on… Israeli and Italian state hacking companies? Plus, a Saudi dissident is waging lawfare in… Tel Aviv?; Are we ready for an electromagnetic pulse attack?; The detainment of Huawei’s CFO could be detrimental to ongoing trade talks. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.