The Cyberlaw Podcast

In our 125th episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker, Michael Vatis, and David Kris discuss: Second Circuit rules against US Government in Microsoft case; DOJ rolls out MLAT reform proposal; LabMD draws law firms, Coke into Tiversa data theft row; DEA needed warrant to track suspect’s phone, judge says; Most ransomware attacks are HIPAA breaches, Feds say; Stealthy cyberespionage malware targets energy companies; Chinese hackers blamed for multiple breaches at US banking agency; Chinese browsers: the perfect reconnaissance tool; and Slow start for cyberwar on ISIS. Our interview is with Jeremy Rabkin and Ariel Rabkin, author of Hacking Back without Cracking Up, published by the Hoover Institution. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

What’s the difference between serving in Congress and spying in the back alleys of a Middle Eastern bazaar? Why not ask the one Congressman who’s done both – Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX). He also has cybersecurity chops from his career in industry, so he makes the perfect guest for episode 124a of the podcast. Just running through his week takes us from the difficulty of setting red lines in cyberspace to what we know about foreign penetration of the Clinton email server. But we manage as well to cover the declining fortunes of the Massie-Lofgren amendment and the reasons (and possible cures) for the disaster that is federal IT procurement. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 124th episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker, Alan Cohn, and Michael Vatis discuss: EU parliament’s Privacy Shield; US appeals court upholds conviction over shared password; Russia enacts sweeping data retention and decryption law; EU approves cybersecurity rules for critical industries and online service providers; 9th Circ. pressed to limit feds' use of foreign spying data; FBI, DOJ back data breach plan in FCC privacy proposal; Silent Circle quietly kills warrant canary; and 10 million Android devices reportedly infected with Chinese malware. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 123rd episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker, Katie Cassell, Alan Cohn, and Maury Shenk discuss: Watchdogs issue global financial cybersecurity guidelines; Privacy Shield talks yield “no mass surveillance” pledge from USG; EU data flow to China; Belgian court throws out regulator's Facebook tracking ban; US Customs and Border Patrol is seeking social media data; Snowden calls proposed Russian antiterror measures 'Big Brother law'; FTC commissioner continues attack on FCC data rules; Senate expansion of FBI surveillance meets obstacle; does this cybercrime law actually keep us from fighting discrimination?; China moves closer to adopting controversial cybersecurity law; get through airport customs faster with this free app; 'NSA-Proof' phone maker allegedly considering bankruptcy; and China issues new Internet search rules following Baidu probe. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 122nd episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker, Maury Shenk, and Michael Vatis discuss: Brexit and what it might mean for data privacy, cybersecurity, communications, and Internet governance policy for the UK and for the EU; DHS' final procedures for Cybersecurity Threat Information Sharing; The FBI’s Network Investigative Technique and one federal judge's holding that individuals have no reasonable expectation of privacy in their home computers because of the threat of hackers; The FTC's million dollar settlement with mobile advertising company InMobi over allegations that it tracked millions of customers’ locations without permission in order to serve them geo-targeted advertising, including children. Our interview is with Fred Kaplan, author of Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 121st episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Alan Cohn and Jason Weinstein discuss: Ethereum and the DAO; the New York State Department of Financial Services issued its second Bitlicense, this time to Ripple; European Parliament moves to develop digital currency regulations; Blockchain comes to DC; and Bank of Canada develops a digital version of the Canadian dollar. Our interview is with Jamie Smith, Global Chief Communications Officer for the BitFury Group, one of the largest full-service blockchain technology companies. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 120th episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker, Alan Cohn, Kaitlin Cassel, and Paul Rosenzweig discuss: Internet oversight transfer by US could face new hurdles; court finds CareFirst breach plaintiffs have no standing without actual harm; NIT-picking loses in EDVA; hamburger plays privacy hot dog; UK: despite hacking and snooping fears, web surveillance legislation sails forward; UK: Leslie R. Caldwell speaks on UK treaty; French court convicts Uber of violating transport, privacy laws; RTBF: researchers uncover a flaw in Europe’s tough privacy rules; and House panel wants DHS cybersecurity unit made into agency. Our interview with Rep. Will Hurd was delayed at the last moment, so we’re releasing it separately from the episode 120 news roundup. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 119th episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker and Maury Shenk discuss: US tech companies agree to EU code of conduct on terror and hate content; Federal appeals court rules cell tower locations are not protected information; Changes to money laundering laws in the EU are delayed until July; Critics to new US banking data policy in trade deals; FCC Privacy Laws: Small providers say FCC can not impose ISP privacy rules, FCC's recent Notice of Proposed Rule Making under scrutiny, North Korea's version of Facebook is hacked by Scottish teenager, FOIA security review of Hillary Clinton's email; VICE's article on Snowden; Downfall of Tor developer Jacob Appelbaum. In our second half we have an interview with Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of Wired Magazine and author of The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces that will Shape our Future. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 118th episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker, Michael Vatis, and Alan Cohn discuss: Judge rules against FBI in child-porn case; Twitter fights the classified tag on surveillance report; EU: E U prepares to end geoblocking in online sales, Europe seeks greater control over digital services, European privacy case threatens data flowing to the US, EU moves toward regulating virtual currencies; Senate bill would amend the email privacy bill; SWIFT to unveil new security plans. In our second half we have an interview with Angelos Keromytis, associate professor at Columbia and Program Manager for the Information Innovation Office at DARPA. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 117th episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker, Michael Vatis, and Alan Cohn discuss: Home Depot data breach ruling; Supreme Court decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins; New rule requires government contractors to adopt basic cyberseucrity measures; Court rejects Mozilla's bid to intervene in FBI-child porn case; Google appeals French privacy ruling; Senators call on Congress to stop massive expansion of government surveillance and hacking; SEC recognizes cybersecurity threat to financial systems. In our second half we have an interview with Patrick Gray, host of the Risky Business podcast. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 116th episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker, Michael Vatis, and Roger Warin discuss: Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016; Class-action suit targeting law firm privacy protections; Data breach action against Zappos; FTC schools FCC on privacy protection efforts. In our second half we have an interview with Dmitri Alperovitch, the CTO and co-founder of CrowdStrike. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 115th episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker, Maury Shenk, and Kaitlin Cassel discuss: EU moves forward on US law enforcement data pact; Amazon is liable for in-app purchases by kids; HHS's new enforcement policy; UK government advises not to change passwords too often; App users get privacy lifeline in First Circuit Video Privacy Protection Act ruling; The government wants your fingerprint to unlock your phone. In our second half we discuss with GWU professor Orin Kerr a mandate from Congress that the FISA court review a regulation for compliance with an amendment that is usually invoked only in individual cases. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 114th episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker and Michael Vatis discuss: Massachusetts court overturns the search warrant used in FBI-child porn case; Supreme Court approves a change to Rule 41; FISA news: Warrantless surveillance in terror case raises constitutional challenge, NY Times sues Treasury Department over FISA-related document, Lawmakers demand to know how many people were caught in domestic surveillance programs; Nebraska expands data breach law; US Steel claims hackers stole advanced steel technology. In our second half we have an interview with General Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA and CIA and author of "Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror." The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 113th episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker, Alan Cohn, and Maury Shenk discuss: United Kingdom: UK’s pending surveillance bill and GCHQ’s compliance regime for access to bulk personal data; Apple stops providing security patches to QuickTime on Windows; Federal judge rules FBI didn’t have proper warrant to hack child porn site; FISA Court troubled by surveillance excesses at FBI and NSA; and Chinese drone maker says that it may share data with local government. In our second half, we have a one-hour panel discussion with cryptographers and security professionals at the Annual International Conference on Cyber Engagement, the panelists include: Patrick Henry, a notable cryptographer with experience at GCHQ, NSA, and the private sector; Dan Kaminsky, the Chief Scientist at White Ops; Kiran Raj, who is Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General; and Dr. Zulfikar Ramzan the CTO of RSA Security. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.

In our 112th episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, Stewart Baker, Michael Vatis, Alan Cohn, and Maury Shenk discuss: Europe: European Parliament has formally approved the EU’s sweeping new data protection regulation, The Article 29 Working Party call for changes to Privacy Shield; No warrant required for phone location records; Judiciary Committee has reported out a bill requiring warrants for even very old email content; FBI vs. Apple: FBI files their brief, Leakers say the FBI hasn't learned much from the unlocked San Bernardino iPhone, FBI paid professional hackers a one-time fee to crack San Bernardino iPhone; Cybersecurity Report says US government has worse cybersecurity than any other industry segment; Seventh Circuit once again found plaintiffs to have standing in a data breach case; White House announces members and first meeting of Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity; Uber issues a transparency report. In our second half we have an interview with Eric Jensen, professor of law at Brigham Young University, about his work on the Talinn 2.0 manual covering the law of cyberwar. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of the firm.