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New Tools for Companies Against Cybercrime
In January, the Obama administration announced a series of proposals to strengthen the country's response to cyberattacks ' including, most notably, specific amendments to the federal computer crime statute, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). These changes are not only significant to the cybercrime-fighting efforts of federal prosecutors, but also to private companies.
This is because the CFAA allows companies victimized by violations of the statute to bring civil actions against the perpetrators. 18 U.S.C. 1030(g). The CFAA, among other things, makes it a crime when an individual “accesses” a computer “without authorization or exceeds authorized access” to steal data. “Without authorization” typically relates to an outside hacker, whereas “exceeds authorized access” typically relates to a company insider, like any employee who has authority to access the company computer but exceeds that authorized access.
There is a split among the circuit courts of appeals over whether employees who access company computers to steal data exceed their authorized access. The Fourth Circuit (following the Ninth Circuit), for example, in WEC Carolina Energy Solutions v. Miller, No. 11-1201 (4th Cir. July 26, 2012, cert dismissed Jan. 2, 2013) narrowly interpreted “exceeds authorized access” not to apply to employees who are “authorized to access a computer when his employer approves or sanctions his admission to that computer.” In contrast, the Seventh Circuit, in International Airport Ctrs. v. Citrin, No. 06-2073 (7th Cir. July 25, 2006), applied the CFAA to an employee who accessed the company computer for the purpose of “further[ing] interests that are adverse to his employer,” i.e., stealing company data to take to a competitor. The Fifth and Eleventh circuits follow this interpretation.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?