Individual Liability and Criminalizing Cybersecurity Response
June 01, 2022
To date, cybersecurity has generally been viewed as an organizational responsibility, and data breaches similarly have been treated as organizational weaknesses or failures. Against this backdrop of organizational responsibility, the Department of Justice has brought a noteworthy criminal case against an individual for his personal response to a corporate data breach.
Repairing the Foreign Agents Registration Act
May 01, 2022
In recent years, mostly due to the well-publicized prosecution of Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, FARA has become more of a focus for federal prosecutors. As a result, white-collar attorneys have been consulted more often about whether particular conduct requires registration under the Act.
Crypto Executive Order 'Both a Landmark and a Question Mark'
May 01, 2022
The Biden administration released its long awaited executive order on cryptocurrency, directing a range of federal agencies to study and assess a litany of issues related to digital assets, including cybersecurity, money laundering and climate impact.
The FTC Gets Into the College Athlete NIL Game
April 01, 2022
As national champions are crowned in men's and women's basketball, hundreds of thousands of college athletes are entering the influencer marketplace for the first time and now find themselves attractive candidates in the fast growing influencer marketing arena. With influencer marketing potentially providing a 5x return on investment, many brands are eager to get into the industry, but it doesn't come without risks as the FTC Commissioner is taking a closer look at the use of influencers for marketing.
First Dark Web Insider Trading Case Shows Government Active In Policing Tech
April 01, 2022
In a first of its kind prosecution, the Southern District of New York brought an insider trading case against defendant for selling inside information on the Dark Web. The SEC also brought a civil regulatory action against the defendant for the same conduct. In a rare move, however, SDNY and SEC charged this same conduct under different insider trading statutes. This difference underscores the legal complexities involved when the origin of inside information in the digital world is unknown.
Inside Cryptocurrency Pump-and-Dump Schemes
April 01, 2022
Cryptocurrency pump-and-dump schemes (CPDs) are becoming increasingly prevalent. As in the case of traditional "pump and dump" schemes, CPDs lead to short-term trading perturbations — exaggerated increases and/or decreases in prices, volume, or volatility.
The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity Litigation
March 01, 2022
While the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.