Cybersecurity Law and Policy

Catalog description

This course is a survey of legal and public policy issues arising from the problem of cybersecurity. It begins with a review of Internet law concepts, highlighting the importance of social norms and “soft law” in the Internet’s development, while also recognizing the ways in which the Internet’s minimal legal governance frameworks contribute to its security risks. It then focuses on computer crime law, including the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which contains provisions that address data theft and hacking. This discussion of computer crime leads to consideration of online privacy, government surveillance, and legal process for government investigations, and cyberwar. The final portion of the course covers legal and policy issues relating to private information infrastructure.