Cybersecurity

4 types of employees can put your security at risk

By now you’ve heard lots about Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor accused of leaking top-secret information about government surveillance programs to the media, and Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst convicted of leaking reams of classified material to WikiLeaks. But have you heard about the four…

Jun 1, 2014 7:40 AM CDT

Facing decades in prison, computer hacker ‘Sabu’ gets time served due to cooperation with feds

A prolific corporate and government computer hacker known as “Sabu” could have gotten decades in prison for attacks he orchestrated against targets including credit card issuers, the U.S. Senate and other government entities worldwide. However, Hector Xavier Monsegur was sentenced Tuesday to time served after cooperating with the feds and…

May 27, 2014 5:10 PM CDT

New Blackphone could help lawyers safeguard client information

While covering this year’s ABA Techshow, I reported on a session that focused on tools and services available to lawyers concerned about maintaining client confidentiality in the face of increased governmental surveillance, particularly from the National Security Agency. One of the most interesting things that I learned (and there were…

May 23, 2014 5:45 PM CDT

Tech giants refuse to keep government requests for data secret

Some of the largest tech companies in the country are no longer complying with secret governmental demands for information and data. Instead, they’re actually telling users that they’re being targeted. The Washington Post reported that companies including Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Google have taken a stand against governmental agencies that…

May 2, 2014 8:19 PM CDT

Meet the lawyer working on a plea deal for NSA leaker Edward Snowden

National Security Agency-leaker Edward Snowden called on one of the best-known Espionage Act lawyers last year when he entered into plea negotiations with the United States government. According to a Tuesday article in the New York Times, Plato Cacheris, a prominent Washington, D.C. lawyer and name-partner at Trout Cacheris, has…

Apr 29, 2014 5:23 PM CDT

As state and local police struggle to investigate cybercrime, official describes ‘helpless feeling’

Despite an explosion of cybercrime in recent years, many state and local law enforcement officers aren’t equipped to deal with it. As a result, conduct that results in significant financial losses and could create major security risks goes uninvestigated and unprosecuted. For example, the state of Utah was able to…

Apr 21, 2014 4:45 PM CDT

Smartphone makers to offer ‘kill switch’ next year; some lawmakers say that isn’t enough

Amidst efforts by lawmaker to require a “kill switch” allowing owners to remotely delete data and deactivate smartphones after a theft, major makers are providing an voluntary alternative. All smartphones they manufacture after July 2015 will offer consumers the option of turning on a kill switch, reports the San Francisco…

Apr 16, 2014 5:05 PM CDT

3rd Circuit frees email hacker ‘weev’; says feds tried and convicted him in wrong venue

The controversial conviction of an email hacker has been vacated by a federal appeals court, not because of issues with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act but because Andrew Auernheimer was tried and convicted in the wrong venue. Known as “weev,” Auernheimer was released on Friday from a federal prison…

Apr 14, 2014 8:00 PM CDT

Google seeks ‘Holy Grail,’ will help track shoppers and link computer ad clicks to in-store sales

Seeking what one advertising executive calls the Holy Grail of Internet marketing, Google Inc. has launched a pilot program to help companies link consumers’ computer clicks on its AdWords to subsequent in-store purchases. Six advertisers are currently participating in the Internet giant’s In-Store Attribution Transaction Reporting in AdWords program, the…

Apr 11, 2014 9:40 PM CDT

Amidst ‘epidemic’ of tax-refund claims using stolen IDs, feds charge 25 in $36M fraud

Amidst what a top federal prosecutor calls an epidemic of fraudulent filings for federal income tax refunds under stolen identities, a strike force in South Florida has charged 25 individuals in 19 cases involving $36 million in fraud. The defendants include a jail guard accused of stealing the identities of…

Apr 3, 2014 8:04 PM CDT

Google Glass is already causing legal experts to see problems

When California Highway Patrol officer Keith Odle pulled over Cecilia Abadie last October while driving along Interstate 15 in San Diego, he noticed something unusual: She was wearing a pair of high-tech glasses made by Google. Odle ticketed the 44-year-old software developer for speeding and then issued her a second…

Apr 1, 2014 9:10 AM CDT

Catch up with tech or lose your career, judges warn lawyers

Federal judges are becoming much more sophisticated about technology—and they’re growing increasingly impatient with attorneys who are failing to keep up. Indeed, U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis of New York’s Southern District—one of a panel of four “cyberstar” federal judges who spoke on the future of law and technology…

Apr 1, 2014 8:00 AM CDT

Cloud-based e-discovery can mean big savings for smaller firms

Smaller law firms may be able to save a significant amount of money by ‘renting’ e-discovery applications in the cloud rather than bringing a full-fledged hardware and software solution in-house. “Only a few years ago, e-discovery in the cloud wasn’t even available,” said Gareth Evans, an Irvine, Calif.-based partner at…

Apr 1, 2014 7:40 AM CDT

Tools for lawyers worried that NSA is eavesdropping on their confidential conversations

Are you concerned that Big Brother (including the National Security Agency) is not only watching, but listening, recording and even transcribing your confidential client conversations? The good news for lawyers worried about maintaining their duty of confidentiality is that there are tools and safeguards to help them. In a session…

Mar 30, 2014 5:44 PM CDT

4 types of employees who put your cybersecurity at risk, and 10 things you can do to stop them

You’ve probably heard of Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor accused of leaking top-secret information about government surveillance programs to the news media, and Bradley Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst convicted of leaking reams of classified material about the war in Iraq to WikiLeaks. But have you…

Mar 28, 2014 5:45 PM CDT