National Security Law Commons^™

After Snowden: Regulating Technology-Aided Surveillance In The Digital Age, David Cole

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Imagine a state that compels its citizens to inform it at all times of where they are, who they are with, what they are doing, who they are talking to, how they spend their time and money, and even what they are interested in. None of us would want to live there. Human rights groups would condemn the state for denying the most basic elements of human dignity and freedom. Student groups would call for boycotts to show solidarity. We would pity the offending state's citizens for their inability to enjoy the rights and privileges we know to be essential …

Space Traffic Management: A Challenge Of Cosmic Proportions, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

Space traffic management has often, for example in the IAA Cosmic Study of 2006, been rather broadly defined as “the set of technical and regulatory provisions for promoting safe access into outer space, operations in outer space and return from space to Earth free of physical or radio-frequency interference.” Oftentimes, especially in space law literature, references or even comparisons have been made to traffic management as it has developed in aviation and (to a lesser extent) in maritime transport.

However, it should be realized that space traffic management, especially under the definition quoted, comprises a considerably larger range of activities …

The Art Of Nailing Jell-O To The Wall: Reassessing The Political Power Of The Internet, Bryan Druzin, Jessica Li

Journal of Law and Policy

Political observers commonly argue that, given the unique characteristics of the Internet, democratization is an inevitability of its widespread use. The critical role that social media played in the wave of demonstrations, protests, and revolutions that swept across the Arab world in 2011 cemented this perception in the minds of many. Yet China defies this simplistic paradigm—China has been stunningly successful at constraining the political power of its Internet. We argue that the political importance of Internet technology has been overstated, particularly with respect to China. As support for this thesis, we cite recent political events in Hong Kong known …

Standing Up For Their Data: Recognizing The True Nature Of Injuries In Data Breach Claims To Afford Plaintiffs Article Iii Standing, Andrew Braunstein

Journal of Law and Policy

Over the last several years, data breaches have become increasingly more common, due in no small part to the failures of organizations charged with storing and protecting personal data. Consumers whose data has fallen victim to these breaches are more often turning to federal courts in attempts to be made whole from the loss of their information, whether simple credit card information or, as breaches become more sophisticated, social security information, medical and financial records, and more. These consumers are often being turned away from the courthouse, however, due to a failure of many federal courts to find that the …

The Intersection Of "Internet Terrorism" And "Individual Privacy" In The Context Of The First Amendment, Amanda Leonard

American University National Security Law Brief

No abstract provided.

The Implications Of Creating An Iphone Backdoor, Gregory Coutros

American University National Security Law Brief

No abstract provided.

The Law Of Armed Conflict, Unconventional Warfare, And Cyber Attacks, Thomas P. Jordan

American University National Security Law Brief

No abstract provided.

Fourth Amendment Time Machines (And What They Might Say About Police Body Cameras), Stephen E. Henderson

Faculty Articles

When it comes to criminal investigation, time travel is increasingly possible. Despite longstanding roots in traditional investigation, science is today providing something fundamentally different in the form of remarkably complete digital records. And those big data records not only store our past, but thanks to data mining they are in many circumstances eerily good at predicting our future. So, now that we stand on the threshold of investigatory time travel, how should the Fourth Amendment and legislation respond? How should we approach bulk government capture, such as by a solar-powered drone employing wide-area persistent stare technology? Is it meaningfully different …

Hey America! Let's Get Smart: The Need For A Reliable Modern Smart Electrical Grid Resistance To Cyberattacks, Richard J. Kisielowski Ii

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Implications For The Future Of Global Data Security And Privacy: The Territorial Application Of The Stored Communications Act And The Microsoft Case, Russell Hsiao

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Submarine Cables, Cybersecurity And International Law: An Intersectional Analysis, Tara Davenport

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The Defend Trade Secrets Act Of 2015, S. 1890, H.R. 3326, 114th Congress (2015), Joseph K.C. Doukmetzian

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The Us Space Launch Competitiveness Act Of 2015, Frans Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

On November 25, 2015, President Obama signed into law the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (H.R. 2262). This Act encompasses four titles: I. Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship (acronym: SPACE), II. Commercial Remote Sensing, III. Office of Space Commerce, and IV. Space Resource Exploration and Utilization.

Title I amends the Commercial Space Launch Act, which comprises the licensing regime for launches, reentries, and launch port activities, including those carrying spaceflight participants on board.

Title II amends the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act, which allowed for the licensing of private commercial satellite remote-sensing operations, and essentially requires the Secretary …

Doj’S “All-Tools” Approach To Cyber And National Security, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Newsroom: Future Of Cybersecurity, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Eliminating The No Number, No List Response; Keeping The Cia Within The Scope Of The Law Amidst America's Global War On Terror, Joseph Meissner

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Small Data Surveillance V. Big Data Cybersurveillance, Margaret Hu

Pepperdine Law Review

This Article highlights some of the critical distinctions between small data surveillance and big data cybersurveillance as methods of intelligence gathering. Specifically, in the intelligence context, it appears that “collect-it-all” tools in a big data world can now potentially facilitate the construction, by the intelligence community, of other individuals' digital avatars. The digital avatar can be understood as a virtual representation of our digital selves and may serve as a potential proxy for an actual person. This construction may be enabled through processes such as the data fusion of biometric and biographic data, or the digital data fusion of the …

Authorized Investigation: A Temperate Alternative To Cyber Insecurity, Casey M. Bruner

Seattle University Law Review

This Note aims to show that legal structures created to protect the Internet in its original form are completely insufficient to protect what the Internet has become. This antiquated legal framework is exacerbating the problem. The breadth of activity that the current law restricts severely limits the remedies that cyberattack victims can pursue, and it must be updated. While full hack-back may prove necessary in the long run, I argue for a more temperate initial response to the problem—I call this response “authorized investigation.” Specifically, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act should be amended to allow victims access to their …

Trading Privacy For Angry Birds: A Call For Courts To Reevaluate Privacy Expectations In Modern Smartphones, Jeremy Andrew Ciarabellini

Seattle University Law Review

Of all the smartphone uses, the calling function is probably used the least. Rather, individuals more commonly use their smartphone for surfing the web, checking Facebook, and playing games. Highlighting the “smart” in smartphone, these phones often know more about their users’ daily activities than the users. Without requiring any sort of input, smartphones can tell the user how many steps they walk each day, when it is time to leave for work (also, of course, determining the traveling time with the most up-to-date traffic reports), and when an item recently ordered on Amazon will be delivered. Smartphone users may …

Loopholes For Circumventing The Constitution: Unrestrained Bulk Surveillance On Americans By Collecting Network Traffic Abroad, Axel Arnbak, Sharon Goldberg

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

This Article reveals interdependent legal and technical loopholes that the US intelligence community could use to circumvent constitutional and statutory safeguards for Americans. These loopholes involve the collection of Internet traffic on foreign territory, and leave Americans as unprotected as foreigners by current United States (US) surveillance laws. This Article will also describe how modern Internet protocols can be manipulated to deliberately divert American’s traffic abroad, where traffic can then be collected under a more permissive legal regime (Executive Order 12333) that is overseen solely by the executive branch of the US government. Although the media has reported on some …

Clapper V. Amnesty International Usa: Balancing National Security And Individuals' Privacy, Kristen Choi

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

The Snowden Effect: The Conflict In A Free Society, Who Values Privacy Versus Who Values Security?, Matthew C. Blake

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The Obama Administration has come under scrutiny by both the public and Congress, since former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden made known the scope of government surveillance programs being utilized by the U.S. government to gather intelligence on domestic citizens. Snowden’s disclosures about the government’s surveillance practices to the mainstream media began in June 2013. I focus on how public opinion towards the government’s surveillance practices and an individual’s reasonable right to privacy has shifted after revelations made by Edward Snowden on the practices of the NSA. Individuals may show support for more government surveillance in the name …

Autonomous Weapons And Accountability: Seeking Solutions In The Law Of War, Kelly Cass

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Autonomous weapons are increasingly used by militaries around the world. Unlike conventional unmanned weapons such as drones, autonomous weapons involve a machine deciding whether to deploy lethal force. Yet, because a machine cannot have the requisite mental state to commit a war crime, the legal scrutiny falls onto the decision to deploy an autonomous weapon. This Article focuses on the dual questions arising from that decision: how to regulate autonomous weapon use and who should be held criminally liable for an autonomous weapon’s actions. Regarding the first issue, this Article concludes that regulations expressly limiting autonomous weapon use to non-human …

Silencing The Call To Arms: A Shift Away From Cyber Attacks As Warfare, Ryan Patterson

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Cyberspace has developed into an indispensable aspect of modern society, but not without risk. Cyber attacks have increased in frequency, with many states declaring cyber operations a priority in what has been called the newest domain of warfare. But what rules govern? The Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare suggests existent laws of war are sufficient to govern cyber activities; however, the Tallinn Manual ignores fundamental problems and unique differences between cyber attacks and kinetic attacks. This Article argues that several crucial impediments frustrate placing cyber attacks within the current umbra of warfare, chiefly the problems …

The Legality Of President Reagan's Proposed Space-Based Ballistic Missile Defense System, John Topping

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

About The New Pca Rules And Their Application To Satellite Communication Disputes, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

In 2011 the PCA Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Outer Space Activities were adopted. The present contribution addresses the possible relevance of these new rules for disputes regarding international satellite communication, noting the existence of various dispute settlement regimes already available and analyzing their respective usefulness for such international satellite communications disputes.

Regulating Drones Under The First And Fourth Amendments, Marc Blitz, James Grimsley, Stephen E. Henderson, Joseph Thai

Faculty Articles

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 requires the Federal Aviation Administration to integrate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, into the national airspace system by September of this year. Yet perhaps because of their chilling accuracy in targeted killings abroad, perhaps because of an increasing consciousness of diminishing privacy more generally, and perhaps simply because of a fear of the unknown, divergent UAV-restrictive legislation has been proposed in Congress and enacted in a number of states. Ultimately, given UAV utility and cost effectiveness over a vast range of tasks, widespread commercial use seems certain. So it is imperative …

The “Space Side” To “Harmful Interference”—Evaluating Regulatory Instruments In Addressing Interference Issues In The Context Of Satellite Communications, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

Interference issues in the context of satellite communications can, in principle, be tackled with legal means from a variety of angles, due to the multifaceted character of both interference and satellite communications as a sector. From that perspective, the present contribution addresses the most important regulatory instruments available to address the particular aspects of satellite communications related to their usage of outer space, and represents a first summary effort to evaluate their particular scope, approach, and general effectiveness.

Effective Exercise Of ‘In-Space Jurisdiction’: The Us Approach And The Problems It Is Facing, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

As mankind moves closer to the fiftieth anniversary of the conclusion of the Outer Space Treaty, the framework international treaty laying down the baseline regime for space activities, it may be considered a major achievement that the treaty, as well as some of its offspring—notably the Rescue Agreement, Liability Convention, and Registration Convention—seem to be as relevant as ever. This is a major feat in an international era of many fundamental changes in the geopolitical, economic, and social context.

Nevertheless, the increasing involvement of private entities in many fields of space activity beyond the (by now) more “traditional” ones of …

Book Review: Technology Control, Competition, And National Security. Edited By Bernard L. Seward, Jr. University Press Of America, 1987., Dorinda G. Dallmeyer

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.