National Security Law Commons^™

Newsroom: Nbc News: Coombs On Chelsea Manning 01-13-2017, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Biometric Cyberintelligence And The Posse Comitatus Act, Margaret Hu

Scholarly Articles

This Article addresses the rapid growth of what the military and the intelligence community refer to as “biometric-enabled intelligence.” This newly emerging intelligence tool is reliant upon biometric databases—for example, digitalized storage of scanned fingerprints and irises, digital photographs for facial recognition technology, and DNA. This Article introduces the term “biometric cyberintelligence” to more accurately describe the manner in which this new tool is dependent upon cybersurveillance and big data’s massintegrative systems.

This Article argues that the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, designed to limit the deployment of federal military resources in the service of domestic policies, will be difficult …

Cybersecurity For Infrastructure: A Critical Analysis, Eldar Haber, Tal Zarsky

Florida State University Law Review

Nations and their citizens rely on infrastructures. Their incapacitation or destruction could prevent nations from protecting themselves from threats, cause substantial economic harm, and even result in the loss of life. Therefore, safeguarding these infrastructures is an obvious strategic task for any sovereign state. While the need to protect critical infrastructures (CIs) is far from novel, digitization brings new challenges as well as increased cyber-risks. This need is self-evident; yet, the optimal policy regime is debatable. The United States and other nations have thus far opted for very light regulation, merely encouraging voluntary steps while choosing to intervene only in …

From The National Surveillance State To The Cybersurveillance State, Margaret Hu

Scholarly Articles

This article anchors the phenomenon of bureaucratized cybersurveillance around the concept of the National Surveillance State, a theory attributed to Professor Jack Balkin of Yale Law School and Professor Sanford Levinson of the University of Texas School of Law. Pursuant to the theory of the National Surveillance State, because of the routinized and administrative nature of government-led surveillance, normalized mass surveillance is viewed as justified under crime and counterterrorism policy rationales. This article contends that the Cybersurveillance State is the successor to the National Surveillance State. The Cybersurveillance State harnesses technologies that fuse biometric and biographic data for risk assessment, …

The Second African National Space Law: The Nigerian Nasrda Act And The Draft Regulations On Licensing And Supervision, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

The number of countries with more or less comprehensive national space legislation addressing in particular the authorization and supervision of private space activities continues to grow, and several more countries are currently in the process of adding themselves to that list. One of the more recent and most interesting ones among them is Nigeria, as the second African country after South Africa and—after Brazil—the second leading spacefaring nation from the developing world, to draft, further to a fairly recently established succinct framework law, a set of regulations addressing precisely those issues.

The paper briefly recaps the underlying international obligations, in …

The New Fisa Court Amicus Should Be Able To Ignore Its Congressionally Imposed Duty, Ben Cook

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Mental Health Of Our National Security: Protecting The Minds That Protect The Homeland, Alan Wehbé

American University National Security Law Brief

No abstract provided.

Legal Solutions To A Political Party National Committee Undermining U.S. Democracy, 51 J. Marshall L. Rev. 107 (2017), John Baglia

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Strengthen Section 702: A Critical Intelligence Tool Vital To The Protection Of Our Country, Deborah Samuel Sills

American University National Security Law Brief

No abstract provided.

Rule Of Law In The Age Of The Drone: Requiring Transparency And Disqualifying Clandestine Actors—The Cia And The Joint Special Operations Command, Thomas Michael Mcdonnell

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Since shortly after 9/11, weaponized drones have be-come part of the fabric of United States policy and practice in countering Islamic terrorist organizations and personnel. Although many diplomats, UN officials, and scholars have criticized the widespread use of this weapon system for “targeted killing,” drones are here to stay. But how much investigation and oversight must a democratic country carry out over such a program, and more critically, how can a country do so effectively when the Executive has handed primary responsibility for drone targeted killing attacks to its clandestine forces, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Special Operations …

Fueling The Terrorist Fires With The First Amendment: Religious Freedom, The Anti-Lgbt Right, And Interest Convergence Theory, Kyle C. Velte

Brooklyn Law Review

This article argues that there is a connection between formal equality for LGBT Americans and the United States’ foreign policy and national security interests. It makes that connection utilizing Professor Derek Bell’s interest convergence paradigm. It argues that the new agenda of the American Religious Right is one that seeks to assert quasi-theocratic and anti-Establishment positions in litigation as well as in its promulgation of anti-LGBT laws. This agenda is cloaked in the garb of “religious freedom,” but the Religious Right’s definition of “religious freedom” is one that runs counter to our long-standing understanding of that principle as one that …

"Cybervandalism" Or "Digital Act Of War?" America's Muddled Approach To Cyber Incidents Will Not Deter More Crises, Charles J. Dunlap Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

If experts say a "malicious [cyber] code"' has "similar effects" to a "physical bomb,"' and that code actually causes "a stunning breach of global internet stability," is it really accurate to call that event merely an instance of a "cyber attack"?

Moreover, can you really expect to deter state and non-state actors from employing such code and similarly hostile cyber methodologies if all they think that they are risking is being labeled as a cyber-vandal subject only to law enforcement measures? Or might they act differently if it were made clear to them that such activity is considered an "armed …

Primary National Security Threats Facing The United States: The Magnitude Of Their Threats And Steps That Have Been Or Might Be Taken To Counteract Them, John F. Murphy

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Investigative Journalism And Counter Terrorism Laws, Clive Walker

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

Since terrorism is now perceived as a primary and pervasive threat to state security, many states have adopted broad legal definitions of “terrorism” and, upon that basis, have enacted correspondingly expansive policing powers and criminal offences. As a dramatic instance of how these approaches, which affect major Western jurisdictions such as the U.S. and U.K., this paper will focus on the paradigm case of David Miranda. In August 2013, Miranda was transporting computer materials (including files from security agencies) supplied by Edward Snowden, a former contractor with the U.S. National Security Agency, to journalist Glenn Greenwald to assist ongoing disclosures …

Cybersecurity, Identity Theft, And Standing Law: A Framework For Data Breaches Using Substantial Risk In A Post-Clapper World, James C. Chou

American University National Security Law Brief

No abstract provided.

Transforming Election Cybersecurity, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The U.S. Election Hacks, Cybersecurity, And International Law, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Cybersecurity In The Marine Transportation Sector: Protecting Intellectual Property To Keep Our Ports, Facilities, And Vessels Safe From Cyber Threats, Rachel Foote

Cybaris®

No abstract provided.

Brandishing Our Air, Space, And Cyber Swords: Recommendations For Deterrence And Beyond, Mark Reith

Faculty Publications

This article examines how the nation could better prepare to deter aggressive action in space and cyberspace, and if necessary, prevail should deterrence fail. The key themes throughout this article include a strong need for space and cyber situational awareness, the need for an international attribution and escalation framework, and a national investment in space and cyber education, along with an updated national strategy and military doctrine. Although related, this article focuses on deterrence and avoids the topic of cyber coercion.

Protecting America's Elections From Foreign Tampering: Realizing The Benefits Of Classifying Election Infrastructure As Critical Infrastructure Under The United States Code, Allaire M. Monticollo

Law Student Publications

In just the past five years, the United States has suffered numerous hacks into important entities and institutions across the country by ill-intentioned actors. Private companies and government agencies alike have felt the negative impacts of security breaches by hackers infiltrating proprietary and protected systems. Even the United States political landscape has proven vulnerable to bad actors in the realm of cyber security. Furthermore, analysts have attributed some of the most recent highly publicized hacks to state-sponsored groups. As cyber security threats and opportunities for foreign hackers to infiltrate critical systems become more prevalent, it is natural to wonder where …