Articles Posted in Cybersecurity

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In 2013, Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee, and National Security Agency (“NSA”) contractor, leaked top secret documents to the public. These documents detailed the NSA’s controversial electronic surveillance practices and procedures, sparking a debate about wiretapping and privacy laws. Snowden revealed that the government employed questionable electronic surveillance programs. The controversy circles around the potential privacy violations surrounding government agency practices to monitor communications. Since then, the Obama Administration has been under pressure to address individual privacy concerns. Last month, President Obama addressed the nation and introduced proposed changes to current electronic surveillance practices.

What Are the Current Wiretapping Laws, Before President Obama’s Proposed Amendments?

Wiretapping has been possible since the invention of the telephone. The procedure gets its name from earlier methods, which required officials to physically place electrical taps on telephone lines. Wiretapping is a constitutional and legal practice. In most cases, officials must secure a warrant from a judge beforehand. However, federal intelligence agencies can apply to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (“FISA”), under secret proceedings, for court approval. In some circumstances, these agencies can proceed with approval from the United States Attorney General, without court approval. In the event that the agency does need to secure a warrant before wiretapping, courts typically apply a very strict standard of review before granting approval. For instance, the judge will look to ensure there are no other less intrusive methods to gather information. In general, the courts look at wiretapping as a last resort. Alternatively, if a party who is participating in a call, records the call and produces it to a government agency, the agency does not need prior court approval. The agency is then at liberty to use the contents of the recorded phone call for its purposes.

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In recent years, online transactions, such as activities on social media networks, have exposed personal privacy to greater risks. With so much personal information available over the Internet, it is increasingly important to be aware of the applicable laws, so that your privacy is better enforced and protected. The risks can include identity theft, and data, medical, financial, or workplace breaches.

In the United States, there are overarching federal privacy laws that apply to the states. Also, each state has its own privacy laws. In general, the states can provide greater privacy protection than federal laws, but they cannot provide less protection. Privacy right violations can lead to both civil and criminal penalties, depending on the extent of the violation and the applicable laws.

What are the applicable privacy laws in California?

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On December 19, 2013, Target issued a statement confirming a major security breach. According to the statement, approximately 40 million customers were at risk for identity theft because of the breach. Hackers had gained access to customer information, including their names, credit card numbers, debit card numbers, card expiration dates, and security codes. This incident brought light to the ongoing threat of identify theft for customers who use credit or debit cards to make purchases, either in stores or online. With this growing threat, consumers need to take care to protect themselves against potential attacks.

What Is the Extent of the Target Security Breach?

According to Target’s investigations, the hackers began accessing customer information from before Thanksgiving until mid-December. With the information they stole, which is stored on a card’s magnetic strip, the hackers could have made purchases all around the world. Indeed, hackers can also use this information to create new credit or debit cards. Although, there is no evidence the hackers also stole pin numbers, but if they had, they could have withdrawn money from customers’ bank accounts. The United States Secret Service is looking into this massive security breach. In the past, federal and state authorities have held companies liable, even issuing fines, if investigations reveal that a company did not take adequate steps to protect customer information. Analysts predict that here Target may have to spend over $100 million in legal costs to fix the security breach. Costs will increase even more if it’s forced to reimburse credit card companies for fraudulent purchases. However, in the meantime, Target’s first priority has been to act quickly to secure and protect customer information. Although, they have not reached any conclusions, initial investigations suggest the breach could have come entirely from outside hackers, or it could have been achieved with help from its employees. Either way, this level of a security breach suggests that it reached deep within the corporation.

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Cyber criminals are very skilled in singling out vulnerable targets for online schemes. For instance, senior citizens are ideal candidates for cyber fraud or Internet fraud because they are more likely to have large amounts of money saved up, and they tend to have better credit, making schemes more profitable for criminals. If you are a senior citizen, or you know of an elder consumer who was a victim of Internet fraud, please contact us today to discuss available legal remedies and protections.

Why Are Senior Citizens Ideal Targets for Internet Fraud?

Older American citizens are often not familiar with the methods available to report fraud. Also, they are hesitant to report fraud because they are worried their relatives will decide they are no longer able to handle their own finances. Unfortunately, failure to report cyber crime immediately leads to a loss of evidence, and makes it very easy for cyber criminals to disappear without a trace. Furthermore, the more time that passes between the crime and prosecution, the more details and evidence are lost to memory. Cyber criminals depend on elder citizens’ weakened memory because the loss of evidence also prevents effective prosecution, and cyber criminals are able to walk away without punishment.

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A business’s trade secrets are an essential component of its foundation, growth, and development. A trade secret is any sort of confidential and proprietary information that a company seeks to protect from unauthorized access.  For example, a trade secret, includes a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process (e.g., computer algorithm).  By definition, a trade secret is only valuable so long as it remains a secret.   In recent years, as businesses conduct more transactions over cyberspace, there is a higher probability of trade secret theft or loss. However, the constantly changing nature of cyberspace, and the anonymity users enjoy over the Internet, make protecting trade secrets a complex issue.

What is the Threat to Trade Secrets in Cyberspace?

Trade secrets in cyberspace, which involve software and digital information, can be misappropriated or wrongfully taken and used without detection.  It is also known as “cybertheft.”  For example, an online user has the capacity to view and distribute trade secrets without detection within minutes.   Online message boards allow users to post trade secrets over the web anonymously.  By concealing their identity, it is possible to steal a trade secret without detection.  Indeed, the courts continue to issue decisions that recognize individual privacy rights in digital trade secret misappropriation cases, preventing the trade secret owner from seeking legal remedies. Furthermore, in the past, trade secret theft was intended to secure an economic advantage between competing companies. However, recent cases, such as Ford Motor Co. v. Lane, illustrate that trade secrets are vulnerable to dissatisfied employees who distribute trade secrets only to harm an employer.  On a side note, hackers may even steal and distribute trade secrets simply to show off their technical skills.

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In recent times, the threat of privacy invasions has spread far beyond domestic governmental agencies, but to also include foreign and international governments. Do you travel outside of the United States? Do you travel with electronic devices, such as a cellphone or laptop? Do these devices hold any sensitive information, such as passwords or confidential communications? If yes, then your electronic privacy may be compromised when you travel abroad.

What Is the Threat to Privacy Abroad?

The simple truth is that border patrol agents in countries around the world take data from cellphones, laptops, and other electronic devices as tourists cross their borders. This data can include, but is certainly not limited to, passwords, files, and emails. Although, this is a common practice around the world, most tourists have no idea that their personal information becomes increasingly more vulnerable to invasions of privacy when they leave the United States. Indeed, the threat extends to hotels that may extract information from electronic devices through their free wireless systems.

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On August 14, 2013, the FBI confirmed its investigation regarding a sextortion case involving several women, including the recently-crowned Miss Teen USA, Cassidy Wolf. While the FBI did not release any information regarding the investigation or potential suspects, they did say the investigation has been going on for several months. Do you store personal information and photographs on your computer? Do you or your children use computers with webcam capabilities? If so, you might be at risk for cyber-stalking and sextortion. At the Law Offices of Salar Atrizadeh, an attorney with experience and knowledge in the most recent cyberspace law can help you learn how to protect yourself against cyber attacks such as these.

What Is the Extent of the Sextortion Threat In the Community?

Cassidy Wolf had said in an interview that she had received an email from an anonymous source who claimed to have nude pictures of her. The anonymous source then attempted to extort her, threatening to make the pictures public otherwise. Apparently, a hacker was able to break into Cassidy Wolf’s computer, turn on her webcam, and take pictures of her. For Miss Wolf, this controversy came after the hacker cyber-stalked her through her computer.

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As cyberspace becomes a larger part of everyday life, the threat of cybercrimes becomes more prevalent. Consumers conduct all sorts of business over the Internet, which involves storing and transferring personal information on various online sites. Accordingly, the wealth of personal information available over the Internet has drawn in a new type of crime–phishing and spoofing. Cybercriminals disguise as other people, or legitimate business entities, and they entice consumers to give out personal information, such as bank account numbers. These tactics also help cybercriminals steal people’s identities.

What is the Difference Between Phishing and Spoofing?

Phishing is the practice of posing as a legitimate business entity to trick consumers into turning over personal information, such as passwords and bank account numbers. The cybercriminals then use this information to break into accounts and transfer money. They may also use this personal information to apply for credit cards, spend extravagant amounts of money, and ruin people’s credit. This is how cyber criminals perpetuate identify theft through phishing. With the right personal or financial information, cybercriminals disguise as other people, building up exorbitant debt against the victim.

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Few crimes affect as broad a scope of people as identity theft. With social networks, credit cards, personal information, and contact information so interconnected, perpetrators can trespass into a person’s life by breaking past a single password-protected account. Accordingly, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has created a special division to aggressively prosecute this serious crime. Indeed, the District Attorney’s Office has indicated that it would pursue all cases of identity theft, regardless of how minor. This category of illegal activity includes everything from simply possessing information on another’s identity without their permission to using such information to obtain a credit card or make purchases.

In California, identity theft laws are especially strict because perpetrators can be convicted of felony identity theft regardless of whether the victim suffers financial harm as a result of the identity theft. In fact, signing someone else’s name on an official document may constitute identity theft, depending on the circumstances. Often, identity thieves work as members of larger organizations, which assemble and carry on large networks of identity theft. Someone may be accused of identity theft simply by association with members of such a network. Under California Penal Code § 530.5(a) to maintain a case of identity theft, the district attorney will need to show that a defendant intentionally obtained “personal identifying information” without the consent of the person, to use “for any unlawful purpose.” Defendants may be able to avoid prosecution for identity theft if they can present evidence to show that they obtained the identifying information with the person’s consent.

The most common identity theft cases include illegal credit cards, fake identification cards, stolen social security numbers, purchases with stolen credit cards, and skimming. Skimming involves installing a skimmer to illegal obtain identification and credit card information from card machines in retail stores and gas stations. Identity theft also involves cyber crimes such as phishing or spoofing.

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After an investigation by U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright found members of IMAGiNE Group guilty of criminal copyright infringement. The court found IMAGiNE Group, an Internet piracy circle, guilty of perpetuating an effort to release movies available only in movie theaters. A representative of the Motion Picture Association of America testified that IMAGiNE was responsible for the most expansive effort to release pirated films between September 2009 and September 2011.

Judge Wright sentenced Jeremiah B. Perkins, a leading member of IMAGiNE, to prison and ordered him to pay $15,000 in restitution damages. After prison, Perkins will also face three years of supervised release. Perkins was responsible for recording films in theaters and compiling data into complete movie files to share on the Internet. Perkins admitted to renting computers, registering domain names, and opening email and PayPal accounts to help run IMAGiNE’s operation.

The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (“IPR Center”) within the United States Department of Homeland Security has supported the underlying investigation in this case. This center is one of the federal government’s greatest weapons in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy. The IPR Center works closely with other agencies within the Department of Justice to facilitate information sharing in an effort to establish and enforce initiatives that deter intellectual property theft. This case was part of the IPR Center’s greater effort to hinder and stop the spread of intellectual property theft. Attorney General Eric Holder instigated these efforts in response to the increasing crimes against intellectual property. Additionally, in light of recent news concerning threats of international cyber attacks, these efforts also go a long way towards protecting American consumers, their health, and their safety. Preventing intellectually property theft also protects the American economy by prohibiting outside parties from profiting on American products and intellectual property. The IPR Center aims to increase intellectual property right protections by implementing stricter criminal and civil liability for property right infringements. Additionally, the IPR Center seeks to organize greater coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Finally, the task force aims to refocus efforts on international property right protections by establishing and strengthening relationships with foreign governments.

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