Cyber Intrusions

Hana Kidaka, MJLST Staffer

On November 24, 2014, hackers stole confidential information from the servers of Sony Pictures Entertainment. The hackers claimed to have stolen 100 terabytes of confidential information, including employee Social Security numbers, e-mail conversations between executives, and unreleased films. This Sony hack and “[t]he dramatic increase in cyber intrusions” led the Obama Administration to issue legislative proposals on January 13, 2015 in hopes of strengthening cybersecurity. The Administration’s proposals attempt to: “(1) enhance cybersecurity threat information sharing within the private sector and with the Federal Government; (2) establish a single standard to protect individuals by requiring businesses to notify them if their personal information is compromised; and (3) strengthen the ability of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute cybercrimes.”

Following the legislative proposals, President Obama signed executive orders that encourage companies to share cybersecurity information with each other and the government and that allow the government to impose penalties on foreign “individuals or entities that engage in significant malicious cyber-enabled activities.” The President has also been in talks with foreign governments to strengthen cybersecurity. For example, on September 25, 2015, President Obama announced that the U.S. and China have agreed to work together to prevent cybercrimes by providing “timely responses . . . to requests for information and assistance concerning malicious cyber activities” and by “identify[ing] and promot[ing] appropriate norms of state behavior in cyberspace within the international community.” While this is a small step in the right direction, it is important that our federal government establish a comprehensive cybersecurity legal framework that will effectively combat against cyber threats, but also take into account the privacy concerns of many individuals and companies. It will be interesting to see if and how Congress will address these conflicting interests in the near future.