Episode 177: We’re back!

In Episode 177, fresh from hiatus, we try to summarize the most interesting cyber stories to break in August. Paul Rosenzweig kicks things off with the Shunning of Kaspersky.  I argue that the most significant – though unsupported – claim about Kaspersky is Sen. Shaheen’s assertion that all of the

Episode 167: Blockchain Takes Over the Podcast

Episode 167 sees blockchain take over the podcast again.  With Stewart traveling, Alan Cohn hosts another of the podcast’s periodic deep dives into all things blockchain and digital currency.  Our guest is Meltem Demirors, Director of Development at Digital Currency Group.  Podcast regular Maury Shenk joins members

Our guest for the episode is Rob Silvers, the assistant secretary for cybersecurity policy at DHS.  He talks about what the government can and should do about newly potent DDOS attacks and the related problem of the Internet of Things.  The only good news: insecure debrillators and pacemakers may kill you, but they

With Stewart on vacation, the blockchain takes over the podcast! In episode 121, Jason Weinstein and Alan Cohn talk all things bitcoin, blockchain, and distributed ledger technology, and interview Jamie Smith, Global Chief Communications Officer for the BitFury Group, one of the largest full-service blockchain technology companies.

In the news roundup, Alan led

Dmitri AlperovitchRansomware is the new black.  In fact, it’s the new China.  So says our guest for episode 116, Dmitri Alperovitch, the CTO and co-founder of CrowdStrike.  Dmitri explains why ransomware is so attractive financially – and therefore likely to get much worse very fast.  He and I also explore the implications and attribution of the big bank hacks in Vietnam and Bangladesh.
Continue Reading Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Dmitri Alperovitch

Podcast 109In episode 109, we interview Perianne Boring of the Chamber of Digital Commerce on the regulatory challenges of bitcoin and the blockchain.  In the news roundup, we bring back Apple v. FBI for what we hope will be one last round, as the San Bernardino magistrate voids her All Writs Act motion for mootness and attention shifts to other investigators hoping to crack iPhone security, both in the US and in Europe. 
Continue Reading Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Perianne Boring

Doing our best to avoid turning this into the Applelaw podcast, episode 105 begins with Maury Shenk unpacking the new US-EU Privacy Shield details.  His take: more hassles for companies accused of noncompliance, more detailed privacy disclosures and compliance obligations for most members, and a modicum of pain for the intelligence community, but it’s still basically the same framework as the Safe Harbor.
Continue Reading Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Robin Weisman and Peter Van Valkenburgh

Anyone who has tried to explain bitcoin around their kitchen table knows that it is not easy to put your finger on what exactly the technology is.  Because of their innovative nature, digital currencies don’t have obvious analogs or fit easily into existing categories.  Bitcoin is part currency, part digital payment system, and part immutable ledger.
Continue Reading FinTech Bits: Are Bitcoin and Other Digital Currencies Securities?

Following the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, polls show that Americans identify terrorism—more than any other issue—as the most important problem facing the US.  In this environment, some media outlets have predicted a pending “crackdown” on digital currencies, particularly by European governments, because of the risk that the technology could be used to fund