That’s the question I had after reading Law and Policy for the Quantum Age, by Chris Hoofnagle and Simson Garfinkel. It’s a gracefully written and deeply informative look at the commercial and policy prospects of quantum computing and several other (often more promising) quantum technologies, including sensing, communications, and networking. And it left me
National Security Agency
Episode 380: The FBI Laughs Last
We begin the episode with Michael Ellis taking a close look at the takedown of the ransomware gang. It’s a good story for the good guys, as REvil seems to have been brought down by the same tactic it used against so many of its victims – malware that lingered in the backups…
Episode 375: China, U.S. Tech Policy: “Let Thousand Hands Throw Sand in the Gears.”
Jordan Schneider rejoins us after too long an absence to summarize the tech policy coming out of Beijing today: Any Chinese government agency with a beef against a tech company has carte blanche to at least try it out. From Didi and others being told to stop taking on subscribers to an end to…
Episode 370: Should We Add “Jumping U.S. Red Lines” to the 2021 Olympics?
We begin the episode with the Biden administration’s options for responding to continued Russian ransomware outrages. Dmitri Alperovitch reprises his advice in the Washington Post that Putin will only respond to strength and U.S. pressure. I agree but raise the question whether the U.S. has the tools to enforce another set of alleged red…
Episode 339: The Privacy and Europocrisy Oversight Board
This is my favorite story of the episode. David Kris covers a report from the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board on the enormous value that European governments get in fighting terrorism from the same American surveillance programs that European institutions have been fighting for twenty years to shut down. It’s a delightful takedown…
Episode 319: Whaling at Scale
Our interview with Ben Buchanan begins with his report on how artificial intelligence may influence national and cybersecurity. Ben’s quick takes: better for defense than offense, and probably even better for propaganda. The best part, in my view, is Ben’s explanation of how to poison the AI that’s trying to hack you…
The Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Glenn Gerstell
Episode 203: Interview with Glenn Gerstell
This episode consists of Jamil Jaffer and I interviewing Glenn Gerstell, the General Counsel of the National Security Agency. Glenn explains what it was like on the inside of the effort to reauthorize section 702 of FISA. Jamil and I ask him whether the FISA court has the…
Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Richard Ledgett
Episode 173: Interview with Richard Ledgett
Today we deliver the second half of our bifurcated holiday podcast with an interview of Richard Ledgett, recently retired from his tour as NSA’s deputy director. We cover much recent history, from Putin’s election adventurism to questions about whether NSA can keep control of the cyberweapons it develops. …
Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with David Sanger
168: Globalizing Censorship
Episode 168 features the Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance of global censorship, as Filipino contractors earning minimum wage delete posts in order to satisfy US tech companies who are trying to satisfy European governments. In addition to Maury Shenk, our panel of interlocutors includes David Sanger, Chief Washington Correspondent for the New York Times, and…
Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast – Interview with Tim Maurer
Episode 164: Stewart on the Road to Tarsus
Episode 164 features Stewart Baker’s startling change of heart on the question of cyberspace norms. Credit goes to our interview guest, Tim Maurer, Fellow and co-director of the Cyber Policy Initiative at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. And perhaps as well to Brian Egan, former…