Outsourcing Law & Business Journal™ – November 2012

1.  Cybersecurity:  An Issue for Both Tech Service Providers and Clients, especially for Cloud, Mobile and Social Computing and the Internet of Things.
2.  Humor.
3.  Conferences.

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1.  Cybersecurity:  An Issue for Both Tech Service Providers and Clients, especially for Cloud, Mobile and Social Computing and the Internet of Things.  The security of the Internet and privacy are key to all Cloud Computing, Mobile Computing, Social Computing and the Internet of Things (with sensors and computers in cars and anything else electrical). Cybersecurity has profound implications for corporations, “critical infrastructure” and individuals that depend more on cybersecurity in the commercial, economic, social and personal.

According to cybersecurity experts, the vast majority of intrusions are not disclosed to authorities for “security reasons” or to avoid embarrassment and loss of brand value. Given the growing risks and dependencies, private companies will need to define their policies and potential goals and roles in participating, or not, in government cybersecurity programs. This defining moment continues despite the rejection of the U.S. Senate of a bill on “voluntary” sharing of private sector cybersecurity information with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

On August 2, 2012, the U.S. Senate rejected a bill that would have allowed professionals in the private sector – whether internal or outsourced – to share cybersecurity information with the authorities. Referred to as Cyber Intellegence Sharing Protecting Act  (“CISPA”), the proposal would have allowed (without requiring) the private sector to share in “good faith” information on cybersecurity and cyber threats with the Department of Homeland Security. Following the rejection, rumors circulated that President Obama would establish an  executive order to allow a public-private partnership for such cooperation (“opt-in”), but this has not happened yet.

Notwithstanding the rejection of this bill in the U.S., the topic remains a matter of global news. This article explores some legal issues for projects of “public-private partnership” to cybersecurity risks: voluntary disclosures of “good faith,” the “limitation of liability” for such disclosure, the scope of the rights of government use any information disclosed (including incidental extraneous private data) and legal disputes with foreign legal systems. Such issues continue worldwide, especially in Cloud Computing¹, inviting the private sector’s constant vigilance to prevent an Orwellian “cybervoracity” of government (or at least an accommodation) and to maintain confidence in the fundamental commitments of private security.  To read the complete article, click here.

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