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DOJ Deputy Assistant AG Delivers Testimony at Senate Subcommittee Hearing Regarding Cyber Crime

DOJ U.S. Senate Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security

Privacy, Cyber Risk & Data Security

On July 8, the DOJ’s Deputy Assistant AG, David Bitkower, delivered his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism’s hearing entitled, “Cyber Crime: Modernizing Our Legal Framework for the Information Age.” Bitkower’s testimony focused on two of President Obama’s earlier 2015 legislative proposals regarding the security of online privacy for American citizens and businesses. The first proposal, with an emphasis on the “insider threat,” seeks to amend a provision of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) – the primary statute the DOJ uses to charge computer crime cases – to ensure that corrupt employees using their authority to access sensitive data for personal gain are not immune from federal punishment. Bitkower noted that recent judicial decisions have impeded the government’s ability to prosecute cases where “serious violations and invasions of privacy” were prevalent. The second legislative proposal would enhance the DOJ’s ability to combat botnets, the networks of computers that are infected with malware and used by criminals to steal personal information, evade detection, and hold computers and computer systems for ransom. The proposed legislation would broaden the categories of crimes committed with botnets that can be enjoined by courts, which, under the current law, are mostly limited financial crimes.