CYSE 406

Cyber Law Course

The Cyber Law course (CYSE 406) covers the legal aspects of Cybersecurity policy and analysis. It ranges from domestic and organizational cybersecurity considerations to laws to international policy. In this course, I learned about the U.S. legal system, the U.S. Constitution and its application, laws’ structure and precedence in the U.S., the Supremacy Clause, and the difference between criminal and civil laws (torts and contracts). From this, I examined presidential policy directives (PPDs) relating to cybersecurity and cyber incident handling in the U.S. Federal government, controversies relating to freedom of speech, and an overview of key cybersecurity technology and threat actors. In particular, I was asked to examine and write policy guidance for the governor of a fictitious state, Numenor.

Project Paper

This project required me to examine the various cybersecurity issues facing a state in the union without State-level laws against Cybercrime, privacy, and digital protections. In the project paper, I categorically addressed the problems facing Numenor and their ramifications and identified paths to possible solutions. Leveraging the legal knowledge obtained about U.S. laws and regulations from the course and the manner of U.S. legal and Constitutional structures, I proposed a path forward that required the state of Numenor to enact basic cybersecurity and privacy laws relating to computer crimes and data protections along lines similar to most of the 50 states in the U.S. I then advocated for the governor to seek caucus with other states to form a coalition to investigate and instigate more stringent cybersecurity laws in the country at the Federal level, given state-advocacy could encourage Congressional action.

Course Reflection

The assignment demonstrate my analytical skills toward legal issues and the course gave me the opportunity to examine and reflect on those issues. It is not necessarily so that I can practice law but rather an exercise in analysis based on evidence to make reasonable conclusions. As a future IT/Cybersecurity professional, I will likely face legal challenges as part of my work in the Federal government as the government tackles manners of national security. It is important to possess an analytical mind in government as my work will no doubt require me to make decisions, either independently or in a team structure, towards a common goal.

The government cannot take expedients towards solutions that potentially violate laws, regulations, and the Constitution, nor do anything of lesser magnitude that could invariably harm its primary objective: protect and preserve the Constitution and defend the interests of the American people. On top of technical skills, I must possess this analytical ability, especially in project management. It is an obvious pathway and common problem in the Federal government as it comprises multiple projects (managed by various agencies) of various scales and complexity towards the larger national security goal. In the project, I evaluated the reasonableness of the legal manner and highlighted, based on evidence to support those conclusions, why an outcome was wrong categorically and determined, based on that discovery, where to readjust.