The U.S. Fifth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s verdict that a former bank officer violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) when he mass deleted thousand of files from his work computer shortly before departing. IberiaBank v. Broussard, Case No. 17-30662 (5th Cir. 10/25/2018). Background. In early 2013, IberiaBank announced a merger with a smaller regional … Continue Reading
Prosecutors and employers take notice — one of the most robust, wide-reaching tools against computer fraud and abuse could be blunted. The Second Circuit recently joined the Fourth and Ninth circuits in narrowly interpreting the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) in United States v. Valle, 807 F.3d 508 (2d Cir. 2015). Valle, an ex-cop, was … Continue Reading
This may come as a shock. But Donald Trump has unwittingly offered trade secret litigators a teachable moment. It arose in his recent squabble with fellow presidential hopeful Senator Lindsey Graham. After Trump mocked Senator John McCain for being a POW, Graham told CNN that Trump was “becoming a jackass” and later called Trump “the world’s biggest jackass” … Continue Reading
We frequently discuss the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), which prohibits obtaining information from protected computers through unauthorized access or access that exceeds such authorization. Violating the CFAA can have serious consequences, as the statute carries both criminal and civil penalties. But must a defendant obtain information through unauthorized access and exceed authorized access? Ordinarily not. Yet … Continue Reading
When the celebrity gossip blog Gawker decided to post highlights from a sex tape starring Hulk Hogan, it never thought that decision would lead to suing the FBI. But that’s what happened—and just recently, Gawker prevailed. A federal judge in Florida ordered that the FBI and the Executive Office of United States Attorneys (EOUSA) must respond to Gawker’s FOIA request—even though the agencies argued … Continue Reading
Accessing someone’s computer without authorization is a federal crime under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). This past week, several news sources have reported that the FBI and Justice Department are investigating executives of the St. Louis Cardinals for allegedly violating the CFAA by hacking into the Houston Astros’ internal computer network. It’s suspected that the Cardinals’ front … Continue Reading
The federal district court for Hawaii recently held that assessing a “cloud” computing platform qualifies as assessing a “protected computer” under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The holding should not come as a shock. For some, the real shock stems from even arguing that “cloud” computing falls beyond CFAA’s purview. As one blog … Continue Reading
A federal grand jury in Pennsylvania indicted five Chinese military officers for economic espionage and trade secret theft this morning. According to the indictment, the five officers engaged in an elaborate conspiracy to hack into the computer networks of five U.S.-based companies, as well as a labor organization, to steal trade secrets and proprietary information … Continue Reading
The U.S. Eastern District of Louisiana recently sided with employers in the on-going judicial debate over interpreting the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”). See Associated Pump & Supply Co., LLC v. Dupre, et al., No. 14-0009 (E.D. La.). Associated Pump sued its former employee Kevin Dupre for violating CFAA during his alleged scheme to steal … Continue Reading
