Strengthening Our Intuitions About Hacking

Publication Title

Indiana Law Journal

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

The computer trespass analogy has served us reasonably well as a basis for cybersecurity policies and related anti-hacking laws, but computers, and our uses of them, have changed significantly in ways that can stretch the computer trespass metaphor beyond usefulness. This Essay proposes an approach to expanding and strengthening our intuitions about computer security that accounts for new computing paradigms, giving courts and lawmakers additional tools for interpreting and drafting effective anti-hacking laws.

This Essay argues that many new and existing computer use scenarios leave courts unsure how existing anti-hacking laws might apply, increasing the possibility of under- or over-inclusive policies as well as uneven applications of these laws across jurisdictions. Improving our common understanding of computer security challenges can help courts reason more soundly about the laws and policies that apply to these challenges, and can also help lawmakers draft cybersecurity legislation that more accurately reflects their policy goals. This Essay develops a new model for thinking about problems in cybersecurity law by borrowing concepts from the field of vulnerability theory with the aim of augmenting our existing computer trespass theories

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External Links

HeinOnline

Lexis

SSRN

Westlaw

Recommended Citation

Jeffrey L. Vagle, Strengthening Our Intuitions About Hacking, 99 Ind L.J. 335 (2023).

Volume

99

Issue

1

First Page

335

Last Page

365

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