In recent years, cybersecurity has become not only a rapidly growing industry,
but an increasingly vital consideration for nearly every company and government
agency in the United States. A data breach can lead to high-stakes lawsuits,
significant business disruptions, intellectual property theft, and national
security vulnerabilities. Just ask any executive from Sony, Target, Home Depot,
or the scores of other companies that experienced costly data breaches or the
top officials at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which suffered a
breach that exposed millions of federal workers’ highly confidential security
clearance applications. In short, it is abundantly clear that companies, governments,
and individuals need to do more to improve cybersecurity.
Many articles and books have been written about the technical steps that are
necessary to improve cybersecurity. However, there is much less material available
about the legal rules that require – and, in some cases, restrict – specific
cybersecurity measures. Legal obligations and restrictions should be considered
at the outset of any cybersecurity strategy, just as a company would consider
reputational harm and budgetary issues. Failure to comply with the law
could lead to significant financial harms, negative publicity, and, in some cases,
criminal charges.