Fifty years ago, a superhero leaped tall buildings in a single bound and used x-ray vision to catch evil criminals.   Today, some of the world’s most threatening criminals are computer hackers.  Superman may not be able to save us from cataclysmic cyber attacks, but we can rest a little easier knowing seven cyber guardians are holding keys to one of society’s most valuable commodities—the internet.  

ICAAN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, has provided “keys” to the internet to seven members of the global community. As discussed in prior posts, ICAAN is a non-profit watchdog group that helped establish Domain Name System Security Extensions,  or DNSSEC.   The DNSSEC—which just became enabled this year— is a critical security technology that lies at the core of the internet’s global addressing system.  It protects the very heart of the internet by ensuring that users reach the intended web address.

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Google, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare—millions of Americans, including myself, depend on these cyber sites as their gateway to information and communication in the outside world.  What we may not realize, or choose to ignore for convenience’s sake, is that this gateway lies on a two-way street. The information that we seek using websites such as Google and what we communicate on Facebook and Twitter provide companies with vital data to better market their products to us.  This use of information is referred to as “data mining. ”

An example of data mining can be seen in the advertisements that pop up on the side of your Facebook home page.  Such ads are often relevant to the information posted on your “Profile” page, such as advertisements promoting products from your college alma mater. 

At the outset, data mining seems like a win-win situation for both the consumer and the seller—the consumer is marketed with a product in which they are seemingly interested and the company has utilized its advertising budget in an informed, cost-effective manner.  At the same time, however, the threat of an invasion of privacy is real and has the attention of members of Congress and federal officials to create legislation regulating the way in which, and the extent to which, our personal information is shared with third parties. 

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Your employee is being paid millions of dollars each year to perform his job. Right in the middle of today’s tasks, as he is about to receive instruction from his supervisor, your employee takes out his cell phone and posts a “tweet” on his feelings about his performance to all of his friends who have signed up to follow his twitter board. Would you have a problem with that?

At least two employers did. News surfaced last week that Eric Mangini, head coach of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, has threatened to fine players for tweeting about events at training camp, and particularly during team meetings. This on the heels of the well-publicized action taken last year by the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. In that case, Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva apparently posted a message to his Twitter feed from his cell phone when he went into the locker room at halftime of a basketball game against the Boston Celtics. According to reports, the tweet that was posted from Villanueva’s “CV31” screen name read: “In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.”

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One of the difficult things to predict with regard to the use of social media in the employment setting continues to be the extent to which traditional legal claims apply equally to new social media outlets.   We continue to advise employers that it is imperative to ensure that care is also taken to create policies and train employees on the use of social media in and out of the office setting, and not to let the informality and ease of the Internet lull employers into a false sense of security.   On July 22, 2010, a New York Supreme Court Judge applied the tort of defamation to statements on Facebook in a case that offers an important message to employers.

The case of Finkel v. Dauber (New York Supreme Court, Nassau County) centered on statements posted by a Facebook group known as “90 Cents Short of a Dollar.” Plaintiff alleged that she was defamed by the group’s postings that stated “unbeknownst to many, [plaintiff] acquired AIDS while on a cruise to Africa” and then “persisted to screw a baboon which caused the epidemic to spread.”   The postings further defamed plaintiff, she alleged, by stating “[w]hile in Africa she was seen fucking a horse.”   And other intelligent banter.

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On July 23, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued an important decision in Eyeblaster, Inc. v. Federal Ins. Co., 2010, U.S. App. LEXIS 15152, No. Civ. A. 08-3640, finding concurrent coverage under both a General Liability (“CGL”) insurance policy and a separate Information and Network Technology Errors and Omissions Liability (“E&O”) policy in circumstances where an online marketing company installed software on a consumer’s computer system, allegedly corrupting the computer’s software operating system.

Eyeblaster Inc. (“Eyeblaster”), the policyholder, is a company that creates, delivers and manages online interactive advertising. For the period December 5, 2006, to December 5, 2007, it was insured under two concurrent policies issued by Federal Insurance Company (“Federal”): (1) a CGL policy covering occurrences which cause damage to tangible property, and (2) an E&O policy which covered claims for financial loss caused by a wrongful act in connection with a product’s failure to perform its intended function or serve its intended purpose, resulting in damage to intangible property. As to the latter policy, intangible property included software, data and other electronic information. Both policies were “duty to defend” forms.

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Interviewing for your first job as a teenager is as exciting as it is intimidating. Thoughts of what to do with your first paycheck consume your mind as you rehearse your best “do-you-want-fries-with-that” smile. The interview proceeds flawlessly and you start to count the dollar signs as you await the job offer. But imagine your surprise when you are informed that you did not get the job because your background check revealed that you are over $75,000 in debt and five years behind in your child support payments for your eleven year old child…a terrifying thought considering you are only 16 years old.

Adults aren’t the only victims of identity theft. Child identity theft is an increasing and understated crime. A child’s Social Security Number (“SSN”) is the perfect target, as the theft typically goes undetected until years after the crime has taken place. Indeed, the crime might not be discovered until the rightful owner/victim uses his or her SSN for the first time years later. This revelation often occurs when the victim applies for his or her first job or financial aid before college.

The scheme works as follows: businesses are using various techniques to search the Internet for dormant SSNs. These numbers often belong to long-term inmates, dead people or children. Obtaining them is not as difficult as one may think, as SSNs are distributed systematically depending on age, geographical location and when the number is issued. Once it has been determined that no one is actively using the number to obtain credit, the numbers are offered for sale.

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Lest one question the severity of the evolving challenges in our rapidly growing cyber world, President Obama has crystallized it succinctly: (1) “cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation;” and (2) “America’s economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity.” In other words, President Obama has declared cybersecurity to be a national security priority.

While that’s obviously good news, the follow-up question is “how are we doing in meeting the associated demands?” Regrettably, not so well, it seems.

Speaking before cybersecurity and privacy experts from government, law enforcement, the private sector, academia and privacy and civil liberties groups, President Obama, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Cyber Coordinator Howard Schmidt and other Administration officials uniformly acknowledged that far more work needs to be done to protect digital communications and information infrastructure and make it more difficult and costly for cybercrimimals.

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“A lawyer is never entirely comfortable with a friendly divorce, anymore than a good mortician wants to finish his job and then have the patient sit up on the table.”  Jean Kerr

A new company out of Dallas, DivorceApps.com, is selling applications aimed at helping people navigate the legal waters of divorce. A Texas family lawyer, Michelle May O’Neil, started the company in March of this year. Two apps currently are for sale on iphones at a cost of $9.99 USD.  Applications that are currently available online are described as follows:

(1) Cost and Prep Application: A system that 1) tracks the information that will be required either by legal counsel or the other side of the case and 2) helps the user track the costs of divorce. For example, the “Divorce Cost” portion of the application provides a scroll down list of categories that enables the user to gain a better understanding of the costs of divorce. The “Scroll Down” component of the application allows the user to scroll through the categories of information to determine the documents and information that will be applicable to their case.

(2) Estate Divider Application: The “Estate Divider” is a system that purports to allow a user to work through the overall division of their Estate. The user can:

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Apparently feeling that they’ve resolved the longstanding issue of illegal immigration and can move on to the next crisis, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and the U.S. Justice Department have identified a new enemy in their ongoing stuggle to protect truth, justice and the American way: Internet sites that sell counterfeit goods and pirated movies.

Indeed, just this month, government officials announced that they have shut down nine websites as part of their newly announced initiative, “Operation In Our Sites,” which is intended to protect Hollywood’s intellectual property. Officials estimated that nearly 7 million pirated movies and shows per month were downloaded from the offending websites.

The announcement was held on a soundstage at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA. Neither Johnny Depp nor Captain Hook reportedly was present.

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I was recently introduced to a great new Scrabble word: “meme”. According to wikipedia, my source for all things “e-”, a meme, in reference to the Internet, is ‘the propagation of a digital file or hyperlink’ that contains content consisting of a saying or joke, a rumor, an altered or original image, a complete website, a video clip or animation, or an offbeat news story, among many other possibilities. In other words, an Internet meme is an inside joke that is shared between a large number of Internet users.

Internet memes have a tendency to evolve and spread extremely swiftly, sometimes going in and out of popularity in just days. They are spread organically, voluntarily, and peer to peer, rather than by compulsion, predetermined path, or completely automated means. The term ‘meme’ can refer to the content that spreads from user to user, the idea behind the content, or the phenomenon of its spread.

Ally McBeal fans may now appreciate the reference to the dancing ‘oogachucka’  baby. In an effort to be a bit more up-to-date in my meme references, I’ve embedded some of them, below.  If you’re seeing them for the first time, you may experience the ‘lightbulb effect’ – that is, you’ll actually get the joke behind certain late night comedy skits that just didn’t seem all that funny.

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