Matthew Weybrecht

Cybersecurity has not suffered from a lack of scrutiny in the national media. But in recent months—as with all things in 2016—we’ve viewed it almost exclusively through the lens of the presidential election and Russia’s alleged attempt at interfering with our political process. But a spate of important cybercrime cases is unfolding at this moment. Below is a round-up of a few cases worth attention.

Roman Seleznev—“Pizza Restaurant Hacker”

In the social media era, there have been a number of terrorist attacks in America that, at least in part, could be attributed to “self-radicalization.” Self-radicalization refers to the phenomenon wherein individuals radicalize by consuming extremist literature but have few, if any, formal ties to any terrorist organization. Prominent examples of self-radicalization incidents include Fort Hood, the Boston Marathon bombings, and the shootings in Chattanooga and San Bernardino.

As memories of 9/11 continue to fade, courts are increasingly becoming bolder and more confident in asserting their oversight role over national security matters. Last week’s Sixth Circuit ruling in Mokdad v. Lynch is the most recent example. There the Court of Appeals determined that district courts have jurisdiction to hear a plaintiff’s challenge to suspected inclusion on the No Fly List.